Category: WRC, Rally

Bastia, April 7: ŠKODA factory team Jan Kopecký and co-driver Pavel Dresler (CZE/CZE) continue to dominate the WRC2 category at Rally France / Tour de Corse. Their young Norwegian team-mates Ole Christian Veiby and Stig Rune Skjaermœn after a tense fight were second in the provisional category standings going into the last stage of the Saturday leg. Albeit, when their gearbox got stuck in first gear they dropped to third place behind Italian ŠKODA privateer Fabio Andolfi.

The first special stage on early Saturday morning was a tough wake-up call for the crews. More than 35 Kms had to be driven in the north of Corsica. Veiby was fully awake and scored his first WRC2 fastest time on the fifth stage of the rally while Kopecký consolidated his category lead.

“This was a very good start for us, but the stage was very tricky. Maybe I was at the end too cautious. But going into the corners, you always have to keep an eye for surprising gravel on the road,” commented Kopecký.

Veiby was happy after his first WRC2 stage win on an asphalt event of the FIA World Rally Championship. “I found a really nice rhythm and I just kept pushing,” smiled Veiby at the end of the first morning stage. And his rhythm also led him to the next fastest time in special stage number six, while WRC2 category leader Kopecký fought back with the fastest time on the following one.

After the regrouping in Bastia, the ŠKODA crews had to face the repetition of the morning stages and proved again their speed on the Mediterranean Island. On the second pass of the longest stage of the day, the 35 Kms, Kopecký was quickest in front of Veiby who moved into second position after a tense fight in the WRC2 category.

On the next two stages, Czech champion Kopecký was fastest again, while on the last stage of the day the gearbox of Veiby’s ŠKODA FABIA R5 got stuck in first gear. The time loss cost him the possible second place in the WRC2 category.

ŠKODA Motorsport boss Michal Hrabánek emphasized: “Again, a great drive of Jan, who had no issues with his ŠKODA FABIA R5 and drove fast and faultlessly. Sorry for OC, that bad luck put him out of the fight for second place. We will fix his car at the final service. The rally is not over yet. Still a long way to go on Sunday is still a long way to go.”

On the final day of the rally, the longest stage is waiting for the crews. More than 55Kms have to be driven on winding mountain roads before the rally-ending Power Stage, covering around 16Kms, will bring the final decision.

Standings Rally Corsica after Day 2 (WRC2):

1. Kopecký / Dresler (CZE/CZE), ŠKODA FABIA R5, 2hrs, 51mins, 30.6secs; 2. Andolfi / Scattolin (ITA/ITA), ŠKODA FABIA R5, +3:04.3 min; 3. Veiby / Skjaermœn (NOR/NOR), ŠKODA FABIA R5, +3:49.9 min; 4. Bonato / Boulloud (FRA/FRA), Citroën C3 R5, +7:05.9 sec; 5. Pieniazek / Mazur (POL/POL), ŠKODA FABIA R5, +12:08.9 min.

SKODA AUTO Press Release

Bastia (Corsica), April 7: ŠKODA factory team of Jan Kopecký and co-driver Pavel Dresler (CZE/CZE) took the lead in the WRC 2 category at Rally France / Tour de Corse after the first Special Stage and defended it up to the finish of Leg One, here on Friday in the fourth round of the FIA World Rally Championship. Their young Norwegian teammates Ole Christian Veiby and Stig Rune Skjaermoen  lost some time with two spins, but nevertheless defended third position.

On the opening stage of the Rally France on Friday, the crews had to face nearly 50 Kms with endless corners and virtually no straights between La Porta and Valle de Rostino in the northeast of Corsica. Heavy rainfall on Wednesday before the rally had put all kinds of dirt on the tarmac roads and in some corners water puddles made the road conditions unpredictable.

“The first stage was very good for us, but it was very tricky as well. There was some running water on the road, which was not there when we made our pace notes. As we are not allowed to have gravel crews who check the roads before we are driving, the roads are a bit unpredictable in some corners. So I took a cautious approach,” confessed Kopecký. The ŠKODA factory driver was nevertheless fastest on the opening special stage, which put him into the lead after the morning loop.

While their competitors had technical issues or went off the road, both ŠKODA works teams where happy with their ŠKODA FABIA R5, which were reliable as always. “I had a spin in a hairpin in the first stage. On some places, there was a lot of mud and water, the grip changed all the time. So I decided to be careful,” said young Veiby, who was in third position of the WRC 2 category.

