ŠKODA Motorsport won’t just be celebrating the past on the Czech championship Rally Bohemia this weekend – it will also be looking to its future involvement in the new-generation R5 category.
While Jan Kopecký – the winner of the 2013 FIA European Rally Championship – and Sepp Wiegand will drive a pair of Fabia Super 2000s decked out in the same colour scheme that appeared on the firm’s RS models back in 1974, current ERC title leader Esapekka Lappi will use the Tarmac event to trial the basis of ŠKODA’s R5 challenger in public for the first time.
Lappi, who heads the ERC standings by 33 points following standout wins in Latvia and Northern Ireland this season and is one of the favourites for victory on round seven of the ERC in Estonia next week, will drive a Fabia Super 2000 fitted with a 1.6-litre turbocharged engine in accordance with FIA R5 rules.
Although Lappi won’t be able to chase times on the Tarmac event from 11/12 July, the outing will mark the first public appearance of ŠKODA’s R5 prototype and the first time it has been run in ‘race’ conditions, albeit on selected stages.
“The development of the Fabia R 5 is progressing nicely – we are on schedule,” said ŠKODA Motorsport Director Michal Hrabánek. “The first test under competitive conditions is a big step towards achieving homologation by mid-2015.”
Once homologated for competition use, ŠKODA’s R5 contender is set for action in the ERC in addition to other international championships.
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