› This year's second victory by reigning IRC champion
› His teammate Kopecký came third
› IRC overall after 4 events – Hänninen 1st, Kopecký 2nd
› ŠKODA dominates the Manufacturers rankings
In Yalta, 4 June, 2011 – The Prime Yalta Rally saw a fantastic performance by Juho Hänninen of ŠKODA Motorsport (factory team) – although 11th after Day 1, his fast and flawless ride throughout the rest of the event got him to the top. Furthermore, his second victory in IRC this year has earned him the first position in the current rankings. His teammate Jan Kopecký came third and is second in the IRC rankings, right behind Hänninen. After a great chase today, Andreas Mikkelsen of ŠKODA UK Motorsport finished fourth.
The event did not start well for neither of the Fabia drivers – after Thursday (two stages, 7.61 km), Kopecký was 7th and Hänninen 11th (also due to a 10-second penalty for starting off too early in Stage 2). However, Hänninen was incredibly fast in all of Friday's six stages (137 km) and, being absolutely fastest of all in the last two stages, he climbed up to the top before the last day. Saturday (six stages, 117 km) saw a fierce battle between him and Bryan Bouffier in a Peugeot – in the end, Hänninen beat Bouffier by 11.7 seconds. Jan Kopecký had a small problem with the power steering at the end of Day 2, but he still managed to climb up to third place which he's defended today from Mikkelsen in another Fabia Super 2000. The air temperatures were very high throughout the event and the track, going through an area of broken topography, was technically challenging, with many locations posing a high risk of a tyre defect.
Commenting on the event, Head of Škoda Motorsport Michal Hrabánek says: “First of all, I wish to thank both our crews and, of course, the whole team. We didn't have the best of days on Thursday, the opening day of the event, and so the first and third places are an excellent achievement. I am pleased that both our crews were fast enough and managed to avoid defects at the same time. The event has shown again that the IRC series is highly competitive. The next IRC event we are going to appear at is the traditional rally in Ypres, Belgium three weeks from now.”
Celebrating his second victory this year, Juho Hänninen comments: “A very good rally, very good drivers, a great battle. A tiresome and difficult event, but the whole team has done a cracking job. We made no mistake, and the car worked perfectly”.
Jan Kopecký, third in Yalta, comments: “Today we definitely put in our best performance at this event. After some small mistakes and the problem with the power steering during the previous days, the third place is a result that we are pleased with.”
The team is now going to start preparing for the nearest items on its agenda – while Jan Kopecký & Petr Starý are going to appear at the Hustopeče Rally, a Czech Republic Championship event next weekend, Juho Hänninen is continuing his SWRC mission at the Acropolis Rally (17-19 June).
Prime Yalta Rally results:
1. Hänninen / Markkula – ŠKODA Fabia
2. Bouffier / Panseri – Peugeot +11.7 sc
3. Kopecký / Starý – ŠKODA Fabia + 38.7 sc
4. Mikkelsen / Floene – ŠKODA Fabia + 57.3 sc
IRC after four events:
1. Hänninen – 58 points
2. Kopecký – 55 points
3. Bouffier – 49 points
4. Neuville – 48 points
5. Loix – 45 points
Manufacturers rankings:
1. ŠKODA – 146 points
2. Peugeot – 134 points
3. Subaru – 33 points
4. Honda – 28 points
5. Ford – 27 points
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