Barum Czech Rally Zlín 

Kopecký is unwaveringly heading for his fourth win at Barum Rally

30. 8. 2015 - Roman Ordelt

The Czech driver Jan Kopecký is unstoppable and he is one step from holding the cup as the Barum Czech Rally Zlín champion. A Škoda Motorsport factory driver has increased his lead on Václav Pech (Mini John Copper Works S2000) to 41.3 seconds at the seventh event of FIA European Rally Championship (ERC) and the fifth event of Czech Rally Championship 2015. Kajetan Kajetanowicz from Poland is still on the third position but he is getting closer to Pech. After SS 12 he is only 13.3 seconds behind. The second runs on SS Semetín, Troják and Žlutava are waiting to be conquered as the Barum Rally is almost finished.

The 33-year-old driver is safely managing his lead at the beginning of Leg 2 and getting closer to the fourth win at Barum Rally and the third Czech title as well. The defending champion Václav Pech is dealing with the increasing pressure that is Kajetan Kajetanowicz (Ford Fiesta R5) putting on him from the very morning stages.

The first run on the treacherous Special Stage Semetín was won by Irish Craig Breen (Peugeot 208T16) who squeezed himself to the top ten. So far dominant Kopecký spun and ended on the ninth position six seconds behind Breen. After Christopher Ingram's accident, a young British driver driving Peugeot 208 R2, this Special Stage was cancelled and the rest of the crews were send to a detour. The most feared Special Stage Troják was surprisingly calm and did not cause significant changes in the current standings. Only French Charles Martin (Peugeot 208 T16) retired due to technical problems and Czech Jan Jelínek (Škoda Fabia S2000) has moved up on the tenth place. In addition, Miroslav Jakeš (Citroën DS3 R5) had a puncture, lost 3 minutes and consequently dropped to the eleventh place. The fastest one on Special Stage was Polish Kajetanowicz and the top 10 did not change.

There are six Czech drivers in the top ten. The experienced drivers Kopecký and Pech are accompanied by Pavel Valoušek - 5th place, followed by Jan Černý (both Škoda Fabia S2000) and the ninth and tenth positions are occupied by Antonín Tlusťák (Škoda Fabia S2000) and Jan Jelínek.

The production car category is still dominated by Hungarian Dávid Botka (Mitsubishi Lancer EVO IX). Behind him there is a tough fight for the second position between Martin Březík (Mitsubishi Lancer EVO IX) who has only 4.7 seconds on Vojtěch Štajf (Subaru Impreza STi).

The European Junior Rally Champion Swedish Emil Bergkvist (Opel Adam R2) is confirming the rumors about his abilities and leads the 2WD category as Latvian Ralfs Sirmacis (Peugeot 208 R2) and the best Czech driver Ondřej Bisaha (Citroën DS3 R3T) are unable to stop him. Polish Aleks Zawada (Opel Adam R2) is still holding the third position in the junior category. Marijan Griebel from Germany (Opel Adam R2) who was second until the Special Stage Troják where he had a puncture and fell of the virtual podium.

On Sunday afternoon the second runs on SS Semetín, Troják and Žlutava are coming up. The ceremonial finish is at 4 pm in front of the City Hall Zlín.

Unofficial results after SS12:
1. Kopecký, Dresler (CZE, Škoda Fabia R5) 1:46:59.8 h.
2. Pech, Uhel (CZE, Mini John Copper Works S2000) + 41.3 s
3. Kajetanowicz, Baran (POL, Ford Fiesta R5) + 54.6 s
4. Lukyanuk, Arnautov (BLR/RUS, Ford Fiesta R5) + 1:33.9 min
5. Valoušek, Havelková (CZE, Škoda Fabia S2000) + 2:19.0 min
6. Černý, Černohorský (CZE, Škoda Fabia S2000) + 3:31.1 min
7. Kobus, de Wild (NLD, Škoda Fabia R5) + 2:44.4 min
8. Breen, Martin (IRL/GBR, Peugeot 208 T16) + 4:20.3 min
9. Tlusťák, Kučera (CZE, Škoda Fabia S2000) + 5:12.0 min
10. Jelínek, Machů (CZE, Škoda Fabia S2000) + 5:40.2 min