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Paris, 14 December, 2012 – ŠKODA has become the most successful brand in the history of the Intercontinental Rally Challenge (IRC). ŠKODA won its third consecutive titles in both the Drivers and Manufacturers categories in 2012, and set a new championship record by winning 27 IRC events in total.

Like in the previous years, ŠKODA dominated the IRC championship also this year. The brand comfortably won the championship title in the Manufacturers category and Andreas Mikkelsen & Ola Floene in a factory-prepared Fabia Super 2000 have become the first-ever crew to win two consecutive titles in the Drivers category. With the championship titles from the IRC, the European Championship (ERC), the Asia-Pacific Championship (APRC) and six national championships, 2012 is one of the most successful years in the 111-year history of the brand´s motorsport efforts.

Andreas Mikkelsen, the only driver in the history of the IRC to have won two consecutive championship titles (2011-2012), is thrilled about his success in the IRC: "I am very proud to become the first person to win back-to-back driver titles in the Intercontinental Rally Challenge while driving for ŠKODA UK Motorsport, as well as helping ŠKODA win two out of its three consecutive manufacturers' awards. My factory-prepared Fabia S2000 has been incredibly fast and reliable for two years, and Ola and I owe so much of our success to ŠKODA for supplying and running such a good car. I shall never forget these two great years with ŠKODA UK Motorsport, in which I have learnt so much and made so many friends."

ŠKODA´s double triumph in 2012 has sealed the brand´s exceptional position in the IRC: ŠKODA entered the IRC series in 2009, and drivers of ŠKODA Fabia Super 2000s have celebrated altogether 27 victories ever since – the largest number of all manufacturers. "We have written a very successful chapter in the history of our motorsport efforts by taking part in the IRC," says Head of ŠKODA Motorsport Michal Hrabánek. "Since the very beginning, the IRC has been a great platform, and our results in this series show that it has been a very good choice, too. I wish to thank all those who have contributed to our success. I believe that our results are the best possible motivation for ŠKODA Motorsport´s future projects". In 2013 the IRC championship will merge with the European Championship to form a single continental series – ERC.

Juho Hänninen, the 2010 IRC Champion, has for ever become the most successful driver in the history of the IRC – Juho Hänninen & Mikko Markkula, celebrated victory in 11 rallies to become the most successful crew in the history of ŠKODA´s motorsport efforts. Over the four years of being part of ŠKODA Motorsport, they became the most successful crew of this factory team. Driving a ŠKODA Fabia Super 2000, they won the IRC (2010), the SWRC (2011) and the European Championship (this year) to become the world´s only crew to have won all of these three championships.

Commenting on his great performances, Juho Hänninen says: "I´d like to thank ŠKODA for creating really excellent conditions and providing us with a great car that we could always rely on. We have won a large number of events and titles and the past four years have been the best years of our careers. The quality of the IRC was really high, and we experienced many thrilling duels, including with local drivers. It was wonderful to be part of this great family."

Jan Kopecký, four times IRC vice-champion over 2009-2012 and the winner of seven IRC events in total, finished second overall also this year: "We were close to winning the series every year, but the quality of the other drivers is a major aspect – it´s been always very high, and that is actually the key attribute of the entire IRC. Basically, every event was a fierce battle for every second, which is a thing you can hardly see in any other championship. I believe that our four second places overall show that the quality of the whole crew is consistently high and that our car is highly reliable".

The 2012 IRC championship awards ceremony took place in Paris. 2012 is one of the most successful years in the history of ŠKODA´s motorsport efforts:

› ŠKODA won its third consecutive IRC title this year to become the most successful brand in the history of this championship;
› This year also saw a third consecutive victory by a factory crew in a ŠKODA Fabia Super 2000 in the Drivers category (Juho Hänninen & Mikko Markkula in 2010 and Andreas Mikkelsen & Ola Floene in 2011 and 2012).;
› Hänninen & Markkula won this year´s European Championship and ŠKODA then wrapped up the successful season by winning the Asia-Pacific Rally Championship (APRC);
› Jan Kopecký & Pavel Dresler (factory crew) triumphed in the Czech Championship;
› Drivers of ŠKODA Fabia Super 2000s won national rally championship titles in Austria (Raimund Baumschlager), Germany (Mark Wallenwein), Slovenia (Aleks Humar), Turkey (Luca Rossetti) and Bulgaria (Dimitar Iliev).

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