Barum Czech Rally Zlín 

Kopecký is in the lead after four special stages

29. 8. 2015 - Petr Říha

A Škoda Motorsport factory driver Jan Kopecký is confirming experts' predictions about his dominance at the 45th Barum Czech Rally Zlín an event of FIA European Rally Championship (ERC) and of Czech Rally Championship 2015 (MČR). After the first three Saturday's stages he is ahead by 8.4 second of Václav Pech who was the fastest driver on the city circuit. The Polish driver Kajetan Kajetanowicz, a leader of ERC, is losing 32 seconds.

Kopecký with his car Škoda Fabia R5 won all three stages on Saturday morning and it seems he is in a great shape. He remains unbeatable on domestic tracks and he is one step from winning the third Czech title. Václav Pech, the defending Czech champion, with Mini John Cooper Works S2000 is his main rival in this championship.

At the beginning of Leg 1 a French driver Robert Consani was forced to retire as during SS Slušovice he had a nasty accident and his car hit the roof. Robert Consani was hoping to scrape a position in the top ten with his car Citroën DS3 R5. Even though his hopes are gone it is still good news that the crew has not been injured.

The Polish driver gained some deficit but he was lucky because he was given a notional time due to Consani's accident and he moved up the ladder. He is now 6 second ahead of an Irish driver Craig Breen who is his main rival for European champion title. Before Barum Rally only six points were between them.

Jaromír Tarabus (Škoda Fabia R5) and Roman Odložilík (Ford Fiesta R5) will no longer be seen at Barum Rally as they did not finish Leg 1. Tarabus had to retire due to technical problems on an oil pump and Odložilík had an accident in which car's wheel was broken.

The fourth SS had to be prematurely closed due to Raul Jeets's accident (Ford Fiesta R5). The Estonian driver crashed into a house in a village Oldřichovice. Because of a gas leak the organizers decided to cancel this stage and the rest of the starting field took a detour. Martin Vlček (Škoda Fabia S2000) had an accident nearby as well.

In the production car category a Hungarian driver Dávid Botka ((Mitsubishi Lancer EVO IX) is holding the first position and he is chased by Czech Vojtěch Štajf (Subaru Impreza STi). German Marijan Griebel is at the top in the two-wheel drive category. Behind him is Swedish Emil Bergkvist, both are driving Opel Adam R2, and Ondřej Bisaha (Citroën DS3 R3T). On the third position in junior category is another German driver Julius Tannert (Opel Adam R2).

There are five more SS scheduled for Saturday's Leg 1. Leg 2 starts on Sunday 30th August and the drivers have to pass six tests on three sections called Semetín, Troják and Žlutava of total length 87 kilometers. The fastest crew will be awarded on Sunday at 4 pm in front of the City Hall Zlín.

Unofficial results after SS4:
1. Kopecký, Dresler (CZE, Škoda Fabia R5) 34:42.6 min
2. Pech, Uhel (CZE, Mini John Copper Works S2000) + 8.4 s
3. Kajetanowicz, Baran (POL, Ford Fiesta R5) + 31.7 s
4. Breen, Martin (IRL/GBR, Peugeot 208 T16) + 37.7 s
5. T. Kostka, L. Kostka (CZE, Ford Fabia R5) + 41.0 s
6. Lukyanuk, Arnautov (BLR/RUS, Ford Fiesta R5) + 51.5 s
7. Valoušek, Havelková (CZE, Škoda Fabia S2000) + 51.8 s
8. Jakeš, J. Novák (CZE, Citroën DS3 R5) + 1:05.3 min
9. Černý, Černohorský (CZE, Škoda Fabia S2000) + 1:20.1 min
10. Kobus, de Wild (NLD, Škoda Fabia R5) + 1:20.2 min