Barum Czech Rally Zlín 

Vlastimil Neumann dominated the demanding Saturday leg of historic cars

17. 8. 2025 - David Štícha, Roman Ordelt

As in previous years, an integral part of the Barum Czech Rally Zlín is the STAR RALLY HISTORIC, another part of the Autoklub Czech Republic Championship in historic car rallies. The race also includes a one-day Rally Legend demonstration drive, which is not timed.

The city special stage opened the program of this year's 17th Star Rally Historic. With tremendous support from the spectators, the crew of Miroslav Janouch and Michal Chomát (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo III) won. Vlastimil Neumann and Martin Hlavatý (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo III) crossed the finish line as second, 8.6 seconds behind. Third place went to Martin Černý and Jiří Haferník (BMW M3). Martin Klepáč and Ivan Říhánek (Peugeot 306 S16) and Jiří Hanák and Michal Večerka (BMW M3) also made it into the top five.

Saturday's leg started at the Březová special stage, where Neumann was the fastest and took the lead in the competition. Černý and Janouch finished just behind, confirming the close battle between the top three. The third stage in Halenkovice was canceled due to the organizer's indisposition, so the crews did not compete until the Bunč special stage. Neumann dominated again, while Černý struggled with a defect. Janouch took the second place, and Jiří Hanák came in third.

There came dramatic moments in the special stage Březová 2, which was stopped after Janouch's crash. Until then, they were closely behind Neumann, but in the end, Neumann won the special stage again. Hanák took second place, and Klepáč finished third.

The second run through the special stage was canceled. Vlastimil Neumann and Martin Hlavatý are leading the overall standings by a clear margin. They hold a comfortable lead of one minute and 21 seconds over Jiří Hanák and Michal Večerka, who benefited from consistent performances throughout the day. Martin Klepáč and Ivan Říhánek are third, managing to maintain a 33-second lead over Jan Hráček and Tomáš Kretík.

Saturday's stage showed that the Czech historic championship is also in full swing. Spectators can look forward to Sunday's finale, which will decide the winner of the 17th Star Rally Historic. Without the Rally Legend starting field, the competing crews will face special stages named Kateřice, Pindula, and Podhoran. The first crew will appear on the finish ramp in front of the town hall in Zlín at 2 p.m.

Standings after the 1st leg (6 SS)
1. V. Neumann, M. Hlavatý (CZE, Mitsubishi Lancer Evo III) 37:30,0 min
2. J. Hanák, M. Večerka (CZE, BMW M3) + 1:24,1 min
3. M. Klepáč, I. Říhánek (CZE, Peugeot 306 S16) + 2,34,6 min
4. J. Hráček, T. Kretík (CZE, Lada VFTS) + 3:07,6 min
5. J. Kašpar, P. Adámek (CZE, Škoda 130 LR) + 3:19,6 min
6. M. Knížek, P. Šlegl (CZE, BMW 318 iS) + 3:35,0 min
7. P. Pavlát, V. Trnka (CZE, Toyota Celica GT Four) + 3,49,1 min
8. P. Janský, L. Vaněčka (CZE, BMW M3) + 4:11,6 min
9. P. Hejhal, M. Hejhal (CZE, Škoda 130 LR) + 4:24,5 min
10. P. Bláha, R. Malý (CZE, Volkswagen Golf GTi) + 5:12,5 min

For more information, visit www.czechrally.com and don't forget to follow Barum rally on the official Facebook, Instagram and X accounts, and in other press releases.