Prokop confirms 2014 return

Leading privateer Martin Prokop has confirmed a 12-round programme in the 2014 World Rally Championship at the wheel of a Ford Fiesta RS WRC.

In his third season driving in a world rally car, the 31-year-old Czech will miss just Rally Australia and will be co-driven once again by Michal Ernst.

“Although the competition will be major again, we are confident enough to defend the results from this season and finish again at the top 10. That would be a fantastic result for us as privateers among the four factory teams,” said Prokop, whose best result in 2013 was fourth at Rallye Deutschland.

“In the last three races of the season 2013 we made significant progress in the car set-up and driving style, so we were able to reduce the gap from the absolute top of the field,” he added.

Prokop’s Jipocar Czech National Team will be registered to score points in the FIA Manufacturers’ Championship, and the squad is likely to run two Fiesta RS WRC cars on more than half of the rallies in 2014.

Slovakian Jaroslav Melichárek, 35, will drive the second car at Rallye Monte-Carlo, and is expected to make five further appearances during the season.