WRC 2: Fabia R5 to Take on the Fastest Rally of the Year

Škoda’s Fabia R5 will be joining Volkswagen Motorsport’s Polo R WRC in Finland this weekend for the season’s fastest rally.  Rally Finland will give the Fabia R5 it’s toughest test yet, with average speeds of more than 100 kph and jumps that can launch a car more than 50 meters.  The event holds massive importance for Škoda driver Esapekka Lappi, as he is currently fifth in the drivers championship and trailing the lead car by 22 points, despite missing the first four events.

Next stop, Rally Finland: ŠKODA is hoping to add another chapter to the success story of the new Fabia R5 at the “Formula 1 in the forest.”

Three and a half weeks after the historic first WRC 2 victory for the new high-tech rally car, the ŠKODA works duos Esapekka Lappi/Janne Ferm (FIN/FIN) and Pontus Tidemand/Emil Axelsson (S/S) take on the fastest rally in the FIA World Rally Championship (WRC 2). In addition to a perfectly tuned car, the 319.38 kilometres of this rally demand courage and driving precision.

“The Rally Finland is undoubtedly one of the highlights of the year. It enthrals fans and drivers alike, because it has everything that rallying is about,” said ŠKODA Motorsport Director Michal Hrabánek. Its high average speed of well over 100 kilometres per hour and large sections driven at full throttle mean that the Rally Finland is also dubbed “Formula 1 in the forest”. Ideal terrain for the new ŠKODA Fabia R5 and the two works drivers Lappi and Tidemand, who brought home an acclaimed one-two victory at the Rally Poland, which is also extremely fast.

“This victory confirmed that we are on the right track with our new ŠKODA Fabia R5. But the success is no reason for us to rest on our laurels. Naturally we want to be up there fighting for podium spots again at the Rally Finland,” said Hrabánek. European Champions Lappi/Ferm are particularly motivated, after all the Rally Finland is an emotional home event for them. Many Finnish rally drivers became national heroes on legendary stages such as ‘Mökkiperä’ and ‘Myhinpää’.

After a year off, the legendary ‘Ouninpohja’ stage is back on the rally schedule this year; some of the drivers jump further than 50 metres in their cars on this stage. “Plenty of full throttle and long jumps: I love this rally in my home country,” said Lappi. “You need a lot of courage at the Rally Finland and can’t afford to make even a minor error. We are really looking forward to our home rally and want to delight the fans,” he said, with his sights set on another win: “Naturally we will try to bring home the next victory. The last rally in Poland demonstrated that the Fabia R5 has all the important qualities of a winning car.”
Pontus Tidemand is also a fan of the fast gravel tracks through the Finnish forests and past the proverbial 1000 lakes. “I drove onto the podium here as a junior, the high-speed passages and jumps are just magnificent. There probably won’t be much of a gap between the drivers. That means you need to find just the right mix of calculated risk and clever driving,” said ŠKODA’s second Scandinavian driver.

Both Lappi and Tidemand could continue to make up ground in the WRC overall standings with another top result at the Rally Finland. Although the two ŠKODA drivers have only contested three of the seven events of the season so far, they are already in fifth and sixth place. The new Fabia R5’s success rate is also impressive: In the WRC 2 classification of the FIA WRC, ŠKODA has already bagged five podium positions, including one win, in three starts.

In the Czech Rally Championship (MČR), Jan Kopecký (CZ) and co-driver Pavel Dresler (CZ) have celebrated four wins in four races with the new car so far. The most recent chapter in the success story: An acclaimed home victory at the 42nd Rally Bohemia in the region around ŠKODA headquarters in Mladá Boleslav.

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