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Pafos, 5 November, 2011 – The winner of the 2011 Intercontinental Rally Challenge (IRC) is Andreas Mikkelsen of ŠKODA UK Motorsport. Driving a Fabia Super 2000 prepared by ŠKODA Motorsport (factory team), Mikkelsen comfortably won the season's last rally in Cyprus to make his dream of winning the Championship title come true. Jan Kopecký of ŠKODA Motorsport came second in Cyprus to finish second overall, thus becoming the IRC Vice- Champion for the third consecutive year. The third best driver of this year's IRC series is the 2010 IRC Champion and 2011 SWRC Champion Juho Hänninen. ŠKODA's achievements this season decorate the celebrations of 110 years of the brand's motorsport efforts.

With a mix of surfaces, five candidates for the title of whom four in Fabia Super 2000s and a double portion of points for grabs, the Cyprus Rally, the last event of this year's IRC Championship, was the real climax of this season. Two of the candidates for victory dropped out in the first stage (Hänninen in a Fabia due to a crash and Neuville in a Peugeot due to technical problems), and so it was clear before the start of the final leg on Saturday that the Championship title would be snatched by Mikkelsen, Kopecký or Loix (all in Fabia Super 2000s). Topping the standings after Day 1, Andreas Mikkelsen made perfect use of his lead today to win his second rally of this season as well as the whole series. Jan Kopecký of ŠKODA Motorsport (factory team) came second in Cyprus to finish second overall and the third best driver of this year's IRC series is his teammate Juho Hänninen, which means that Fabia Super 2000s have won the first three places.

Andreas Mikkelsen: "I can't believe it, it's a fantastic feeling and I am full of emotions. We've had a great year and I wish to thank all of the members of our team. Special thanks go to ŠKODA, we've had a fantastic car."

Jan Kopecký: "We knew we had to win in Cyprus to win the Championship title, but Andreas was simply too fast here. The car has been fantastic throughout the year and I want to thank the whole team for preparing everything excellently."

Juho Hänninen: "Although we haven't been appearing regularly in the IRC this season, we had a good chance to win the title in the end. Considering the double portion of points available here in Cyprus, my stupid mistake really had a major impact on the final standings. Anyway, I am pleased that we have helped the team win the Manufacturers Cup".

Commenting on the season that has just ended, Head of the ŠKODA Motorsport team Michal Hrabánek says: "Congratulations to Andreas on winning the Championship, we are pleased that the winner is a Fabia Super 2000 driver, just like last year. I am sure that Andreas' prospects for the future are great. We have repeated our last year's victory in the IRC Manufacturers Cup and our thanks for that go to all of the drivers who have contributed to this achievement. In addition, Hänninen & Markkula in a Fabia Super 2000 have won the World Championship, which means that this season has really been very successful for us. Our this year's results are in the same league with the greatest achievements made over those 110 years of our motorsport efforts. I believe we have promoted ŠKODA really excellently and showed that the importer programme produces great results even at the highest level. I wish to thank the entire team, this season has been long and tiring and the team's professional attitude and commitment were the base for all of our achievements."

ŠKODA has won eight rallies of eleven in total in this year's IRC Championship - Hänninen has won three (Canary Islands, the Ukraine, the Azores), Kopecký two (the Czech Republic, Hungary), Mikkelsen two (Scotland, Cyprus) and Loix one (Belgium).

For the first time ever, ŠKODA Motorsport will appear in the Race of Champions this year. Seen as the climax of the motorsport season, the event takes place in Düsseldorf, Germany over the first weekend in December (3-4 Dec).

2011 IRC final standings - Drivers category:

Mikkelsen – 153.5 points
Kopecký – 152 points
Hännnien – 125 points

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