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Belfast, 18 April 2014 – Dream start for ŠKODA at the "Circuit of Ireland Rally": On the first of two rally days around Belfast, Northern Ireland's capital city, the "flying Finns" Esapekka Lappi/Janne Ferm in the Fabia Super 2000 won seven of ten special stages. The duo will start the closing eight stages on Easter Saturday with a 12.6 second advantage. Sepp Wiegand/Frank Christian (D/D) of Team ŠKODA AUTO Deutschland are in fourth place halfway through the third oldest rally in the world, trailing their ŠKODA colleagues by 1:49.0 minutes, and have their sights set on a podium finish.

While qualifying on Maundy Thursday was characterized by rain and freezing gusts of wind, the sun shone over Northern Ireland on Good Friday. Perfect conditions for a pure asphalt rally in which the participants had to master countless jumps and bends that are almost impossible to see on the narrow streets typical of this rally.

"It was a great day for the whole team," said Lappi, who won the first seven special stages of the day. "Everything went to plan. The Fabia Super 2000 performed wonderfully and the numerous jumps were a lot of fun. At times the stages felt like 'Finland on asphalt'. Eight more demanding stages await us on Saturday. I'm looking forward to it."

Fellow ŠKODA driver Wiegand is within striking distance of the winner's podium, trailing third place by 8.8 seconds. "It's incredible how quickly this rally gets going. I think we've found our rhythm now. We proved this with the two Top 3 times at the end of the day," said the 23-year-old from Zwönitz. "The podium is within reach. We'll give it our all on Saturday to achieve this goal."

Number of the day: 7

The first seven special stages of the first day of the "Circuit of Ireland Rally" went to ŠKODA works duo Esapekka Lappi/Janne Ferm in the Fabia Super 2000. In the final three stages on Good Friday the two Finns finished in second, second and third. An all-round successful start to the Easter Weekend for ŠKODA, which was rounded off nicely by Sepp Wiegand/Frank Christian securing two Top 3 times.

"Circuit of Ireland Rally" – Interim results after day

1. Lappi/Ferm (FIN/FIN), ŠKODA Fabia Super 2000            59.11,2 Min.
2. Breen/Martin (IRL/GB), Peugeot 208T16 R5                + 12,6 Sek.
3. Barrable/Loudon (IRL/GB), Ford Fiesta R5                  + 1.40,2 Min.
4. Wiegand/Christian (D/D), ŠKODA Fabia Super 2000    + 1.49,0 Min.
5. Moffett/O'Reilly (IRL/IRL), Ford Fiesta RRC                 + 2.05,5 Min.
6. Consani/Vilmot (F/F), Peugeot 207 S2000                   + 3.05,4 Min.
7. Simpson/Mole (GB/GB), ŠKODA Fabia Super 2000       + 3.53,2 Min.
8. Moffett/Rowan (IRL/IRL), Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX       + 6.00,2 Min.
9. Ingram/Moreau (GB/F), Renault Twingo R2                 + 6.50,5 Min
10. Cerny/Kohout (CZ/CZ), Peugeot 208 R2                   + 7.02,2 Min.

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