Barum Czech Rally Zlín 

Clerk`s word

6. 9. 2018 -

Dear Friends,

another edition of Barum Czech Rally Zlín is part of history and I think it was a successful one. All the crews have again pushed their limits. After many years of sunshine throughout the race, this year was marked by rain and very tough condition but this was the crucial element that pushed this rally and made it all the more dramatic until the very end. Jan Kopecký's winning streak continues and he again rewrote Barum rally's history with his incredible seventh victory! His most fierce rival was again Alexey Lukyanuk who finished second. And the third place went to the world championship driver Daniel Sordo. We were very happy about his presence in Zlín. It is always a pleasure to welcome such an amazing driver who raises the quality of our rally.

Moreover, we are also grateful for all the competing crews which made this year's Barum Czech Rally Zlín. The starting field of Barum rally and Star Rally Historic counted more than 230 crews. All of them provided amazing entertainment for the fans, who cheered them on the special stages, in Service Park and along the road of the city circuit in the centre of Zlín. We take great pleasure in seeing that no matter the weather, the motorsport fans can always find their way to us.

They have our gratitude because their interest and enthusiasm are the pillars of our rally. We very much value their presence and it is our aim to provide the best possible entertainment programme. With the support of The Entertaining and Shopping Centre Golden Apple, there were plenty of activities prepared for them at the beginning of August, including an Autograph show, public press conference with the winning crews and the ride on Škoda Fabia S2000 with Sepp Wiegand on the Komárov section. The visitors had at their disposal a printed version of maps of special stages with further information about the programme and interesting places to visit in the Zlín region. And on top of that, they could also use an interactive online map on which we received positive reactions. We also recorded another three hundred people who signed into the National Bone Marrow Registry thanks to the initiative Marrow4Tomorrow that aims to help patients suffering from leukaemia.

For those who wanted to get a real taste of Barum rally, we prepared the second run of Zlín Bikes for cyclists who wanted to try out the city circuit, and the second run of Green Rally for electric and hybrid vehicles. The latter combined regularity drive and tests of driving skills. We hope that all the participants enjoyed these events.

We would like to thank all the organisers that helped in all the phases of preparations. We have an amazing hard-working team, which makes this rally even better. Our thanks go to paramedics, doctors, the Police, fireman and other organisations. We also thank our all our supporters like Continental Barum s.r.o., City of Zlín, the Zlín region, Ministry of Education, Ministry of Regional Development, agency CzechTourism, Autoklub Czech Republic, companies Škoda Auto and Opel, brewery Zubr, company ZLIN AIRCRAFT a.s., which provided their premises in Otrokovice. And of course, I have to thank other sponsors, whether big or small because without them Barum rally could hardly be a top European rally event.

Finally, I would like to thank the citizens and representatives of all the villages and cities through which Barum Czech Rally leads. We appreciate that they allow us to bring Barum rally there even though it often means having to deal with temporary restrictions.

Thank you and we are looking forward to seeing you at the occasion of 49th Barum Czech Rally Zlín 2019!

Miloslav REGNER
Clerk of the Course
Barum Czech Rally Zlín