After the service at midday, the afternoon saw the repetition of the two morning stages. Kopecký set another fastest time, increased his lead and after the four Friday stages, was quite happy with his performance: “It was much better this afternoon, the roads were drier and I could push a lot more.” Veiby had another spin, but could nevertheless defend his third position after the first leg on Friday.

ŠKODA Motorsport boss Michal Hrabánek was satisfied with the first day: “This is really a tough test for men and machine on winding asphalt roads. I am happy that our updated ŠKODA FABIA R5 was reliable and fast like our drivers. Jan proved again his pure speed on tarmac and OC is learning with every kilometre here in Corsica,” said Hrabánek.

Saturday will feature the longest leg of the rally. The crews have to face six Special Stages covering more than 136 Kms.

Standings Rally Corsica after Day 1 (WRC 2):

1. Kopecký / Dresler (CZE/CZE), ŠKODA FABIA R5, 01hrs, 24mins, 07.0secs; 2. Bonato / Boulloud, (FRA/FRA), Citroën C3 R5, +20.8 sec; 3. Veiby / Skjaermoen (NOR/NOR), ŠKODA FABIA R5, +1:07.9 min; 4. Lefebvre / Moreau, (FRA/FRA), Citroën C3 R5, +1:10.4 min; 5. Loubet / Landais (FRA/FRA), Hyundai i20, +1:17.3 min; 6. Andolfi / Scattolin (ITA/ITA), ŠKODA FABIA R5, +1:25.7 min.

Skoda Auto Press Release

Mladá Boleslav, March 30: For the first time in the 2018 season of the FIA World Rally Championship, ŠKODA Motorsport factory crews Jan Kopecký / Pavel Dresler (CZE/CZE) and Ole Christian Veiby / Stig Rune Skjaermœn (NOR / NOR) face pure tarmac roads on the fourth round of the WRC 2, the Rally France / Tour de Corse (April 5-8), also known as the “Rally of the 10.000 corners”.

While Kopecký and Veiby successfully honed their tarmac driving skills in the opening round of the Czech Championship, the Rally Valašská, two weeks before, the ŠKODA FABIA R5 got an engine upgrade, improving engine power, performance and torque.

Kopecký said: “I finished second in the WRC 2 category in Corsica in 2016. And in 2011, 2012 and 2013 I also achieved a second place each time. Last year, I had some power steering issues, which cost me the chance to fight for a podium result. Now I want to take a revenge for last year’s mishap.”

Ahead of the Tour de Corse, the Czech champion prepared himself with a special asphalt warm-up, scoring a dominant win with his ŠKODA FABIA R5 at the first round of the Czech Rally Championship 2018, the Rally Valašská.

Kopecký, who won the WRC 2 category at Rally Monte Carlo, the opening round of the 2018 FIA World Rally Championship (WRC), could take the lead in the 2018 WRC 2 championship standings by winning in Corsica.

Team-mates Ole Christian Veiby and co-driver Stig Rune Skjaermœn prepared themselves as well on the Rally Valašská by finishing in third place. “I did not compete on tarmac since the Tour de Corse last year, so it was a welcome experience to get the feeling again for the ŠKODA FABIA R5 on asphalt. After my fifth place in 2017, I want to achieve another top result,” said Veiby.

Not only the crews but also the ŠKODA FABIA R5 are travelling well prepared to the Mediterranean island. To maintain the global success of the ŠKODA FABIA R5, the ŠKODA Motorsport recently upgraded the currently most successful rally car in its category.

ŠKODA Motorsport boss Michal Hrabánek explains: “In the past, our work on the ŠKODA FABIA R5 focused on reliability. As a result, none of the factory cars had to retire due to technical issues so far. Thanks to the presence of our works team in the FIA World Rally Championship, we got the experience to continuously develop the car making the FABIA R5 the best car in its category.

“In 2018, we are facing new R5 cars from our competitors. As a result, we are now offering an engine upgrade to our customer teams which improves torque, power output, drivability and the throttle response of the engine. At the Tour de Corse, Jan and OC will benefit from this upgrade which offers on top of that nine horse powers more.”

The Rally France / Tour de Corse features only 12 timed stages which are notorious for their length and the fact that virtually no straight is longer than 50 metres. Hence, the organisers call it the “Rally of the 10.000 corners”. Nevertheless, the competitive mileage sums up to more than 333 kms.

On Sunday, the penultimate monster test Vero – Sarrola – Carcopino will bring men and machine to their limits on a grueling, non-stop sequence of corners over more than 55 Kms. The winner will reach the island’s capital Ajaccio at 3 pm on the “Place du Diamant”.

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 4×4, 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, 10 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 10 national titles also went the way of ŠKODA drivers.

