Barum Czech Rally Zlín 

Barum rally opens the curtain in Malenovice

22. 6. 2023 - Roman ORDELT

Before the ceremonial start of the Barum Czech Rally Zlín, the prelude to the fifty-second edition of the event will take place on Friday 18 August in the local part of Malenovice, where the ERC1 qualifying for registered crews will take place in the morning, followed by a test stage/shakedown. The organisers have chosen a 3.14 km long section, which in previous years was part of the legendary SS Maják. The last time qualifying was held here in a similar form was two years ago.

A qualifying stage was first introduced in the European Rally Championship (ERC) gravel rallies and since 2014 it has become part of all European Championship events. Since last year, only ERC1-registered drivers, which are crews with Rally2 (better known as R5) cars, have been running free practice and the qualifying stage. All others, including other top drivers, are referred to the classic shakedown only. The results of qualifying are used for drivers to select the starting order for the first leg. Since last year, not only the top 15 from qualifying choose their starting order, but drivers who were on the list published by the sports commissioners before the start of qualifying, and did not make it to the top 15, can also join them. After the group of drivers choosing their starting order, the remaining drivers with Rally2 cars will start according to the results of the qualifying. All others will then start according to their assigned starting numbers.

The crews will have the opportunity to make two passes through the free practice section from 8 to 9:30 a.m., however the measured times from these two runs will not be evaluated. The third run, scheduled for 9:31 a.m., will be crucial for the crews. The crews will start the race according to the pre-published order. An interesting feature of the qualifying stage is that, unlike conventional special stages, it is measured to thousandths of a second. The results of the third heat will be essential for the selection of the starting order, which will take place from 15:30 on the starting ramp in front of the Zlín Town Hall. The driver who has the fastest time in the qualifying test has the first right to choose. After the qualifying, a shakedown will take place in Malenovice from 10 am to 1 pm.

The start of the qualifying stage, Maják shakedown, is located on the main road in Zlín-Malenovice near the former Riviera swimming pool. After the initial hundreds of metres, the crews will turn into the technical section on the VLW premises. There, crews and spectators can expect several technical turns, a panel return and an artificial jump. After exiting the site, the competing cars continue on another left turn on a local road and rejoin the main road. They then take the left turn at the Restaurace pod Hradem and arrive at the legendary turn under Malenovice Castle. The crews continue to move up the curves above the castle and past the local cottage area of Výletiště, they continue along a good quality forest asphalt road to the finish, which is located at the beginning of so-called Malenovice road.

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