Talented Welsh ace Simon Hughes heads to the eastern region of the Czech Republic this week for the Barum Rallye Zlin.  The massively popular European Rally Championship round will see Simon make another appearance in the highly competitive Skoda Fabia Rallye Cup.Fresh from a controlled Formula 2000 category win on the Manx International Rally, Hughes will now turn his attentions back to the central European series, as new co-driver Ieuan Thomas (Ammanford) steps in to replace Glenn Patterson for one of the most high profile European events in the sporting calendar.Hughes suffered an agonising retirement on the last round of the Skoda series, the Rallye Bohemia.  The 22 year old from Colwyn Bay was leading the rally comfortably when another mechanical failure robbed him of an almost certain win.  Hughes and Patterson held a solid 90 second lead before a terminal engine problem gave Simon no option but to retire on the spot for the third consecutive rally.The Barum Rallye Zlin offers another new challenge, and with any hope of winning the championship having disappeared with the last retirement, Hughes can now just go out and attack the stages as hard as he can.  Championship leader Josef Sedlacek has been a tough rival all year for Simon, and the Welsh duo are expecting another fierce encounter as Josef looks for another win to confirm his title aspirations.  The three day event is likely to be a classic encounter with both Simon and Josef determined to put on a good showing on the most high profile event in the Czech rallying calendar.'It's a real shame we can no longer fight for the title, but mechanical problems on the last three rallies had put us on the back foot' said Simon prior to the event.  'Josef (Sedlacek) has been a great rival this year as he is always flat out on every stage - so we've consistently had to be on our game to challenge him.  I don't see it being any different in Zlin this week - as Josef will be keen to chalk up another win and I'm really determined to get to the finish and win myself.  Having Ieuan in the car is great for me as well - we have competed together before and I'm sure we'll both be keen to get the right result.  We have nothing to lose on this rally - so its a good chance to try and impress in what looks like being a high quality field'.]