“It was as challenging here as every year. Today it was really hot again and we sweated a lot, but it used to be worse. Today we are satisfied. After the first section it looked like Venca would go in front of us, we slightly changed the car settings as I did he felt it could work, and it helped, “Kopecký told autosport.cz.
The 40-year-old pilot took the lead behind the wheel of the Fabia in the fourth part of the Championship in the last special stage on Friday, when he moved ahead of Pech, and in the remaining six tests the order did not change in the first three places. Each of the trio of aspirants added at least one partial championship to the victory. Kopecký was the fastest three times, Pech twice and Mareš in the final test.
The crew of Jan Kopecký and Jan Hloušek with the Škoda Fabia Rally2 Evo.Photo: Václav ŠálekČTK
“In the afternoon at the first two rehearsals, I was surprised that we managed to bounce off Vašek, and then I was sure that if I didn’t ruin it somewhere, I could watch it,” said Kopecký.
The eight-time Czech champion triumphed in a popular competition among Moravian vineyards for the first time since 2018, when he won for the fourth time in a row. He did not find a winner here even in 2011-13. He returned last year’s six-second defeat to the four-time winner Pech, Mareš repeated third place.
“I’m so sorry that everything was decided by one test, which we couldn’t influence. The ride was otherwise fantastic and it was a great duel. Friday’s final stage, when he lagged behind Kopecký by six seconds due to dust on the track and only a minute gap between the cars. “Today we tried and rode to the fullest. We were a fantastic sport, tugged and we could have decided it on the last line,” he said, adding that he still has the enthusiasm for a big battle for first place.
Kopecký strengthened the lead at the head of the championship over Mareš. Pech, who won the Wallachian Rally at the beginning of the season, starts with a WRC category car and his results do not count towards the championship series.
The next race of the Championship will be the Bohemia Rally Mladá Boleslav on July 9 and 10.
| Rallye Hustopeče, race of the Czech Republic championship in car competitions: |
|---|
| 1. Kopecký, Hloušek (Škoda Fabia Rally2 Evo) 1: 18: 12.4 |
| 2. Pech, Uhel (Ford Focus WRC) -6.3 |
| 3. Mareš, Bucha (Škoda Fabia Rally2 Evo) -11.5 |
| 4. Stritesky, Hovorka (Skoda Fabia R5) -2: 05.5 |
| 5. Grzyb, Borko (Pol./ Škoda Fabia Rally2 Evo) -2: 27.4 |
| 6. J. Melichárek, E. Melichárek (SR / Ford Fiesta RS WRC) -3: 40.0 |
| 7. Vlcek, Skripova (Hyundai i20 N Rally2) -4: 05.7 |
| 8. Cvrček, Šálek (Škoda Fabia Rally2 Evo) -4: 42.7 |
| Current standings of the Czech Championships: |
| 1. Kopecký 231 |
| 2. Mareš 192 |
| 3. Stříteský 126 |
