Skoda sets sights on 2012 IRC hat-trick

The Skoda Motorsport team will use the current Fabia Super 2000 rally car in the 2012 Intercontinental Rally Challenge (IRC). The Czech company has bagged both manufacturers and drivers titles at the Intercontinental Rally Challenge for two years straight. 2011 has been the most successful year in the brand’s history at motorsport. Remaining on top of the results in the 2012 season remains Skoda’s top priority. 

To bolster their presence at the competition, a factory crew will take part in select rallies of the European Championship as well as at the Czech Rally Championship. Juho Hanninen and Jan Kopecky will remain the brand’s factory drivers for the 2012 season. They will be taking part in the Austria race over the first weekend of January. 

Commenting on the team's agenda in 2012, Head of Skoda Motorsport team Michal Hrabanek says, “Skoda’s top priority will be to defend the IRC titles we have won in the past two years. Three-time IRC runner-up Jan Kopecky says, “I appreciate the opportunity to continue co-operating with Skoda Motorsport. Our ambition in the Czech Championship is of course to keep appearing on the top ranks and the goal in the selected IRC events is to always win as many points as possible to help Skoda win the third title in the Manufacturers category. I want to say a big thank you to Petr Stary for three great years that we have spent together and wish him a fast recovery.” 

2011 SWRC Champion Juho Hanuman says, “I have learned a lot at Skoda Motorsport over the past three years, and these have been more than good times for the entire team. I believe that we will be successful also next year, which holds some new rallies for us, but that is exactly what makes this sport so exciting. I am pretty certain that we are going to make another step ahead with the Fabia.”

In 2011 Skoda’s Fabia Super 2000 rally car placed Mikkelsen 1st, Kopecky 2nd, Hanninen 3rd on the IRC driver’s championship. At the end of this year, Skoda Motorsport and its Fabia Super 2000s made their debut in the Race of Champions, a prestigious multi-discipline event with a history of more than 20 years.