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Zlín, 30 August 2014 – Sepp Wiegand will start the final day of ŠKODA's home race of the FIA European Rally Championship (ERC) in an outstanding second place. In an eventful rally day at the Barum Czech Rally Zlín, the speedy German ŠKODA driver kept his cool in front of thousands of spectators at the track and is on course to finish on the podium. ERC front runner Esapekka Lappi (FIN) damaged his car on the fourth special stage and didn't make it to Saturday's finish line. However he will be back chasing points in the day's classification on the remaining 109.42 kilometres on Sunday.

"Last year we finished in fourth place here on our debut in the works team, this year we're second in the intermediate standings, it's fantastic! We've only been focussing on what we're doing and have tried not to make any mistakes," said Sepp Wiegand: "We're going to do our best to keep this speed on Sunday." After 127.91 kilometres of special stages, the young German and his co-driver Frank Christian are 54.1 seconds behind the leaders Václav Pech/Petr Uhel (CZ/CZ).

23-year-old Wiegand took controlled risks on the narrow and slippery asphalt tracks. This saw him work his way up from eighth place at the start of the day into second, despite tyre damage on the final special stage of the day. This makes Wiegand the best foreign driver in the field in the Czech Republic, which is dominated by the strong local drivers. On the final day he has the chance to clinch his third ERC podium spot of the season, after second place in Northern Ireland and third place in Belgium.

On a dry day, ŠKODA works driver Esapekka Lappi and his co-driver Janne Ferm, like some of the other favourites, didn't make it to the finish for the day. In second place in the overall standings, Lappi came into contact with a kerbstone. After the ŠKODA mechanics repaired his car, the Finn will restart the race for the remaining six special stages on Sunday and will still be able to pick up valuable championship points.

"I skidded sideways into a kerbstone on a long and fast right bend. I'm annoyed with myself for making this mistake and can only apologise to the team," said Lappi. Despite his slip-up, the 23-year-old will definitely remain at the top of the ERC overall standings after the eighth of eleven races of the season.

As well as the two Fabia Super 2000s sporting a red and white RS retro look, the European Rally Champions Jan Kopecký/Pavel Dresler (CZ) in the advance car also delighted the crowds of fans. The current leaders in the Asia-Pacific Rally Championship (APRC) were driving a test vehicle with the 1.6-litre turbo engine for the new ŠKODA Fabia R 5.

As of 2015, ŠKODA will use the new rally car in the R5 category to participate in international rallies. "It was great fun to drive in front of so many spectators and to show off our new car a bit. I'm proud that I can be so involved in the development of the new Fabia R 5. I was very involved in the development of the Fabia Super 2000," said Kopecký. The seasoned ŠKODA driver won the Barum Czech Rally Zlín last year, his successor will be crowned at 4pm local time on Sunday in the centre of Zlín.

The number of the day: 10.11.0 minutes

After 16.05 kilometres on the second special stage Slušovice, three of the top drivers had the exact same time down to the tenth of a second. In addition to the two ŠKODA drivers, Sepp Wiegand (D) and Esapekka Lappi (FIN), Tomáš Kostka (CZ) also mastered the long distance in 10.11.0 minutes. Evidence of just how evenly balanced the competition at the Barum Czech Rally Zlín is.

Barum Czech Rally Zlín – Intermediate results after day 1

1. Pech/Uhel (CZ/CZ), Mini John Cooper Works S2000 1h 16m 35.0s
2. Wiegand/Christian (D/D), ŠKODA Fabia Super 2000 + 54.1s
3. Kostka/Houšť (CZ/CZ), Ford Fiesta R5 + 1m 12.7s
4. Kajetanowicz/Baran (PL/PL), Ford Fiesta R5 + 1m 25.9s
5. Odložilík/Tureček (CZ/CZ), Ford Fiesta R5 + 1m 37.0s

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