|
Abarth factory drivers Giandomenico Basso and
Luca Rossetti will start today's opening leg of
the 39th Barum Czech Rally Zlín in positive mood
after setting the third and fourth fastest times
during last night's superspecial stage. In a
feast of entertainment for fans, the centre of
Zlín was
turned into the opening
competitive stage of the
weekend, with crowds ten-deep in
places all eager to catch a
glimpse of the action as the
cars each undertook three laps of the SSS which
added up to 9.36 km. The Abarth drivers both
posted good times although they were more than a
second adrift of the factory Skoda drivers which
are expected to dominate their home event.
Fastest of the
quartet of private Abarth Grande Punto S2000s was Czech
youngster Jaroslav Orsák in a JM Engineering run example, he
set the fourteenth quickest time. Orsák's fellow countryman
Jaromir Tarabus was seventeenth in his Abarth Grande Punto
which benefits this weekend from the latest factory step,
one place ahead of Italian Marco Cavigioli, while Pole
Grzegorz Grzyb posted the thirty first quickest time.
In the 2WD
category Czech driver Jan Šlehofer made a hugely impressive
start in his Fiat Punto S1600 posting the twenty fifth
quickest time overall through the superspecial stage to mix
it in with the hordes of much more powerful four-wheel-drive
Super 2000 and GpN cars. Šlehofer comes into the event
having won the 2WD class on last year's rally in the Punto
S1600 after pulling out a giant performance, finishing
nineteenth overall and beating the semi-official Honda Italy
run Civic of IRC 2WD Cup title-chasing Alessandro Bettega.
Second place in the IRC 2WD Cup standings last night went to
the Honda Civic Type R of Marcel Piepers, although he was
more than ten seconds in arrears. To the delight of Alfa
Romeo fans a bit further back in eighty sixth place overall
was the Alfa 147 of Martin Rada who has already impressed
this year by successfully finishing the Rallye Monte Carlo
in the same car.
The works Skoda Fabia S2000s
of Finn Juho Hanninen and local
hero Jan Kopecky claimed the top
two positions on the opening
superspecial stage last night at the
start of the 2009 Barum Czech
Rally Zlín.
Having prepared thoroughly for
the event in the last few weeks,
the Skoda Motorsport squad
reigned supreme on the opening
night. Finnish driver Hanninen
surprised many to set the
overnight pace in his Fabia
S2000. His time for the 9.36km
stage was 7m 8.5s - a full
second clear of his team mate
and championship contender;
local hero Kopecký.
Maintaining the formation
pattern at the end of the unique
Zlín stage, defending IRC
champion Nicolas Vouilloz and
2008 Barum Czech Rally Zlín
winner Freddy Loix crossed the
line in fifth and sixth places
respectively in their Peugeot
Benelux-entered 207 S2000s.
They were followed by two of the
celebrated local entries.
Three-time Barum Czech Rally
Zlín winner Roman Kresta holds
seventh place in his Peugeot,
ahead of Pavel Valousek's Skoda
Fabia at the overnight halt.
For some of the IRC's
high-fliers the first stage
delivered only disappointment,
among them newly-crowned Junior
World Rally Champion, Martin
Prokop. The Czech driver's BF
Goodrich Drivers Team Peugeot
clocked only the 13th fastest
time of the evening, fully 17s
off the pace of Hanninen's
leading Skoda and 0.6s off his
nearest rival, Citroen WRC
driver Evegeny Novikov.
Novikov put his Skoda Fabia
S2000 in 12th place overall; a
solid start for the young
Russian as he and his new co-driver Stephane Prevot get to grips
with their relationship.
Meanwhile the current IRC points
leader Kris Meeke endured a
torrid time to end up 33rd
fastest through the first stage
with more than half a minute
already to make up on the
leading Skoda of Hanninen.
Ralliart Mitsubishi has almost 30 cars
entered this weekend but to see
one of its Evo IX machines in
ninth place - in the hands of
local expert Pech Vaclav - was
cause for celebration. Meanwhile
the first two-car Proton entry
in the IRC has not taken place
after Frenchman Bryan Bouffier's
engine developed a terminal
fault in Shakedown, leaving
Englishman Guy Wilks to carry on
Proton's rally on his own in
29th place.
Meanwhile although Zlín basked in 29 degrees
and bright sunshine as the cars took to the ceremonial start
yesterday, weather forecasters are predicting a deluge today.
Although sunshine is due to return for tomorrow's final
day, the bad weather closed in overnight, and is set to make
the already challenging roads all the more treacherous
for the competitors. "I'm quite used to wet roads on a
rally, coming from Belgium," laughed Loix.
"If rain comes then it really will make tyre choice
crucial, but other than that it won't affect the way we
tackle the rally." Local hero Kopecký was equally upbeat. "The roads are
very difficult, especially in the forests," he said. "It
is bumpy and slippery, so the rain will just be another
factor. I'm just looking forward to a great
competition."
The action
continues today
with the completion of Leg 1.
There will be two runs through
each of the Pindula, Zadvefice
and Halenkovice stages to take
the rally to its halfway stage,
with the action starting at 08:53 CET
this morning.
39th Barum
Czech Rally Zlín, provisional positions after SS1:
1 Hanninen (FIN) - Skoda - 7m 8.5s
2 Kopecky (CZ) - Skoda - +1.0s
3 Basso (I) - Abarth - +2.1s
4 Rossetti (I) - Abarth - +2.4s
5 Vouilloz (F) - Peugeot - +2.9s
6 Loix (B) - Peugeot - +3.2s
7 Kresta (CZ) - Peugeot - +7.4s
8 Valousek (CZ) - Skoda - +9.0s
ItaliaspeedTV:
Shakedown Stage /
Scrutineering /
Superspecial Stage (SS1)
/
Star Rally
|
