Kopecký says there’s more speed to come

Jan Kopecký says he has no concerns following his cautious start to Rallye Sanremo this afternoon.

The Czech driver is 14.8s off the lead in his Škoda Motorsport Fabia Super 2000 after the opening two stages, but put his slower than usual times down to a cautious approach rather than a specific problem.

“I was fast on the first stage here last year then stopped on the second stage so I didn’t want that to happen again and tried to drive at a correct speed without making mistakes,” said Kopecký. “I’m also missing the experience of these stages so it was not so easy to go flat-out.

“It was quite slippery in places but I hope there is more speed to come, I’m sure there is.”

Kopecký is currently second in the Intercontinental Rally Challenge drivers’ standings. He must finish inside the top four if team-mate and title rival Juho Hänninen can get ahead of Paolo Andreucci into second place to keep the championship battle alive.