IRC heroes dominate Austrian snow rally

Intercontinental Rally Challenge aces Jan Kopecký and Juho Hänninen have dominated the Jänner Rallye, which took place in Austria on Friday and Saturday, finishing first and second in their ŠKODA Motorsport Fabia Super 2000s.

Based in Friestadt near Linz, the event counted as the opening round of the European, Czech and Austrian championships, and was subjected to wintry weather conditions with snow and ice a factor throughout.

Kopecký and co-driver Pavel Dresler finished first with Hänninen and Mikko Markkula 40.1s behind in second.

“The conditions were rough throughout this event, but our performance gradually got better,” said Kopecký, who hails from Czech Republic. “I’d like to thank the whole team for preparing the car perfectly.”

Hänninen was one of the stars on the opening day of the event. After dropping to 16th overall cleaning the opening stages of loose-surface snow, the Finn fought back to first position at the overnight halt.

Starting first on the road on day two Hänninen again had to ‘clean’ overnight snow from the stage surface, which allowed Kopecký to take advantage and move ahead.

“We started day two as the leaders, but the heavy snowfall had a negative impact on our speed,” said the 2010 IRC champion.

Beppo Harrach, who scored IRC points on last September’s Canon Mecsek Rallye, finished third in his Ralliart Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX. Pavel Valoušek, a podium finisher in the IRC in the past, finished sixth in a Peugeot 207 Super 2000.