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Český Krumlov, 3 May 2014 – Good performance, but without the result to match: ŠKODA failed to finish the 42nd Rally Český Krumlov with both works duos – Jan Kopecký/Pavel Dresler (CZ/CZ) and Esapekka Lappi/Janne Ferm (FIN/FIN) – in the Fabia Super 2000. European Champion Kopecký, who will do most of his racing in the FIA Asia-Pacific Rally Championship (APRC) this season, was running second before crashing out in wet conditions on the final stage. Lappi, who tops the standings in the FIA European Rally Championship (ERC), had won Friday's opening three stages, but then had to retire with technical problems.

"We are really pleased that we were able to appear in front of our home fans again this weekend – thanks in no small part to the support of our sales department here in the Czech Republic," said ŠKODA Motorsport Director Michal Hrabánek. "We saw a captivating battle. At this point I would like to congratulate the winners Václav Pech and Petr Uhel. You have to congratulate them on a performance like that. I can well imagine that we will line up with our works drivers at more rallies in the Czech Republic this year. However, Jan Kopecký and Gaurav Gill first head to New Caledonia in two weeks, where they will contest the next round of the APRC. Our next outing in the ERC will be in Belgium, where our young drivers Esapekka Lappi and Sepp Wiegand will be in action at the Ypres Rally."

"It was a great battle for the victory, but Václav Pech really flew on the second day," said Kopecký, who had not dropped out of the top three until his crash, and led the rally at the halfway point. "We did our very best and made a few changes to the set-up, but we could not close the gap on Václav. I congratulate him, he deserved the win."

Speaking after his retirement, Lappi, who was making his first appearance at the Rally Český Krumlov, said: "It is a real shame, as we felt really good on this route. To be honest, we were positively surprised that we were so quick at the first attempt. Unfortunately the technology let us down this time, but that is all part and parcel of motorsport. We will do our best again next time."

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