The 2017 season was the most successful year in the history of ŠKODA Motorsport. Works duo Pontus Tidemand / Jonas Andersson (Swe/Swe) 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.

ŠKODA AUTO

• Is one of the longest-established vehicle manufacturers in the World. The company was founded in 1895 during the pioneering days of the automobile. Today, the company’s headquarters remain in Mladá Boleslav
• Offers the following models in the range: CITIGO, FABIA, RAPID, OCTAVIA, KAROQ, KODIAQ and SUPERB
• In 2017, delivered more than 1,2 million vehicles to customers Worldwide
• Has belonged to Volkswagen Group since 1991. The Volkswagen Group is one of the most successful vehicle manufacturers in the world. ŠKODA, in association with the Group, independently manufactures and develops vehicles, as well as components, engines and gear transmissions
• Operates at three locations in the Czech Republic, produces in China, Russia, Slovakia, Algeria and India mainly through Group partnerships, as well as in Ukraine and Kazakhstan through local partners
• Employs over 35,000 people globally and is active in more than 100 markets

Skoda Motorsport release

Jaisalmer, March 23: It was virtually a weekend cruise for Abhishek Mishra and South African Aaron Mare who expectedly won the titles in the Xtreme (4-wheelers) and MOTO (2-wheelers) categories, respectively, as the Maruti Suzuki Desert Storm concluded here on Friday evening.

Mishra and co-driver Venu Rameshkumar, enjoying a comfortable overnight lead, did not push their Maruti Suzuki Grand Vitara in completing the rally’s final Stage of 25 Kms today to pocket the title.

Finishing second behind Mishra was local challenger Raj Singh Rathore (co-driver Sagar Mallappa) while Niju Padia (Nirav Mehta) of Desert Raiders completed the podium in the Overall classification.

Rathore, along with Padia and Vinam Jain (Karan Malik) of Wanderers Adventure team took the top three spots in the T2 (1350cc) class.

Earlier, Mare of Ang’ata Racing, nursed his ailing KTM 450 which was suffering an internal oil leak, to the finish line without any mishap to win the crown from TVS Racing’s Spanish rider Santolino Lorenzo. Mare’s team-mate Sanjay Kumar came in third to underline Ang’ata Racing’s domination.

Incidentally, the week-long event which covered a total distance of 2,500 Kms with 900 Kms of competitive section, claimed some big names, including four-wheeler defending champion Suresh Rana of Team Maruti Suzuki Motorsport and Nataraj Rajanna of TVS Racing, last year’s MOTO winner besides Hero Motorsport’s CS Santosh who was the hot favourite for the Moto title.

Final results:

Xtreme (Overall): 1. Abhishek Mishra / Venu Rameshkumar (T1) (11hrs, 15mins, 54secs); 2. Raj Singh Rathore / Sagar Mallappa (T2) (11:50:36); 3. Niju Padia / Nirav Mehta (Desert Raiders, T2) (12:35:40); 4. Vinam Jain / Karan Malik (Wanderers Adventure, T2) (12:41:58); 5. Harpreet Bawa / Vikram Thakur (Harjee Motorsport, T1) (12:52:55); 6. Capt AVS Gill / Diwakar Kalia (T2) (13:23:50); 7. Narayan Balan / Chirag Thakur (Desert Raiders, T1) (14:30:58).

MOTO (Overall): 1. Aaron Mare (Ang’ata Racing, Group A) (08:01:20); 2. Santolino Lorenzo (TVS Racing, Gr A) (08:06:39); 3. Sanjay Kumar (Ang’ata Racing, Gr A) (08:39:09). Group B (250-500cc): 1. Vijendra Waghela (14:06:37); 2. Rajeev Wadhwa (20:16:46)

Group C (Above 260cc): 1. Mohan Lal Sharma (12:47:15). Group C (165-210cc): 1. Yuva Kumar (13:17:34); 2. Deepak Naidu (17:23:09); 3. Ashok Kumar (18:28:13). Group C (210-260cc): 1. Vishal Das (18:33:07).

Jaisalmer, March 23: Overnight leaders Abhishek Mishra and co-driver Venu Ramesh Kumar (Xtreme) and Aaron Mare of Aga’nta Racing (Moto) moved closer to winning the titles in their respective categories at the end of Leg 4 of the 2018 Maruti Suzuki Desert Storm cross-country rally, here on Thursday. With one short stage of 25 km to be run in the fifth leg, it is almost assured that the frontrunners will seal the titles.

According to the partial provisional standings, which might change after the calculation of the final penalties, Mishra, piloting the Maruti Suzuki Grand Vitara, leads the field by more than 15 minutes with a total time of 11 hours, 15 minutes, 54 seconds.

