The eighth IRC championship, the Rally held on the Portuguese island of Madeira, was dominated by cars from the Škoda Motorsport factory team. Coming in first place was the Freddy Loix-Fréderic Miclotte team, starting thanks to the support of the Belgian importer for the Škoda factory team and won in the IRC for the second time in a short period. In second place came the Jan Kopecký-Petr Starý team, which solidified its overall second place in the IRC, and Juho Hänninen and Mikko Markkula fought it out for third place in a beautiful competition on the final special stages. Hänninen is still holding onto the lead in the championship and Škoda still leads in the manufacturer standings.
Michal Hrabánek, head of the Škoda Motorsport team: “We got back the points we lost in the Azores and we’re incredibly happy. The whole team worked perfectly, all three cars ran with no problems and the crews dealt fantastically with a difficult track and the strong competition that gathered for the start of this rally. We started here for the first time and the situation at the beginning of the rally wasn’t looking at all simple, so we really appreciate the result we’ve gotten here. Right away next week we’ll start preparing for one of the highlights of this year’s season, the home Rally in Zlín, which by current indications will have the best quality lineup of drivers in the IRC this year. We feel confident that the Zlín Rally will excite great interest especially among Czech fans, just as in previous years.”
Freddy Loix: “I felt really good about the car during the whole rally; how it was prepared gave me a lot of self-confidence. After the first day I believed I could win the whole race. I’m looking forward to another start with the Fabia Super 2000 in Zlín, where the competition will be top-notch.”
Jan Kopecký: “It’s a fantastic success for the whole Škoda brand. It was difficult for us, because we were starting in an unfamiliar environment and we didn’t manage to use the whole width of the track. I would like to invite all the fans to our home rally in Zlín; it’s going to be a great show.”
Juho Hänninen: “I’m satisfied with third place; realistically speaking, it was the best Mikko and I could have achieved here on an unfamiliar track. We were also really lucky that we were able to continue in the race at all after slipping on the oil spilled on the road.”
Veterans Day