Skoda ace Kopecky plots Zlin revenge

"This is our home rally, and I and Petr are looking forward to it very much"

By Franck Drui

25 August 2011 - 14:55
Skoda ace Kopecky plots Zlin revenge

Jan Kopecky starts Barum Czech Rally Zlin this week, round seven of the Intercontinental Rally Challenge, determined to make up for the disappointment of last season when he crashed out while leading on the final day of the event.

The Czech hero, the winner in Zlin in 2009, is second in the IRC drivers’ standings and determined to end his winless streak in the series, which stretches back to May 2010.
Kopecky, who is co-driven in his SKODA Motorsport Fabia Super 2000 by countryman Petr Stary, said: “This is our home rally, and I and Petr are looking forward to it very much. We were the fastest crew here in the last two years, but we had bad luck last year and flew off the track. We expect strong support from our great fans, but we know we will be under pressure, because we are expected to succeed here.”

Team-mate Juho Hanninen, the current IRC leader, is expected to run at the front on the challenging asphalt event. The Finn said: “We have been doing well at the Barum Rally over the past few years, and we want to continue this trend. This is a difficult rally with many tricky places and one of the climaxes of the season, one of the reasons being the great fans here.”

A total of 14 Fabia S2000s will be in action on Barum Czech Rally Zlin, which gets underway with the first of 15 stages on Friday night (26 August).

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