ON ŠKODA’S HOME RALLY
Škoda UK Motorsport driver Guy Wilks is aiming for a points-scoring finish when he returns from an injury-enforced 12 week lay-off on the Barum Czech Rally Zlín (27-29 August), which is Škoda’s home round of the Intercontinental Rally Challenge.
Despite sitting out the last three rounds of the IRC after fracturing two vertebrae in an accident on theRally d'Italia-Sardegna (June 5), a great start to the season (6th in Monte Carlo, 2nd in Brazil and Argentina and 3rd in Gran Canarias) sees Guy arrive in the Czech Republic a strong 4th in the drivers’ standings – and top British driver. The 29-year old Darlington driver is keen to rally the new Fabia S2000 Facelift, which is 22mm wider than its predecessor, for the first time, and he and co-driver Phil Pugh (Tywyn, Gwynedd) will have the rousing support of the 250,000 Czech fans that are expected to line this year’s rally route. And as Škoda arrives in the Moravian host town of Zlín on top of the IRC manufacturers’ table, the atmosphere this year is likely to be electric.
In order to polish the required smooth driving technique and to test his body against the enormous G-forces that asphalt rallying entails, Guy has been driving his own 125cc Rotax Max racing go-kart at Warden Law, a kart circuit near his home in County Durham. The test went well, reinforcing the fact that he’s 100% fit and ready for a return to competition – even though he may be lacking a little match practice.
Guy Wilks: “I’m looking forward to driving the Fabia S2000 Facelift for the first time, and it will be all the more special to make my rally comeback on Škoda’s home event. We have to make sure we have a great pre-rally test, find the right set-up and make sure we do a good job, because the Barum Rally represents a great opportunity to get back scoring IRC points straight away.
“There will be some very fast drivers there, especially Jan Kopecký, who won the event by just over a minute last year, and his Škoda Motorsport team-mate Juho Hänninen, who arrives there leading the series. All the other drivers will be match fit, especially those who have done Madeira and are coming straight off the back of another asphalt rally. But that’s no excuse – I’m happy with my fitness and I think we’ll be back on the pace.
“I’ve never driven the Barum Rally stages at speed, but I did the recce last year. The stages are very fast and tricky – in many places you can tell that there has never been a road base and the asphalt has been laid over whatever was there, so it is very bumpy and undulating in places, especially when the road goes through a forest area. In other places the roads are very wide and smooth, so it can go from one extreme to another. Car set-up is always a bit of a compromise, and it’s a good challenge for a driver.
“The Czech fans obviously support the Czech drivers, but they also cheer on anyone who drives a Škoda – and I’m certainly looking forward to being part of that. There is an absolutely fantastic super-special stage, which goes around Zlín city centre and attracts 40,000 spectators, making for a mega atmosphere. Hopefully we can get a good result in Barum and we’ll be doing our damnedest to finish on the podium.”
The Barum Czech Rally Zlín, which celebrates its 40th anniversary this year, begins on Friday 27 August with a ceremonial start in Zlín at 17.00, followed by three laps of the super-special later that evening. Day 1 restarts at 08.30 on Saturday 28 August, with two stages before a remote refuel at Vizovice and two more stages – including, at 18.07 miles (29.09kms), the longest stage of the entire event, before mid-day service at Otrokovia. The morning’s route is repeated in the afternoon, until Day 1 draws to a close after nine stages and 86.29 miles (138.88kms) of competition.
Day 2 starts at 07.30 on Sunday 29 August and goes straight into the longest 15.47 miles (24.9kms) stage of the day. Another stage lies in wait before a remote refuel at Spytihněv and a further two stages before the mid-day service. All four stages are repeated in the afternoon, bringing the day’s total stage distance to 78.53 miles (126.38kms) before the finish ceremony in Zlín at 15.24. There are 17 special stages in total, equalling 164.82 miles (265.26kms).
