Featuring high-speed forest sections, narrow stretches through villages, bumpy and sometimes broken roads, plus unpredictable weather, Barum Czech Rally Zlín has tested the ERC stars and their cars since 1984.

Forty-seven crews have entered round six of the 2025 ERC season including 11-time Barum Czech Rally Zlín winner Jan Kopecký, the 2013 ERC champion, overall ERC podium finishers Erik Cais and Filip Mareš, plus Domink Stříteský, who claimed his breakthrough Barum Czech Rally Zlín victory 12 months ago.

“It was the second-best moment of my life, the first was the birth of my daughter,” said Stříteský, 25. “I grew up around Zlín, it’s my home and it was a fantastic atmosphere. There can be different weather, you have the [corner] cuts and a lot of types of surface. You have to adapt at the moment so it’s the most difficult and also best. It’s not easy to find your confidence and not crash.”

Stříteský, who will drive Michelin-equipped Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 for the Auto Podbabská Škoda PSG ACCR Team, continued: “When I was small guy I was big fan of Roman Kresta and Jan Kopecký. I won my first Barum Rally in my class in 2019. It was in the Opel Adam Cup and we were racing just on the first day. In 2021 I crashed on Semetin. I had the wrong line in the famous jump, moved to the left after the jump and hit a tree. I don’t remember anything from this, only pain in the hospital.”

Also preparing for Czech Tarmac time – and bidding to become the first non-Czech winners of the event since Finn Juho Hänninen won in 2012 – are ERC title contenders Miko Marczyk, the Michelin-equipped championship leader after five rounds, and Pirelli-shod Andrea Mabellini, currently second in the ERC standings.

Jon Armstrong, Hankook driver and 2024 Junior ERC champion Mille Johansson and MRF-supplied Simone Tempestini will also be in action, while other expected frontrunners include Simon Wagner, who has finished on the Zlín podium at his last three attempts, 2019 ERC champion Chris Ingram, Hungarian hero Miklós Csomós, Czech rising talent Adam Březík and 2024 ERC3 title winner Filip Kohn.

ERC titles up for grabs
Tymek Abramowski and Calle Carlberg can win big on Barum Czech Rally Zlín. Abramowski is all but assured the ERC Fiesta Rally3 Trophy title – and the accompanying Fiesta Rally2 prize drive on next month’s JDS Machinery Rali Ceredigion. Carlberg, meanwhile, needs a strong points finish to secure the Hankook-backed FIA Junior ERC Championship, which comes with a Junior WRC prize drive in 2026 as its prize.

Separate ERC3, ERC4, Junior ERC and ERC Fiesta Rally3 Trophy previews will be published at FIAERC.com this week.

Barum Czech Rally Zlín route in short
Thirteen all-asphalt stages over a timed distance of 207.49 kilometres provide the challenge on round six of the 2025 ERC season. The ultra-challenging route is 65 per cent new compared to 2024 and is some 120 kilometres shorter in terms of the liaison distance.

Following the 7.61-kilometre Qualifying Stage from 09:31 and the traditional ceremonial start in front of the Zlín town hall at 16:00 on Friday 15 August, the event gets serious with the spectacular 9.57-kilometre super special stage through the streets of Zlín from 21:15.

Březová (12.73 kilometres), Halenkovice (17.67 km) and Bunč (18.11 km) provide the Saturday morning action with the stages repeated in the afternoon following service in Otrokovicze. Halenkovice returns to its 2023 layout, while Bunč follows an all-new route.

Sunday’s itinerary includes twin visits to Pindula (17.22 km), Podhoran (20.61 km) and Kateřinice either side of a mid-leg service stop in Otrokovice. The iconic Pindula stage runs in an opposite direction compared to 2024, while Podhoran is the longest stage of the rally. The legendary Kateřinice stage returns to the Wallachian forest area – a key part of the Barum Czech Rally Zlín route in the 1990s – and finishes in the village of Pržno after a three-decade absence. It will form the Power Stage when it’s repeated at 16:05. The finish is planned in front of the Zlín Town Hall from 17:30.

How to watch?
Fans across the globe can experience the excitement and drama of the ERC with every stage of every rally broadcast Rally.tv platform. In addition, the ERC is broadcast in a number of countries around the world and fans are advised to check local listings for details.

Barum Czech Rally Zlín: the key numbers
Stages: 13
Stage distance: 207.49 kilometres
Total distance: 754.15 kilometres