Rally Turkey: Kopecký second in WRC 2 Pro - ŠKODA increases category championship lead

› ŠKODA FABIA R5 evo crew Jan Kopecký/Pavel Dresler finished second in WRC 2 Pro

category at Rally Turkey, eleventh round of the FIA World Rally Championship 2019

› By finishing third in the category, WRC 2 Pro drivers’ championship leaders Kalle

Rovanperä/Jonne Halttunen (ŠKODA FABIA R5 evo) saved valuable championship points

› ŠKODA privateer Kajetan Kajetanowicz wins WRC 2 category and now shares lead in the

WRC 2 championship standings with Nikolay Gryazin, another ŠKODA privateer

Marmaris, 15 September 2019 – Despite a tire mishap on Saturday, Jan Kopecký and Pavel

Dresler (CZE/CZE) brought their ŠKODA FABIA R5 evo home second in the WRC 2 Pro

category at Rally Turkey Marmaris (12/09/–15/09/2019), eleventh round of the FIA World Rally

Championship. Their teammates Kalle Rovanperä and co-driver Jonne Halttunen (FIN/FIN),

after being forced to retire on Friday due to three punctures, re-started on Saturday. By

eventually finishing third in the category, they collected valuable points for ŠKODA in the

manufacturers’ WRC 2 Pro championship, at the same time consolidating their own lead in

the WRC 2 Pro drivers’ championship. Driving a ŠKODA FABIA R5, Kajetan Kajetanowicz

(POL) and co-driver Maciej Szczepaniak (POL) won the WRC 2 category for private teams

and are now leading the WRC 2 championship, tied on equal points with another private

ŠKODA crew, Nikolay Gryazin and Yaroslav Fedorov (RUS/RUS), who were not competing in

Turkey.

The Rally Turkey Marmaris again proved to be the toughest gravel rally of the FIA World Rally

Championship 2019 by far. 17 tests totalling 309.86 kilometres over gravel and stones – except the

short show stage in the city on Marmaris, which was on tarmac – were a true test for man and

machine.

Specially on the second run over the stages, loose stones covered the roads and sometimes the

drivers had to do a kind of slalom on the straights in order to avoid hitting them. Nevertheless, most

of the crews suffered punctures – and the ŠKODA works crews were no exception. For Kalle

Rovanperä and co-driver Jonne Halttunen (FIN/FIN) the fight for victory was already over on Friday

morning before it really had begun. During the second, they first had to change a flat tyre and then

suffered another puncture. On the next stage, they collected a flat tire again. With no spare wheel

left, they had to stop the car for the day on the road section. They re-started on Saturday with the

clear mission to bring the car to the finish and to collect points for the WRC 2 Pro category. The two

Finns delivered and safely reached the finish of the rally.

Jan Kopecký and co-driver Pavel Dresler found themselves in a solid lead of the WRC 2 Pro until

tire disaster hit them on Saturday afternoon, when they collected a puncture on their ŠKODA FABIA

R5 evo and had to change the wheel in the stage. The time loss was more than two minutes,

eventually costing the category lead. For the final Sunday leg, all Jan Kopecký and Pavel Dresler

could do, was to bring home second position in the WRC 2 Pro category – and so they did.

ŠKODA Motorsport boss Michal Hrabánek concluded: “This was clearly not the result we were

aiming for – we didn’t win after some tire mishap. But we got valuable points especially for the

manufacturers’ championship. I am satisfied that ŠKODA rally cars proved their legendary reliability

on the rough gravel roads in Turkey!”

In the WRC 2 category for private teams, Kajetan Kajetanowicz and co-driver Maciej Szczepaniak

delivered a stunning performance. Driving a ŠKODA FABIA R5, they won the category and climbed

to top spot in the championship standings. They share the lead tied on equal points with another

private ŠKODA crew, Nikolay Gryazin and Yaroslav Fedorov, who were not competing in Turkey.

