Barum Czech Rally Zlín 

Erik Cais with Jindřiška Žáková have become the Barum rally ambassadors

14. 6. 2021 - Roman Ordelt

For years, Barum Czech Rally Zlín has been one of the most important motorsport events in the Czech republic and at the same time one of the key rounds in the European Rally Championship (FIA ERC) series. Erik Cais and Jindřiška Žáková have become the leading Czech crew, which successfully starts in the ERC events under the banner of the Yacco ACCR Rally Team belonging to the Autoclub of the Czech Republic. For this season, thanks to close cooperation between these entities, Erik and Jindřiška were appointed to the prestigious position of ambassadors of the Zlín rally.

Already in the past, the post of rally ambassador was created to actively promote the Barum Czech Rally Zlín, the tourist region of Eastern Moravia and the entire Czech Republic in foreign countries and to attract spectators to visit the Zlín rally. The first ambassadors at the time were Jaromír Tarabus and Daniel Trunkát, for the current year 2021 it is Erik Cais and his co-driver Jindřiška Žáková. "Ours and Erik's roots are common - we are part of the prestigious ERC series. Last but not least, we like him thanks to his sports and human values. That is why we chose Erik and Jindřiška to be our second ambassadors in the European Rally Championship. This step can attract more visitors to come to the Czech Republic and thus support tourism, which was heavily impacted with the pandemic in the recent year," said Jan Regner, the Deputy Clerk of the Course Barum Czech Rally Zlín.

Erik Cais, the 21-year-old competition driver from Fryšták, was pleased with the trust of the Zlín rally organizers. "It's an honour for me, I really appreciate the choice of the organizers. I will be happy to represent the Zlín region, I really appreciate this trust. Barum rally is my favourite competition of all, we are at home here. The role of the ambassador will certainly not make me nervous or restrict me in racing. But I am definitely very proud of that," said the young driver, who was named as one of the TOP 10 rally talents in the world by the British Motorsport News magazine last year.

While the European Rally Championship will not start until the mid-June opening gravel round in Mikolajki, Poland, Cais and Žáková already have five competitions behind, including two rallies in Italy. Rally Žemaitija in Lithuania, held on the first weekend of June, where he finished eighth overall, also provided a welcome touch with gravel prior to the Polish competition. "It's harder because of the serious post-covid syndrome that affected me after the Valašská Rally. Anyway, the health is again good now and I returned to the competitions by winning Rallysprint Kopná in tough conditions. I'm happy for that," added Cais.