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The Canary Islands Rally, the fourth event of the Intercontinental Rally Challenge (IRC), saw the second consecutive absolute triumph of Škoda Fabia Super 2000 vehicles - Jan Kopecký and Petr Starý of Škoda Motorsport (factory team) won, their team-mates Juho Hänninen and Mikko Markkula came second and Guy Wilks and Philip Pugh of Škoda UK Motorsport finished third.

The organisers of this two-day asphalt race (altogether 15 special stages, total length 221 kilometres) had to cancel the last special stage on Friday due to fans' undisciplined behaviour. In a pleasant seaside weather, it was the first time for most of the top-ranking drivers to appear on this track. The profile was bend-after-bend and up-and-down on both days, posing quite a challenge for the brakes and tyres. There were many fans along the track, frantically applauding the skills of the drivers in each stage.

Thanks to its result in the Canary Islands, Škoda has reinforced its leadership in the brand standings and Juho Hänninen in the driver standings. His team-mate Jan Kopecký has moved up to the runner-up position.

Head of Škoda Motorsport Michal Hrabánek: "This is the second consecutive time for the Fabia Super 2000 and Škoda in general to make such a fantastic achievement. We are pleased to have prepared the vehicle really perfectly. The result is the best reward for the entire team and a great promotion of the Škoda brand worldwide. Now we have one month for testing before the Sardinia Rally, the next IRC event".

Jan Kopecký: "A lovely race with exciting special stages and many great fans. The track was a challenge, with many bends on both days. Today we had to be on guard all the time to keep our position, as Juho never gave it up. Many thanks to all our team colleagues for preparing the vehicle absolutely perfectly."

Juho Hänninen: "I am happy about the result, the times I did here were a surprise even for me. I've made no mistake these two days – this has certainly been my best asphalt race so far."

Guy Wilks: "A very tough rally event! A good result for me and a great one for the entire Škoda. 1st, 2nd and 3rd – fantastic!!!"

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