Final Result Rally Turkey (WRC 2 Pro/WRC 2)

1. Greensmith/Edmondson (GBR/GBR), Ford Fiesta R5 MKII, 4:05:30.8 h*

2. Kopecký/Dresler (CZE/CZE), ŠKODA FABIA R5 evo, +29.4 sec.*

3. Kajetanowicz/Szczepaniak (POL/POL), ŠKODA FABIA R5, +29.6 sec.

4. Bulacia-Wilkinson/Cretu (BOL/ARG), ŠKODA FABIA R5, +2:09.5 min.

5. Andolfi/Inglesi (ITA/ITA), ŠKODA FABIA R5, +9:43.4 min.

*Factory nominated crews eligible to score points in the WRC 2 Pro category

Championship Standings WRC 2 Pro/Drivers (after 11 of 14 rounds)

1. Kalle Rovanperä (FIN), ŠKODA, 166 points

2. Gus Greensmith (GBR), Ford, 110 points

Mads Østberg (NOR), Citroën, 110 points

4. Jan Kopecký (CZE), ŠKODA, 79 points

5. Lukasz Pieniazek (POL), Ford, 74 points

Championship Standings WRC 2 Pro/Manufacturers (after 11 of 14 rounds)

1. ŠKODA, 257 points

2. Ford, 220 points

3. Citroën, 110 points

Number of the day: 11

From the originally 12 entered ŠKODA FABIA R5 and ŠKODA FABIA R5 evo, eleven made it to the

finish of Rally Turkey – a clear proof for the speed and robustness of the rally cars made in Mladá

Boleslav.

The calendar of the 2019 FIA World Rally Championship (WRC 2 Pro)

Event Date

Monte-Carlo 24/01/–27/01/2019

Sweden 14/02/–17/02/2019

Mexico 07/03/–10/03/2019

France 28/03/–31/03/2019

Argentina 25/04/–28/04/2019

Chile 09/05/–12/05/2019

Portugal 30/05/–02/06/2019

Italy 13/06/–16/06/2019

Finland 01/08/–04/08/2019

Germany 22/08/–25/08/2019

Turkey 12/09/–15/09/2019

Great Britain 03/10/–06/10/2019

Spain 24/10/–27/10/2019

Australia 14/11/–17/11/2019

ŠKODA Motorsport Overview

2018 was the most successful year in the history of ŠKODA Motorsport so far. Jan Kopecký/Pavel Dresler (CZE/CZE) became WRC 2 champions and managed to win the Czech Rally Championship (MČR) for the fourth consecutive time.

2017 WRC 2 winners Pontus Tidemand/Jonas Andersson finished second overall, and youngsters Kalle Rovanperä/ Jonne Halttunen (FIN/FIN) completed a pure ŠKODA podium in the final standings of the 2018 FIA World Rally Championship’s WRC 2 category. For the fourth time in a row ŠODA Motorsport won the WRC 2 Championship for Teams.

The success story of the Czech brand took place worldwide. The private ŠKODA driver Yuya Sumiyama and navigator Takahiro Yasui from Japan won the 2018 FIA Asia-Pacific Rally Championship (APRC), Manvir Singh Baryan/Drew Sturrock (KEN/GBR) took the title win in the FIA African Rally Championship (ARC). After winning the FIA South American Rally Championship (CODASUR) in 2013, 2016 and 2017, ŠKODA crew Gustavo Saba/Fernando Mussano (PRY/ARG) again were successful. On top of that, ŠKODA crews won 17 national championships.

The ŠKODA FABIA R5, a high-tech 4x4, was homologated by the International Automobile Federation FIA on 1 April 2015. ŠKODA’s new FABIA R5 is successfully continuing the long tradition of ŠODA Motorsport. Its predecessor, the FABIA SUPER 2000, won 50 national and international titles around the world.

ŠKODA has been successful on the motorsport scene since 1901. Be it on the circuit or in rallies, ŠKODA has celebrated victories and won titles all around the world. Historical highlights include winning the title in the FIA World Rally Championship (WRC 2) for the first time in 2016, numerous title wins in the FIA European Rally Championship (ERC), the FIA Asia-Pacific Rally Championship (APRC) and the Intercontinental Rally Challenge (IRC), as well as the victory in the European Touring Car Championship in 1981. ŠKODA teams have also triumphed in the world’s oldest and most famous rally, taking several class victories in the legendary Monte Carlo, which was first held in 1911.