European rally weekend: Kopecky wins at home, Breen takes Irish title

Several great rally events took place this weekend at the European soil. The main event was the Barum Czech Rally Zlin, the sixth round of the European Rally Championship. The Czech driver Jan Kopecky recorded a dominant victory on his home event, what is his ninth victory at this rally.

Sharing the #4 Škoda Fabia R5 Evo with navigator Pavel Dresler, Kopecky defeated the closest rival Filip Mareš (Škoda Fabia R5) by 1 minute 31.5 seconds. The British driver Chris Ingram finished third in the #3 Škoda Fabia R5, just 0.3 seconds behind Mareš. Mareš and Ingram were fighting for the ERC1 Junior title and Czech driver takes the trophy after he overtook Ingram on the very last stage.

New Irish tarmac rally champions Paul Nagle and Craig Breen

On the other side of Europe, Craig Breen and Paul Nagle have won the 42nd Ulster Rally, the round of the British Rally Championship and Irish Tarmac Rally Championship. After four victories in the previous ITRC events with Ford Fiesta R5, Breen raced in a Hyundai i20 R5 and scored his fifth win that secures him the championship title. Matt Edwards finished in the second place in a Ford Fiesta R5, ahead of Callum Devine in a similar car.

In Sweden, the Kolsvarundan rally was the fourth round of the national championship. Three Škoda Fabia drivers occupied the podium – Patrik Flodin was first, Martin Berglund second and Mattias Monelius third.

Photos: FIA ERC/Thomas Fenetre/DPPI,