The penultimate part of the domestic championship will be extremely important for all its participants. This time, the usual point allocations are multiplied by a coefficient of 1.5, so Barumka can have a significant say in the events of the Czech championship.
33 Škoda cars at the start
Škoda cars dominate the starting list of this year’s “Barumka”. None of the supported dealer teams are among those registered. Crew Erik Cais – Igor Bacigál will go with starting number 11, number 15 was given to the leading pair of the Czech championship Dominik Stříteský – Jiří Hovorka. The reigning Czech champions, Jan Kopecký and Jan Hloušek, were assigned number 16, and Adam Březík and Ondřej Krajča will start with number 17. Crew Věroslav Cvrček and Tomáš Prokorát, who only entered the Czech Championship, received starting number 40 from the organizers. Among the favorites on the podium the absolute ranking also includes the top participants of the European Championship, many of whom will sit in Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 cars. The Frenchman Mathieu Franceschi, the Romanian Simone Tempestini and the Spaniard Efrén Llarena are aiming high, while the Pole Mikolaj Marczyk, the Italian Andrea Mabellini or the Austrian Simon Wagner may surprise.
Kopecký is looking forward to it, Pech is getting used to it
Forty-two-year-old Jan Kopecký has been ruling the Barum rally continuously since 2015. This year, he is still waiting for his first win in the Czech championship and is second in the standings, 23 points behind Stříteský. “We have a very demanding and high-quality competition ahead of us. The organizers have again prepared difficult special stages, of which I would highlight the Bunč section in particular. There, not only a long gravel section awaits us, but also a treacherous narrow descent to the finish line. The changeable weather will probably also have a say in the process. We are very much looking forward to the crowds of fans and the unrepeatable atmosphere of the competition,” stated Kopecký.
For the EuroOil team, this season is the last with their special Ford Focus RS WRC 06. As they would have to start with this car behind the entire European Championship field at “Barumka”, they decided to test another R5 category car here. “During this year, we already tested the Citroen R5 at the Pilsen Rally. I have to say that the difference in handling of the focus and the R5 is bigger than I expected. It will definitely take some time before I start using the car and find the necessary boundaries. At Barumek, we borrowed a Škoda car that Vojta Štajf normally races with. We would like to gain as much experience as possible with driving a car of this category. This should make it easier for us to choose a racer for next year.” Pech explains the reasons for choosing the car for the Barum Rally Zlín, after which he is awaiting further tests of the Citroen and Toyota Yaris.
Rally Finland 2024 • FIA World Rally Championship
Peugeots will close the season
The seventh installment of the Peugeot Rally Cup will end this season at the 53rd Barum Czech Rally Zlín. The starting list includes fifteen crews with Peugeot cars, nine of them are entered in the cup series. Barumka will decide the overall winner, René Dohnal is the closest to the first place, who only needs to capture a single point. His biggest rival, David Štefan, will not start in Zlín.
Filip Ocelka also misses Barumka this time, on the other hand, Miroslav Číž, who is third in the standings, will not be missing. The talented Daniel Polášek, his namesake Daniel Cáb and Petr Lukašík are preparing for the premiere in the Peugeot Rally Cup. The complete list is completed by David Ševčík, Jakub Schimmer, Jan Procházka, Bulgarian Lyuben Kamenov and favored René Dohnal. Of the nine Peugeot Cup cars, five are 208 Rally4 specials, four are in the older, but still very successful, version of the 208 R2. The closest to winning the Peugeot Rally Cup is René Dohnal. The Czech Championship in the group of cars with one driven axle also holds the temporary lead, and he only needs one point to win the cup series. For the time being, David Štefan has the same number of 44 points on his account, but this year he is concentrating on selected foreign companies and will not intervene in the battles in Barumka. Miroslav Číž is third continuously.
“Barumka is regularly the highlight of the whole season for us. The atmosphere is second to none, there is nothing to add in terms of sport and our crews have a great opportunity to compare with the European competition. There are quite a few Peugeots on the starting list, which proves the success of our racing two hundred and eight,” added Marco Venturini, director of the Peugeot brand in the Czech Republic.
Where do Barumka’s paths lead?
The Barum rally will traditionally start at a sharp pace on Friday evening with a circuit special stage in the streets of the city. The first car will appear on the track at 21:15, after which the crews will hand over the competition cars to the closed parking lot under the Zlín Department Store. The first stage starts under the Velký cinema in Zlín on Saturday, August 17 at 7:30 a.m. After a fifteen-minute morning service, four special stages await the participants in the order Březová (12.73 km), Kateřinice (7.49 km), Rajnochovice (13, 19 km) and Bunč returns after a year’s absence (18.04 km). After the half-hour service, the competition continues with the second passes of these sections.
The second stage is scheduled for Sunday, August 18 and starts under the Velký cinema in Zlín as early as 6:40 a.m. The crews will head to Otrokovice for the morning service and then the sections Semetín (11.51 km), Pindula (16.57 km) and Halenkovice (12.48 km) await them, which will again be driven twice with a thirty-minute lunch break for service. At the finish line of the competition in front of the Zlín town hall, the first car will appear at 5:50 p.m. The whole rally measures 874.15 kilometers and fifteen stages with a total length of 193.59 measured kilometers are listed in it.
