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Mladá Boleslav, 30 September, 2010 - The new champions of the Intercontinental Rally Challenge (IRC), Juho Hänninen & Mikko Markkula of Škoda Motorsport factory team, are going to appear at the Rally of Scotland. Taking place in Perthshire and Stirling over October 15-17, the last-but-one event of this year's IRC series is a gravel race.

Hänninen and Markkula are going to get special support from Škoda's UK importer. Škoda UK Motorsport will appear in Scotland as well – Guy Wilks and Phil Pugh, who won this event last year, are going to drive a Škoda Fabia Super 2000.

Škoda Motorsport's other crew, Jan Kopecký and Petr Starý, are going to focus on the Italian championship for the rest of this season – the last-but-one event of this challenging competition takes place in the surroundings of Costa Smeralda, Sardinia over the second weekend of October 9-10. The Czechs are going to appear in the colours of Škoda Rally Team Italia, and their ambition is to get closer to third place in the overall championship standings, although their rivals, top-class Italian drivers, are indeed a tough competition.

Says Michal Hrabánek, Head of Škoda Motorsport: "The San Remo Rally saw our team complete the double – we have managed to win both the Drivers' and the Manufacturers' competitions in this year's IRC, which is no doubt a fantastic achievement for the Škoda brand. In this connection, I wish to thank our partners, i.e. Škoda importers worldwide. Our joint efforts were in line with Škoda Auto's goals throughout this motorsport project, and we are very pleased about how well we have been doing. In this context, our major partners include Škoda's importers in the UK, Belgium and Italy, and we will gladly support them in their respective markets by appearing at the upcoming rally events held in their countries – facing a tough competition in one of Europe's most respected championships, Jan Kopecký and Petr Starý will attempt to secure third place in the overall standings in Italy, and Juho Hänninen and Mikko Markkula are going to join their Škoda UK Motorsport colleagues, Guy Wilks and Phil Pugh, in Scotland. We appreciate the support we are getting from our UK importer who seems to be very keen to see us on the start line. I am sure we will find many synergies in both motorsport and business contexts, because the UK is one of the most successful markets for our new Fabia RS, a car that conveys clear associations with the Fabia Super 2000."

Juho Hänninen: "I am very happy that I and Mikko have won the IRC title well before the end of this year's season. I do my best to win wherever I appear, although I always realise that the competition is tough and that I have to carefully consider the conditions on the road. I must be realistic as far as asphalt rallies are concerned, but I daresay I have made big progress on asphalt this year, mainly thanks to the huge support I am getting from the factory team. Now they have given me an opportunity to take part in this gravel rally in Scotland, i.e., on my favourite surface – it is going to be my first appearance there. I believe that my result this year will make it possible to take my racing career to the next level."

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