“We are very satisfied that we managed to bring the World Championship to the Czech Republic and organize everything. Prague Castle had a wonderful start with an amazing backdrop. The opening special stage in Chuchli was great and exceeded our expectations,” said Kunc.
In a press release after the end of the competition, he compared the start of the rally to the first Rolling Stones concert in what was then Czechoslovakia in August 1990. “Photos of the ceremonial start at the Castle with Mr. President went around the world, we are very proud of that,” said the general secretary of the Autoclub of the Czech Republic.
According to the organizers, 125,000 spectators visited the competition over the course of three stages, and almost half of all fans visited the Czech special stages. “We didn’t expect such a large influx of spectators and we have to prepare better for next year,” admitted Kunc.
The sixth test overall had to be canceled due to unruly spectators standing in prohibited areas by the track. “We stopped her as a precaution. We wanted to prevent possible problems and protect riders and spectators from a possible tragedy,” explained Kunc.
The way they want to eliminate similar problems in the future is to increase the capacity of specially marked spectator seats. “We had full stands where fans respected the rules but also went to places that were not primarily intended for them. Next year we have to make the zones bigger and prepare for it more than this year. We thought that we would cover everything in terms of capacity, but the visit was many times larger than we expected,” Kunc admitted.
Even with regard to the weather, the Friday special stages of the Central European Rally on the Czech territory were often extremely demanding, which was confirmed by the drivers themselves. “We wanted each erzeta to be unique and different from the next in its own way. I’m glad we made it. The speed tests were well evaluated,” said Kunc, and he also appreciated the contribution of the still active navigator Petr Černohorský, who participated in the construction of the track. “And we also have the potential to continue developing,” he pointed out.
The rally will be part of the WC next year as well, it will be held a week later at the turn of October and November. According to Kunka, she should again start in Prague and the first stage should take place in the Czech Republic. “The date is moved so that we do not overlap with another top event of the FIA Motorsport Games,” said Kunc. In Prague, the opening special stage for spectators should take place again.
