Together with co-driver Pavel Dresler, the exceptional Czech driver claimed his sixth win of the season in the FIA European Rally Championship (ERC). As such, ŠKODA Motorsport had two reasons to celebrate in Poreč.
“That was a dream weekend for us. We are European champions* and also won the Rally Croatia. It does not get any better than this,” said Kopecký. After a cautious start, the 31-year-old moved into the lead on day one of the rally on the slippery asphalt routes along Croatia’s Adriatic coast and then simply refused to be caught. “We were quick without taking any unnecessary risks – we found the right combination again,” said his proud co-driver Pavel Dresler.
The ŠKODA duo has now finished on the podium at all eight rallies it has started in the 2013 ERC. The highlight saw Kopecký win his home event at the Barum Rally at the start of September. The pair also triumphed at the ERC rallies in Austria, on the Canary Islands, in the Azores, in Romania and now in Croatia. As such, Kopecký has stood on the top step of the podium at rallies on all surfaces – from snow and ice to gravel and asphalt. The reward: Kopecký and Dresler had already secured the title in the driver and co-driver competitions with two races remaining in the European Championship.
This was the first international title of Kopecký’s career and sees him join a host of rally legends to have won the ERC, including Germany’s Walter Röhrl and Italian Miki Biasion.
Team Principal Michal Hrabánek also regards winning the European Championship title as an outstanding success for the entire SKODA Motorsport team: “With the ERC title for Jan Kopecký and Pavel Dresler, we have claimed another major success for the ŠKODA Fabia Super 2000 project. Our entire team has worked hard all year to achieve this goal. This is a wonderful reward for everyone involved. We have once again proven the quality of the Fabia Super 2000 and the technical expertise of ŠKODA.”
The next opportunity to write the next chapter in this success story comes as soon as next week, when the European champions will set their sights on the next title for ŠKODA. The Czech Rally Championship will be decided at the 35th Rally Příbram on 5th and 6th October. Ahead of the grand finale, Jan Kopecký is still in with a chance of successfully defending the national title he won last year.
*subject to confirmation of the results by the FIA
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