Rally Turkey: WRC 2 victory for ŠKODA’s Kopecký ŠKODA wins WRC 2 Championship for Teams

 

› ŠKODA works crew Jan Kopecký/Pavel Dresler made a big step forward in their attempt to become WRC 2 Champions by winning the category at Rally Turkey Marmaris

› ŠKODA Motorsport wins FIA WRC 2 Championship for Teams fourth time in a row

› ŠKODA strongest brand at Rally Turkey Marmaris with three FABIA R5 inside the top ten amongst much more powerful WRC cars

› Motorsport boss Michal Hrabánek: "Congratulations to Jan and Pavel. After some setbacks they proved a great moral and again delivered a faultless performance."

 

Marmaris, 16 September 2018 – ŠKODA factory crew Jan Kopecký/Pavel Dresler (CZE/CZE) made a big step forward to secure the WRC 2 title by winning the category at Rally Turkey Marmaris (13–16/09/2018), 10th round of the FIA World Rally Championship. Only their teammates Pontus Tidemand/Jonas Andersson (SWE/SWE) still could mathematically become champions as well, the next WRC 2 Champion will be one of these two ŠKODA factory drivers. On top of that, ŠKODA Motorsport for the fourth time in a row won the FIA WRC 2 Championship for Teams, this time three rallies before the season final (subject to official publication of the results by the FIA).

The Rally Turkey Marmaris offered ups and downs for the two ŠKODA factory crews. After the retirement of their teammates Pontus Tidemand/Jonas Andersson on Friday with a damaged ŠKODA FABIA R5, Jan Kopecký and co-driver Pavel Dresler had to recover from two punctures on Friday and transmission issues on Saturday on their way to victory. For the reigning Czech Rally Champions, a fantastic season continues.

Kopecký/Dresler won every rally they competed in 2018. They were successful at the WRC 2 rounds Rally Monte Carlo, Tour de Corse-Rallye de France, Rally Italia Sardinia, Rallye Deutschland and now Rally Turkey. By winning six rounds of the Czech Rally Championship, they also became prematurely national champions again. After Kopecký’s victory in Turkey, mathematically the next WRC 2 Champion could only be him or teammate Pontus Tidemand. On top of that, already three rallies before season’s end ŠKODA Motorsport won for the fourth time in a row the FIA WRC 2 Championship for Teams (subject to official publication of the results by the FIA).

With three FABIA R5 inside the top ten, amongst much more powerful WRC cars, ŠKODA was the strongest brand at Rally Turkey Marmaris. Henning Solberg and co-driver Ilka Minor (NOR/AUT), which were not registered for the WRC 2 Championship, drove their privately entered ŠKODA FABIA R5 to a sensational sixth place in the overall classification. WRC 2 winners Jan Kopecký/Pavel Dresler finished seventh overall, ŠKODA privateers Chris Ingram/Ross Whittock conquered third place of the WRC 2 category and finished in ninth position overall.

ŠKODA Motorsport boss Michal Hrabánek commented: "This fantastic result is a well deserved reward for the whole team. Congratulations to Jan and Pavel. After some setbacks they proved a great moral and again delivered a faultless performance."

Jan Kopecký was happy as well: "Many thanks to the team for giving me such a great ŠKODA FABIA R5, which withstood these tough gravel roads. Now Pavel and I are very close to crown our careers with the drivers’ title in the WRC 2 category."

Final Result Rally Turkey Marmaris (WRC 2)

1. Kopecký/Dresler (CZE/CZE), ŠKODA FABIA R5, 4:17:49.7 h

2. Tempestini/Itu (ROM/ROM), Citroën C3 R5, +1:11.9. min.

3. Ingram/Whittock (GBR/GBR), ŠKODA FABIA R5, +1:56.1 min.

4. Kajetanovicz/Szepaniak (POL/POL), Ford Fiesta R5, +2:48.7 min.

5. Heller/Olmos (CHL/CHL), Ford Fiesta R5, +7:41.2 min.

Current championship standings WRC 2 (after 10 of 13 rounds)

1. Jan Kopecký (CZE) ŠKODA, 125 points

2. Pontus Tidemand (SWE), ŠKODA, 93 points

3. Gus Greensmith (GBR), Ford, 55 points

Number of the day: 11

ŠKODA factory crew Jan Kopecký/Pavel Dresler won each of the eleven rallies they were competing in 2018, including five events in the WRC 2 category of the FIA World Rally Championship and five rounds of the Czech Rally Championship.

The calendar of the 2018 FIA World Rally Championship (WRC 2)

Event Date

Monte-Carlo 24/01/–28/01/2018

Sweden 15/02/–18/02/2018

Mexico 08/03/–11/03/2018

France 05/04/–08/04/2018

Argentina 26/04/–29/04/2018

Portugal 17/05/–20/05/2018

Italy 07/06/–10/06/2018

Finland 26/07/–29/07/2018

Germany 16/08/–19/08/2018

Turkey 13/09/–16/09/2018

Great Britain 04/10/–07/10/2018

Spain 25/10/–28/10/2018

Australia 15/11/–18/11/2018

ŠKODA Motorsport Overview

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.

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 ŠKODA Motorsport. Its predecessor, the FABIA SUPER 2000, won 50 national and international titles around the world. In the FIA World Rally Championship (WRC 2) 2016, Esapekka Lappi/Janne Ferm (FIN/FIN) won the title for the Czech car maker. In total, ten of the 2016 season’s races in the World Rally Championship were won by a ŠKODA FABIA R5. ŠKODA drivers Gustavo Saba (PRY) and Gaurav Gill (IND) also won the continental championships in South America and the Asia-Pacific region at the wheel of the successful ŠKODA FABIA R5. Nasser Al-Attiyah (QAT) was unbeatable in the Middle East Rally Championship (MERC), while a further ten national titles also went the way of ŠKODA drivers.

2017 was the most successful year in the history of ŠKODA Motorsport. Works duo Pontus Tidemand/Jonas Andersson (S/S) became WRC 2 Champions, ŠKODA Motorsport won the Team Championship. Jan Kopecký/Pavel Dresler (CZ/CZ) won the Czech Rally Championship (MČR) for the third time in a row and are the spearhead of in total 14 crews winning their country’s national titles. Furthermore the FIA Asia-Pacific Rally Championship (APRC), the FIA South American Rally Championship (CODASUR) and the FIA African Rally Championship (ARC) have been won by teams competing in a ŠKODA FABIA R5. In 2018 Jan Kopecký/Pavel Dresler (CZ/CZ) managed to win the Czech Rally Championship (MČR) for the fourth consecutive time.