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WRC2: Lappi Claims First WRC 2 Victory in New ŠKODA Fabia R5

Volkswagen Motorsport wasn’t the only team under the Volkswagen Group umbrella to be successful in Poland this past weekend.  ŠKODA’s Esapekka Lappi and Janne Ferm captured their first WRC2 victory behind the wheel of their all-new Fabia R5 after a commanding performance on the gravel roads of Rally Poland, traversing an estimated two thirds of the rally’s 300km flat-out.  The second works ŠKODA of Pontus Tidemand and Emil Axelsson finished in second place, helping ŠKODA earn 14 of 18 possible Special Stage victories.

Read the full Press Release below.

Special day for ŠKODA: Esapekka Lappi/Janne Ferm (FIN/FIN) claimed a historic first win for the new Fabia R5 in the FIA World Rally Championship (WRC 2).

The European champions produced a commanding display to triumph at the Rally Poland. The second works crew of Pontus Tidemand/Emil Axelsson (S/S) finished runner-up to complete a one-two at the flat-out festival in the Masurian lake district. The dominant ŠKODA drivers won 14 of 18 special stages in the Fabia R5. The maiden win came at the perfect location: ŠKODA has been the top-selling car brand in Poland for the last six years in a row.”What a day for ŠKODA! We claimed our first win in only the third WRC 2 start with the new Fabia R5. Compliments to both teams – Esapekka Lappi and Janne Ferm, and Pontus Tidemand and Emil Axelsson. They were flawless for four days, even in that heat,” said ŠKODA Motorsport Director Michal Hrabánek, beaming with joy. “We had seen indications of the potential of our new rally car with three podiums from the first two WRC 2 starts. The first victory is a great reward for the hard work put in by everyone at ŠKODA Motorsport. It also gives us extra incentive to continue doing everything we can to achieve success.”

The two ŠKODA drivers, Lappi and Tidemand, dominated the race on fast gravel roads with short asphalt sections, seemingly at will. About two thirds of the almost 300 kilometres against the clock were taken flat-out. The “Flying Finn” Esapekka Lappi moved into the lead on stage two, “Gorklo”, courtesy of the stage win and a spectacular average speed of 126.45 km/h, and never looked back. This was win number two at the Rally Poland for Lappi/Ferm. Back in 2012, when the event still belonged to the FIA European Rally Championship (ERC), the duo had triumphed on their debut for ŠKODA Motorsport.

“What an amazing win! Thank you to the ŠKODA team for doing a perfect job. The Fabia R5 was just brilliant,” said Lappi. “The win is also reward for a learning process. On Saturday and Sunday I managed to keep a cool head and control the race.” At the end of the 18 special stages, the 24-year-old had a 56.1-second lead over team-mate Tidemand. The speedy Swede won seven special stages at the Rally Poland, as did his team-mate Lappi. “Congratulations to Esapekka! He was in a class of his own at this rally. We did as well as we possibly could, claiming our second podium on our second outing with the new Fabia R5,” said Tidemand.

Lappi and Tidemand had previously guided the four-wheel drive turbo powered car to second and third place when the Fabia R5 made its WRC debut in Portugal. ŠKODA duo Jan Kopecký/Pavel Dresler (CZ/CZ) finished third in the WRC 2 class at the Rally Italy. Although ŠKODA has only competed at three of the season’s seven rounds so in the FIA World Rally Championship, the top two drivers are already within striking distance of WRC 2 leader Jari Ketomaa (FIN/67 points) who had to settle for fourth place in Poland. Lappi is currently fifth on 45 points, ahead of Tidemand on 43. Former European champion Armin Kremer, who finished fifth at the wheel of a ŠKODA Fabia R5 at the Rally Poland, has 34 points to his name already.

Lappi/Ferm have little time to celebrate their win in Poland. The successful pair are set to make a guest appearance in the Czech Rally Championship (MČR) next weekend. The Rally Bohemia is ŠKODA’s home event in the region around the company headquarters in Mladá Boleslav. After three wins from three starts in the national championship, ŠKODA works driver Jan Kopecký (CZ) and co-driver Pavel Dresler (CZ) have their sights set on continuing the Fabia R5’s winning run.

The new car tasted more success this weekend in the German Rally Championship (DRM): ŠKODA AUTO Deutschland driver Fabian Kreim (D) triumphed ahead of fellow ŠKODA driver Mark Wallenwein (D). This was the second one-two in a row for the new ŠKODA Fabia R5.

The post WRC2: Lappi Claims First WRC 2 Victory in New ŠKODA Fabia R5 appeared first on VWVortex.



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