Busy weekend in store for factory Skoda drivers

Skoda Motorsport drivers Juho Hanninen and Jan Kopecky are braced for busy weekends, even though the next round of the Intercontinental Rally Challenge is more than two weeks away.

Hanninen, the current IRC series leader, is contesting Rally Bohemia in Czech Republic, while team-mate Kopecky is taking part on Rally di San Marino, round four of the Italian Rally Championship.

Rally Bohemia, which forms part of the Czech Rally Championship, takes on added significance for Skoda. Not only is the rally centred in Mlada Boleslav, where Skoda is based, but the event will also mark the first time the new Fabia Super 2000 Facelift has competed in the Czech Republic following its debut victory in the hands of Freddy Loix on the Geko Ypres Rally last weekend.

Pavel Valousek, the current Czech championship leader, will also be at the wheel of a factory-supported Fabia S2000 Facelift on Rally Bohemia, albeit run under the Skoda Delimax banner.

Loix, meanwhile, is heading to the UK for the annual Goodwood Festival of Speed this weekend, where he will be demonstrating a Fabia S2000.