ŠKODA UK Motorsport’s Andreas Mikkelsen predicts “a battle of the ŠKODAs” at the Barum Czech Rally Zlín (26-28 August), ŠKODA’s home round of the Intercontinental Rally Challenge (IRC), as no fewer than 14 Fabia S2000s grace the 122 car entry list.

ŠKODA arrives in the Moravian host town of Zlín in an extremely strong position in the IRC, as it leads the Manufacturers’ championship by 63 points and has three Fabia S2000 drivers (Juho Hänninen, Jan Kopecký and Freddy Loix) positioned 1-2-3 in the Drivers’ standings. With up to 250,000 predominantly ŠKODA rally fans lining the route, the atmosphere in the south-east region of the Czech Republic during the event is likely to be electric, as the 11 round IRC moves into the second half of the season.

With his strongest rallies still to come, Andreas heads to the Barum Rally on a high. In the six weeks since finishing 2nd on the previous round of the IRC in the Azores, Andreas has enjoyed match practice on Rally Finland and has been training with the FIA Institute Young Driver Excellence Academy in Germany. After a short holiday in Ibiza, he got back to business with an encouraging one day test in the Czech Republic, completing 111 miles (180kms) in conditions that he and co-driver Ola Fløene anticipate they’ll face in competition next.

Andreas has experience and fond memories of the Barum Rally, having contested the event the previous two years and finishing 5th last year.

Whilst all eight registered IRC manufacturers, seven IRC event winners and a number of top local drivers adorn the entry, the balance and performance of the Fabia S2000, and the skill of the crews, makes a number of ŠKODA driversfavouritefor victory. Drivers joining Andreas on that list include Hänninen and Kopecký (ŠKODA Motorsport), Loix (BFO ŠKODA Rally Team) Patrik Sandell (ŠKODA Sweden), Matthias Kahle and Mark Wallenwein (ŠKODA Auto Deutschland), Toni Gardemeister (TGS Worldwide Ou), Roman Kresta (Adell Mogul Racing Team) and the privately entered cars of Zlín born Antonín Tlusták and Irishman Robert Barrable.

Andreas: “I’ve done the Barum Rally twice before and it’s a rally I really like. We had a good result there last year, but this time the stages are run in the opposite direction so it will be a new challenge. We’ve had a good test in the Czech Republic. The conditions were dry, but there was mud in places and gravel on the corners; just what we’re likely to find on the rally itself, so that was excellent preparation. We experimented with some set-up options on the car during the test and the feeling was very good.

“The Barum Rally is going to be tough and there are a lot of good drivers taking part, yet I think it’s going to be a battle of the ŠKODAs.  Juho and Jan will be very fast, as of course will Freddy, and I’d like to think that we’ll be there or there abouts too. We’re certainly going to try and score points and continue from where we left off in Azores.”

The Barum Czech Rally Zlín begins on Friday 26 August with a ceremonial start in Zlín at 17.00, followed by three laps of the magnificent city centre super-special later that evening, which draws thousands of spectators. Leg 1 restarts at 08.30 the following morning, with two stages before a remote refuel at Slušovice and two more stages – including, at 17.82 miles (28.69kms), the longest stage of the entire event, before a regroup in Zlín and mid-day service in nearby Otrokovice. The morning’s route is repeated in the afternoon, with Leg 1 drawing to a close before 21.30 after nine stages and 84.22 miles (133.4kms) of competition.

Leg 2 starts at 07.30 on Sunday 28 August and goes straight into the legendary 14.09 mile (22.69km) Maják stage, which returns to the rally for the first time in 20 years – complete with its famous section close to the Malenovice castle, which was synonymous with the event. There are two more stages before service in Otrokovice, while the three stage loop is repeated in the afternoon. After a further 71.5 miles (115.08kms) of competition, the finish podium is back in Zlín at 15.00. There are 15 special stages in total, equalling 154.39 miles (248.48kms).