Barum rally 2024 programme
Friday 16 August – 21.15 RZ1 (9.57 km).
Saturday 17 August – 8.58 RZ2 (12.73 km), 10.06 RZ3 (7.49 km), 10.59 (13.19 km), 12.42 RZ5 (18.04 km), 15.35 RZ6 (12.73 km), 16.43 RZ7 (7, 49 km), 17.36 RZ8 (13.15 km), 19.19 RZ9 (18.04 km). The stage measures a total of 112.47 km.
Sunday 18 August – 8.23 RZ10 (11.51 km), 9.16 RZ11 (16.57 km), 10.35 RZ123 (12.48 km), 13.08 RZ13 (11.51 km), 14.01 RZ14 (16.57 km), 16.05 RZ15 (12 .48 km) – Power Stage. The stage measures a total of 81.12 km.
Running order (after RZ1 from RZ15)
1. Wagner, Hainová (Austria/Skoda Fabia RS Rally2) 7:05.5; 2. Březík, Krajča (Škoda Fabia RS Rally2) +0.8; 3. Kopecký, Hloušek (Škoda Fabia RS Rally2) +1.0; 4. Stříteský, Hovorka (Škoda Fabia RS Rally2) +3.0; 5. Mobellini, Lenziová (It./Škoda Fabia RS Rally2) +3.2; 6. Mareš, Bucha (Toyota GR Yaris Rally2) +3.2; 7. LLarena, Fernádezová (Sp./Škoda Fabia RS Rally2) +5.6; 8. Marczyk, Gospodarczyk (Pol./Škoda Fabia RS Rally2) +5.9; 9. Franceschi, Malfay (Fr./Skoda Fabia RS Rally2) +6.1; 10. Paddon, Kennard (N. Green/Hyundai i20 N Rally2) +6.9; 11. Neubauer, Ettel (Austria/Skoda Fabia RS Rally2) +7.3; 12. Pech, Uhel (Škoda Fabia R5) +9.4; 13. Armstrong, Treacy (Irland/Ford Fiesta Rally2) +11.8; 14. László, Bán ((Hungary/Škoda Fabia RS Rally2) +13.7; 15. Thurn und Taxis, Christian (Germany/Škoda Fabia RS Rally2) +14.3; 16. Jirásek, Maxhů (Škoda Fabia R5) +19.3; 17. Bacigál (Škoda Fabia Rally2); 18. Vlček (Hyundai i20 N Rally2); 19. Cvrček (Škoda Fabia Rally2) +22 .7; 20. Jírovec, Jindra (Toyota GR Yaris Rally2) +23.1.
Results are unofficial.
Current standings of the Czech Championship
1. Stříteský (Škoda Fabia RS Rally2) 161 points; 2. Kopecký (Škoda Fabia RS Rally2) 138; 3. Březík (Škoda Fabia RS Rally2) 121; 4. Cais (Skoda Fabia RS Rally2) 105; 5. Mareš (Toyota GR Yaris Rally2) 85; 6. Jirásek (Škoda Fabia R5) 72; 7. Cvrček (CZE/Škoda Fabia RS Rally2) 67; 8. Vlcek (Hyundai i20 N Rally2) 49; 9. Trojan (Skoda Fabia R5) 32; 10. Jírovec (Škoda Fabia R5) 30; 11. Kohn (Skoda Fabia RS Rally2) 22; 12. Soldier (Skoda Fabia R5) 8; 13. Kurka (Skoda Fabia RS Rally2) 8; 14. Hordossy (Skoda Fabia R5) 6; 15. Brož (Škoda Fabia R5) 5; 16. Kundlák (Opel Corsa Rally4) 4; 17. Tomek (Skoda Fabia Rally2 evo) 4; 18. Nwelati (Skoda Fabia R5) 4; 19. R. Dohnal (Peugeot 208 Rally4) 3; 20. Mason (Ford Fiesta Rally2 MkII) 3; 21. Sýkora (Škoda Fabia R5) 3; 22. Horák (Škoda Fabia R5) 2; 23. Novotný (Opel Corsa Rally4) 1.
Leadership in competition (RZ): Stříteský 20, Kopecký 12, Březík 6, Cais 3, Mareš 1, Pech 1.
RZ won: Stříteský 14, Kopecký 9, Cais 8, Pech 5, Mareš 5, Březík 5.
Interim standings of the ME
1. Paddon (N. Zél./Hyundai i20) 89 points, 2. Franceschi (Fr./Škoda Fabia RS) 82, 3. Tempestini (Roman./Škoda Fabia RS) 59, 4. Ostberg (Nor./Citroën C3 Rally2) 53; 5. Marczyk (Pol./Škoda Fabia RS Rally2) 45; 6. Mabelini (It./Škoda Fabia RS Rally2) 44; 7. Armstrong (Irland/Ford Fiesta Rally2) 42; 8. Crugnola (It./Citroën C3 Rally2) 35; 9. Linnamäe (Est./Toyota GR Yaris Rally2) 35; 10. Solberg (Sweden/Skoda Fabia RS Rally2) 35; … 22. Cais 18, 27. Mareš 12. Bodovlo 44 riders.
