ŠkodaPortal.cz Simply clever

Fighting for every second, the whole field of drivers at the Sardinia Rally indeed gave the fans a superb spectacle. The winners of the fifth Intercontinental Rally Challenge this season are Juho Hänninen  Mikko Markkula of Škoda Motorsport, their team colleagues Jan Kopecký  Petr Starý came third.

The first special stage of this extremely difficult gravel race had a major impact on the standings, as many favourites had to give up due to technical problems, crashes and tyre punctures that threw them to hopeless positions. The narrow, stony and slippery track saw many dramatic situations, including a helicopter transport to hospital of Škoda UK Motorsport's Guy Wilks after a full-speed crash that cost the driver two broken lumbar vertebrae. After Friday's first stage (six special stages, 110 kilometres), Hänninen was third, only 11.3 seconds behind Andreucci, and Kopecký fourth, a further 30 seconds behind his teammate. Saturday's six special stages (106 kilometres) offered another hard struggle for every stretch of the track until the very last special stage – in particular, the fight for the second place between Kopecký and Andreucci was the climax of the entire race, with only a 2.6-second gap in the end. Hänninen secured his second victory of the season to strengthen his overall leadership and Škoda reinforced their first position in the brand standings.

Says Michal Hrabánek, Head of Škoda Motorsport: "First of all, I wish Guy Wilks of Škoda UK Motorsport a fast recovery on behalf of our whole team, and we believe that he will come back soon. As far as the result is concerned, we have secured our third consecutive victory, which is a first for all of us at Škoda Motorsport. By the way, Škoda has secured twelve podium positions of altogether fifteen this year, which speaks for itself. However, the fight for the championship goes on and every race is equally important in terms of the final result".

Juho Hänninen: "It was a very challenging race, particularly at the beginning when I was "cleaning" the track for all the others. Getting a fairly comfortable lead made it possible for me to just watch out and wait for their reaction".

Jan Kopecký: "I wish to thank the whole team for preparing the car perfectly, they did an excellent job after my mistake in the first stage, and that really allowed me to go on and think of finishing in a decent position. It was a very difficult race and a great experience".

The next IRC event that the Škoda Motorsport team is going to appear at is the Ypres Rally in Belgium over 24-26 June. For the first time ever, the team is going to use their modernised vehicle, i.e., the Fabia Super 2000 Facelift that complies with the new FIA rules for the Super 2000 category under which the maximum admissible width of the vehicle is 1,820 mm, 20 mm more than so far. Another new thing will be an appearance by the Belgian star Freddy Loix that, with support from the Škoda importer in Belgium, is going to drive a factory-maintained Škoda Fabia Super 2000.

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