Raj Singh Rathore (co-driver Sagar Mallappa) is currently lying in second place with a total time 11:30:57, ahead of Vinam Jain (Karan Malik) of Wanderers Adventure team (12:20:21).

The fourth leg turned out to be hard for Maruti Suzuki Motorsports as their last two remaining cars failed to make it home after the finish of Leg 4A. Sandeep Sharma, driving a prototype four-wheel drive S-Cross, ground to a halt in the morning stages with a damaged radiator.

Dharampal Jhangra, driving yet another prototype four-wheel drive, Vitara Brezza, suffered a turbo failure that forced him to stop in the middle of his run.

There was no such trouble for Mishra, as he won the two morning stages by a comfortable margin before repeating his show in the night stages that were part of Leg 4B.

In the Moto class, the night stages were canceled in the interest of rider safety. Instead, the organizers, Northern Motorsports, ran three stages in the morning to mark the completion of Leg 4 in the Moto class.

Though South African Mare, by the virtue of good show in the previous legs, maintained his overall lead according to the partial provisional standing, it was Spaniard Santalino Lorenzo of TVS Racing who was the star of the day as he won all the three stages to cut into Mare’s overnight lead.

Going into the final stage, Mare leads the timesheets with a total time of 07:44:22 while Lorenzo is in second place (07:49:43), while Sanjay Kumar, also of Ang’ata Racing, is (08:18:56).

But it’s still not over for Mare. It has been reported that his KTM 450 is suffering from an internal oil leak, while Kumar is dealing with gearbox issues with his bike stuck in third gear.

With just 25 kms left in the rally, the game is still wide open in the Moto class. The fourth leg turned out to be troublesome for TVS Racing as Tanveer Abdul Wahid was forced to retire with mechanical issues.

Jaisalmer, March 23: The Leg 3 of the Maruti Suzuki Desert Storm turned out to be a graveyard of machinery as Abhishek Mishra and co-driver Venu Ramesh Kumar took a firm grip in the four-wheeler category after defending champion Suresh Rana (co-driver PV Srinivas Murthy) packed up while Aaron Mare increased his lead in the two-wheeler section after favourite CS Santosh crashed out.

Though Santosh (Hero Motorsport) completed the stage in second position, he subsequently retired with a neck injury and did not take the start for Leg 4 on Thursday.

In a dramatic turn of events, the 200-Kms long Special Stage witnessed a trail of havoc with retirements galore. Rana, the standard-bearer of Maruti Suzuki Motorsport team, retired with a blown engine. His retirement pushed local challenger Raj Singh (co-driver Sagar Mallappa) into second place, some 22 minutes behind Abhishek Mishra. Maruti Suzuki Motor Sport’s Dharmpal Jangra (Harikrishnan) were running third.

Thus, only 21 cars were in the hunt in the rally at the start of Leg 4 which is probably the toughest section as the competitors have to navigate through four Stages that commenced at 6 am today and the run will conclude only in the early hours of Friday!

Even as law of averages caught up with Rana, a multiple cross-country rally winner, including the Raid de Himalaya and Dakshin Dare, the two-wheeler section continued to reel with a clutch of retirements.

Santosh of Hero Motorsport, who enjoyed a healthy lead at the end of Leg 2, fell heavily at the 44^th km mark on Wednesday, but completed the 200Kms long Stage while nursing a neck injury. However, on Thursday morning, he opted not to take the start and retired in view of the injury.

Santosh’s shock retirement meant Aaron Mare of Angata Racing taking a sizeable lead of over 13 minutes over TVS Racing’s Spanish rider Santolino Lorenzo. In third place was Mare’s team-mate Sanjay Kumar, a further seven minutes adrift.

The scheduled night stage on Thursday for two-wheelers has since been cancelled in view of the difficulties experienced by the riders in reading the road book in the dark, and thus losing their way in the desert.

Provisional classification (Xtreme, After Leg 3):

4 Wheelers (Overall): 1. Abhishek Mishra / Venu Ramesh Kumar (T1 class) (06hrs, 55mins, 38secs); 2. Raj Singh Rathore / Sagar Mallappa (T2) (07:21:55); 3. Dharmpal Jangra / Harikrishnan (Maruti Suzuki Motorsport, T1) (07:31:58); 4. Niju Padia / Nirav Mehta (Desert Raiders, T2) (07:32:34); 5. Sandeep Sharma / Karan Arya (Maruti Suzuki Motorsport, T1) (07:38:59); 6. Vinam Jain / Karan Malik (Wanderers Adventure, T2) (07:45:10).

