European rally weekend: Wins for Kopecky, Rossel, Princen

Some major rally championships in Europe took place the previous weekend. The most interesting event was the 47th Rallye Česky Krumlov, the third round of the Czech Rally Championship because Škoda Motorsport had a competitive debut of the new Škoda Fabia R5 Evo.

Škoda factory driver Jan Kopecky took the dominant win in a new car, defeating the closest rival Filip Mareš (Škoda Fabia R5) by 1 minute 13.9 seconds. Jan Černy completed the podium with another old Škoda Fabia R5.

Three Škoda crews on the podium of the Rallye Česky Krumlov

In France, the 54th Rallye d’Antibes – Cote d’Azur was the third round of the French Tarmac Rally Championship. The winner was Yohan Rossel in a factory-prepared Citroen C3 R5, defeating the second-placed Quentin Gilbert (Volkswagen Polo GTI R5) by more than a minute. It’s the first win of the season for Yohan Rossel. Raphael Astier (Hyundai i20 R5) completed the podium.

In Belgium, Kris Princen has won the 43rd Sezoensrally, the fifth round of the national championship that took in the Dutch province of North Limburg. For the driver of Volkswagen Polo GTI R5, it’s the third win this season in four appearances with the German-built car. He shared a podium with two Škoda Fabia drivers Vincent Verschueren and Sebastien Bedoret.

Kris Princen at Sezoensrally

The 74th RSAC Scottish Rally took place in Dumfries as the fourth round of the national championship. The victory went to David Bogie (Škoda Fabia R5), who was just six seconds faster than Euan Thorburn in a Ford Focus RS WRC 05. Garry Pearson (Ford Fiesta R5) completed a podium.

Rally Bulgaria, which was a part of the World Rally Championship back in 2010, now serves as the opening round both for the Bulgarian championship and Balkan Rally Trophy. The winner was Dimitar Iliev in a Škoda Fabia R5.

Photos: Škoda Motorsport, Juha Bos/ewrc-results.com,