RALLY AROUND THE WORLD #10
Latest news on the regional rally championships.
FIA EUROPEAN RALLY TROPHY CENTRAL – RALLY CESKY KRUMLOV (ROUND 2/7)
Last weekend saw Czech Republic’s rally hero Jan Kopecký and his co-driver Pavel Dresler claim victory on their home event Rallye Český Krumlov, round 2 of the FIA European Rally Trophy Central. It was an all-Czech, all-Fabia R5 podium with Filip Mareš and Jan Hloušek in second place, followed by Jan Černý and Petr Černohorský in third.
Kopecký put in a strong performance on his first outing with a new generation Škoda Fabia R5, despite a 30-second penalty in SS4, which made him drop from first to fourth place. But the current FIA WRC 2 champion regained the lead in SS7 and did not give his rivals any more chance to snatch the top spot of the leaderboard. It is his second victory after the FIA ERT’s opening round, Valasska Rally Valmez in March.
Out of twelve crews competing in the category, including only one non-Czech team – Hungary’s Miklós Csomós and Attila Nagy – eight crossed the finish line of the classic and hard event in the South of Bohemia.
Find all results and photo galleries on the Rallye Český Krumlov website. The provisional FIA ERT standings can be consulted here.
UPCOMING
Now let’s look ahead on the regional rally calendar… This weekend, the engines will continue to roar to the East with the FIA ERC’s Rally Liepāja in Latvia and the ERT Balkan’s Rally Arad in Romania.
FIA EUROPEAN RALLY CHAMPIONSHIP – RALLY LIEPĀJA, LATVIA (ROUND 3/8)
One of the fastest and most spectacular rallies on the schedule awaits the FIA European Rally Championship crews with the season’s third round, Rally Liepāja.
Forty-five crews will chase FIA ERC points on the high-speed Latvian event from 24-26 May, with a record 23 eligible for ERC Junior to underline the championship’s ongoing efforts to provide a platform of progression for young talents from national level aiming for the top of the sport.
Early title pacesetter Łukasz Habaj heads the overall list for the Latvia-based Sports Racing Technologies operation, which expands to a two-car attack with the inclusion of teenage hope Oliver Solberg. Petter Solberg’s son is seeded number 10, one place ahead of hometown hero Mārtiņš Sesks, taking part in one of two prize drives as his reward for winning the ERC3 Junior title in 2018.
Chris Ingram, the ERC1 Junior leader after two rounds, is the second seed followed by double ERC Junior title winner Marijan Griebel. Defending ERC champion Alexey Lukyanuk is the fifth seed for what will be a wide-open battle for victory.
FIA ERC2 has a season-high eight entrants, while Efrén Llarena, leader of the Pirelli-supported ERC3 Junior category, tops a 19-strong FIA ERC3 line-up. Aside from the exciting entry, Rally Liepāja has undergone significant changes for its seventh consecutive FIA ERC appearance.
Moving from October to May, Rally Liepāja’s opening leg on Saturday 25 May is based around Talsi, which has allowed organisers to include what are described as Latvia’s ‘golden fund’ of stages, before reverting to more traditional territory for the closing leg on Sunday 26 May. This year’s Rally Liepāja coincides with the annual FIA Volunteers Weekend and FIA ERC drivers will be celebrating those who give up their time for free to help make motorsport events happen.
Check out the event website for more info.
FIA EUROPEAN RALLY TROPHY BALKAN – RALLY ARAD, ROMANIA (ROUND 2/5)
This weekend, rally volunteers will also carry out essential roles with passion and dedication on Rally Arad in Romania, round 2 of the FIA ERT Balkan, after the season opener in Bulgaria two weeks ago.
Out of seventeen cars entered on the event, Hungary’s Dávid Botka and Slovakia’s Kukučka Tomáš will face a strong field of hungry Romanian rivals, most of whom will compete at the wheel of R5 cars.
More info on the Rally Arad website.