Moto (2W): 1. Aaron Mare (Angata Racing, Group A) (05:29:39); 2. CS Santosh (Hero Motorsport, Gr A) (05:36:43)*; 3. Santolino Lorenzo (TVS Racing, Gr A) (05:42:49); 4. Sanjay Kumar (Angata Racing, Gr A) (05:49:05); 5. Tanveer Abdul Waheed (TVS Racing, Gr A) (06:00:40); 6. Ashish Raorane (Gr A) (06:55:47). *Santosh subsequently retired and did not take start for Leg 4 on Thursday.

Group B (250-500cc): 1. Virendra Waghela (08:56:11); 2. Rajeev Wadhwa (13:36:33). Group C (165-250cc): 1. Yuva Kumar (08:30:16). Above 260cc: 1. Mohan Lal Sharma (08:31:06). Gr C (165-210cc): 1. Deepak Naidu (11:02:03). Gr C (210-260cc): 1. Vishal Das (12:13:27). Quad (Group D): 1. Anand Sharma (12:56:23).

Jaisalmer, March 21: Abhishek Mishra and co-driver Venu Ramesh Kumar moved to the front among four-wheelers while CS Santosh extended his domination in the two-wheeler category at the end of Leg 2 on Tuesday night in the Maruti Suzuki Desert Storm, India’s premier cross-country rally.

Mishra, who trailed defending champion and Maruti Suzuki Motorsport’s Suresh Rana (co-driver PV Srinivas Murthy) by 33 seconds at the end of Leg 1 in Bikaner on Monday night, not only made up the deficit but also jumped to a 38-second lead to set up a titanic clash for honours.

In contrast, Santosh of the Dakar fame, stamped his authority and class in the two-wheeler section by extending his overnight lead by over two minutes, going into the third day of the event in Rajasthan’s Thar desert.

Trailing Santosh were two Angata Racing team pair of Aaron mare and Sanjay Kumar. The duo finished Leg 2 ahead of TVS Racing mates Santolino Lorenzo and Tanveer Abdul Waheed while Ashish Raorane completed the top six.

It is still early days in the Desert Storm as the toughest part of the cross-country race is yet to come with a couple of long Stages, including a night run, scheduled as the competitors headed into Jaisalmer where the remainder of the rally will be run before it concludes later this week.

Provisional classification (Xtreme, After Leg 2):

4 Wheelers (Overall): 1. Abhishek Mishra / Venu Ramesh Kumar (T1 class) (03hrs, 44mins, 07secs); 2. Suresh Rana / PV Srinivas Murthy (Maruti Suzuki Motorsport, T1) (03:44:45); 3. Raj Singh Rathore / Sagar Mallappa (T2) (03:53:11); 4. Gaurav Chirpal / Srikanth Gowda (T1) (04:01:05); 5. Samrat Yadav / Syed Najeeb Nizami (Maruti Suzuki Motorsport, T1) (04:09:10); 6. Sandeep Sharma / Karan Arya (Maruti Suzuki Motorsport, T1) (04:10:05).

4 Wheelers (T2): 1. Rathore / Mallappa (03:53:11); 2. Himanshu Arora / Kunal Kashyap (Harjee Motorsport) (04:13:27); 3. Niju Padia / Nirav Mehta (Desert Raiders) (04:15:41).

Moto (2W): 1. CS Santosh (Group A) (03:03:06); 2. Aaron Mare (Angata Racing, Gr A) (03:05:20); 3. Sanjay Kumar (Angata Racing, Gr A) (03:21:27); 4. Santolino Lorenzo (TVS Racing, Gr A) (03:27:01); 5. Tanveer Abdul Waheed (TVS Racing, Gr A) (03:27:28); 6. Ashish Raorane (Gr A) (03:56:10).

Group B (Up to 250cc): 1. Rajendra RE (TVS Racing) (04:10:31); 2. Imran Pasha (TVS Racing) (04:32:42); 3. Santosh Vishnoi (05:47:19). Gr B (250-500cc): 1. Virendra Waghela (04:53:55); 2. Neeraj Samrath N (05:56:17); 3. Rajeev Wadhwa (07:03:38).

Group C (165-250cc): 1. Yuva Kumar (04:42:08). Above 260cc: 1. Mohan Lal Sharma (05:01:51). Gr C (130-165cc): 1. Rajesh Jangid (05:58:34). Gr C (165-210cc): 1. Deepak Naidu (06:17:38). Quad (Group D): 1. Anand Sharma (06:24:51).