Kopecký rules out Madeira victory bid

Jan Kopecký says he has “no chance” of winning Rali Vinho Madeira, which gets underway with a special stage along Funchal’s seafront tonight (Thursday).

The factory Škoda Motorsport driver has never competed on the asphalt event before and admits his lack of knowledge of the tight and twisty island roads will rule out a bid for a second victory in this season’s Intercontinental Rally Challenge.

“For me I have no chance and would honestly be very happy with a podium,” said the Czech driver. “We saw with Kris [Meeke] last season that he lost a lot of time on the first pass of the stages because it was his first time here. It will be the same situation for me.”

Kopecký, who joined his Škoda team-mates Juha Hänninen and Freddy Loix on a short test in Madeira on Wednesday, said he was happy with the set-up of his Fabia S2000 Facelift following Thursday morning’s shakedown.

“I am happy with the handling of the car but it’s a very difficult rally,” said the 28-year-old. “You have some twisty places, fast places and some where the road is wide. It is not easy.”

Kopecký is nine points behind Hänninen after the first seven rounds of the season.