Minimum 11 rounds for privateer Prokop

Martin Prokop will be in the hunt to become the top privateer in the FIA World Rally Championship next season when he undertakes what could amount to a 13-round schedule in a Jipocar Czech National Team Ford Fiesta RS WRC.

Prokop is set to contest all 10 European-based events plus Rally Guanajuato Mexico in March, while the other two flyaway rounds in Argentina and Australia are subject to results and finances.

He now hopes to hit back from a frustrating end to 2012 with a strong sequence of results from January’s Rallye Monte-Carlo onwards.

“Of course I was pleased with how last season started but the second half was not so good after the fire [destroyed one of our cars] in Germany,” Prokop told WRC.com. “When you are a small team these things can happen. Last year was a learning season but we start next season with all the data from this season and that will be important although we will only have one car.”

In terms of his target for 2013, Prokop said: “Some of the guys I was racing against in 2012 are going to a higher level next year and will no longer be privateers. But it’s good Juho Hanninen is coming. I raced against him in 2011 and it will be good to compete against him next year.”

Prokop, who finished ninth in the 2012 standings, will continue with co-driver Michal Ernst in 2013. Ernst navigated his fellow Czech on RallyRACC-Rally de Espana last month having previously formed part of Prokop’s gravel crew. Prokop has secured a partnership with tyre firm DMACK.