ŠKODA Motorsport starts delivery of new rally car ŠKODA FABIA R5 evo
› Handing over of the new ŠKODA FABIA R5 evo to customer teams has already begun
Toni Gardemeister Services (TGS) received the first vehicle delivered to a customer team
in Mladá Boleslav
› ŠKODA Motorsport boss Michal Hrabánek: “The demand is high and we are working hard
to deliver the new ŠKODA FABIA R5 evo as soon as possible!”
Mladá Boleslav, 18 July 2019 – Roughly 280 first generation ŠKODA FABIA R5 have been
sold after the homologation on 1 April 2015. The new ŠKODA FABIA R5 evo follows in the
footsteps of its predecessor, which is the most successful rally car in its category so far.
Toni Gardemeister, former works driver for ŠKODA Motorsport and team owner of TGS
Worldwide, received the very first ŠKODA FABIA R5 evo delivered to a customer team.
The new ŠKODA FABIA R5 evo already had a successful competition debut in the hands of factory
teams Kalle Rovanperä/Jonne Halttunen and Jan Kopecký/Pavel Dresler. ŠKODA Motorsport
scored double victories in the WRC 2 Pro category at the 2019 FIA World Rally Championship
rounds in Portugal and Sardinia. Now the new rally car from Mladá Boleslav is ready to be delivered
to the customers of ŠKODA Motorsport, too.
ŠKODA Motorsport boss Michal Hrabánek emphasizes: “The improved ŠKODA FABIA R5 evo is a
follow-up of our successful R5 project. After an extended test program under challenging conditions
we had a successful and promising start. During the first rallies, we encountered no technical
issues at all and achieved two double victories in the WRC 2 Pro category of the World Rally
Championship. Now we start to deliver the very reliable and competitive rally car to our customers.”
Hrabánek adds: “We are now working hard to manage the high demand of the new ŠKODA FABIA
R5 evo and to build as many cars as possible for our customers. Before we delivered the first
customer cars, we made sure to establish a sustainable supply chain for the necessary spare
parts.”
The updated ŠKODA FABIA R5 adopts key design elements of the 2019 ŠKODA FABIA road car
such as the headlights and a shaped vehicle front, at the same time getting important technical
improvements. The optimization has touched technical key components. The rally car features
improved engine performance and reliability in comparison with the current version. The 1.6-litre
turbo charged engine was upgraded improving power output and engine response.
First ŠKODA FABIA R5 evo delivered to Team Toni Gardemeister Services (TGS)
Team Toni Gardemeister Services (TGS) was the first customer team to receive a ŠKODA FABIA
R5 evo from Šárka Králová (responsible for customer program at ŠKODA Motorsport) in Mladá
Boleslav. Toni Gardemeister is looking forward to the first event with the new car: “I had successful
rallies with the ŠKODA FABIA S2000 and the ŠKODA FABIA R5, I am happy about the good
cooperation with ŠKODA Motorsport and proud to be the first customer team to receive the new
ŠKODA FABIA R5 evo!”
Toni Gardemeister, TGS Worldwide and ŠKODA have been a successful combination already in
the past. From 2002 to 2004, Gardemeister was competing as a factory driver for ŠKODA
Motorsport in the FIA World Rally Championship with ŠKODA OCTAVIA WRC and ŠKODA FABIA
WRC, respectively. In 2011, he drove a ŠKODA FABIA S2000, operated by his own team, Toni
Gardemeister Services (TGS), in the Intercontinental Rally Challenge (IRC). With a ŠKODA
FABIA R5 from TGS, current ŠKODA works driver Kalle Rovanperä achieved his first successes in
2017.
The car will be competing with promising Finn Eerik Pietarinen at the wheel at the upcoming Rally
Finland (01/08/–04/08/2019), where he is nominated to score points in the WRC 2 Pro category by
the SKODA Motorsport team.
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
