A long season has come to a successful end for ŠKODA Motorsport. After Kalle Rovanperä and Jonne Halttunen three weeks ago at Rally Wales GB prematurely won the WRC 2 Pro drivers’ titles, ŠKODA Motorsport rounded up the season by also winning the WRC 2 Pro manufacturers’ title of the FIA World Rally Championship 2019*. At RACCRally Catalunya-Rally de España a second place in the category for Jan Kopecký/Jan Hloušek plus third for teammates Rovanperä/Halttunen was enough to seal the title for ŠKODA.
Going into Saturday, Kalle Rovanperä was second in WRC 2 Pro. With fast stage times he managed to close the gap to the WRC 2 Pro category leader, Citroën’s Mads Østberg, from more than 30 to 9.8 seconds. But on the day’s very last stage in the streets of Salou, Rovanperä hit a barrier, breaking the left rear suspension of his car. Thus, the Finnish crew dropped to third at the end of the Saturday leg, while teammate Jan Kopecký moved up to second position of the WRC 2 Pro category. On Sunday, with four more stages adding up to 74.14 kilometres of racing against the clock, both teams strictly followed the team-order, took no unnecessary risks and after a faultless drive reached the finish in Salou, making ŠKODA Motorsport boss Michal Hrabánek a happy man.
“Finally, I can say: mission accomplished. We achieved every target we set ourselves for 2019. We successfully brought the new ŠKODA FABIA R5 evo to the market, Kalle and Jonne took the drivers titles* and on top of that secured together with both Jans the necessary points to win the manufacturers’ championship*,” ŠKODA Motorsport Director Michal Hrabánek emphasizes and adds: “This success only was possible due to the strong commitment and support from our board of management, our engineers, mechanics and all the ŠKODA employees, who supported us, making motorsport a successful part of the ŠKODA DNA. I am on top of that delighted to see how successful our customers are. At the final WRC round in Australia, only a ŠKODA crew can win the WRC 2 championship for private teams. Our customers around the world are rallying successfully with the 311 cars we sold. We have a big responsibility towards our customers and will now fully concentrate on preparing next season properly.”
Inside the WRC 2 category for private teams, championship leaders Pierre-Louis Loubet/Vincent Landais (FRA/FRA) had a heart-breaking moment during the final day of the Spanish WRC round. Having led the category after the first day of the rally, they put their ŠKODA FABIA R5 evo into a ditch on the second of the Sunday stages, lost valuable time and dropped to fifth category position. Now the season’s final in Australia will bring the decision between them and the Mexican ŠKODA crew Benito Guerra/Daniel Cué, who had to retire in Spain.
*subject to the publication of the official results by the FIA
Result RallyRACC Catalunya (WRC 2 Pro/WRC 2)
1. Østberg/Eriksen (NOR/NOR), Citroën C3 R5, 3:16:04.2 h*
2. Camilli/Veillas (FRA/FRA), Citroën C3 R5, +22.6 sec.
3. Kopecký/Hloušek (CZE/CZE), ŠKODA FABIA R5 evo, +54.7 sec.*
4. Rovanperä/Halttunen (FIN/FIN), ŠKODA FABIA R5 evo, +1:29.1 min.*
5. Lindholm/Korhonen (FIN/FIN), VW Polo GTI R5, +2:03.1 min.
6. Kajetanovicz/Szcepaniak (POL/POL), VW Polo GTI R5, +2:19.1 min.
*Factory nominated crews eligible to score points in the WRC 2 Pro category
Championship Standings WRC 2 Pro/Drivers (after 13 of 14 rounds)
1. Kalle Rovanperä (FIN), ŠKODA, 176 points
2. Mads Østberg (NOR), Citroën, 145 points
3. Gus Greensmith (GBR), Ford, 137 points
4. Jan Kopecký (CZE), ŠKODA, 115 points
Championship Standings WRC 2 Pro/Manufacturers (after 13 of 14 rounds)
1. ŠKODA, 333 points
2. Ford, 259 points
3. Citroën, 145 points
Number of the day: 3
ŠKODA won all three titles of the WRC 2 Pro category of the FIA World Rally Championship 2019. Factory crew Kalle Rovanperä and Jonne Halttunen became drivers’ and co-driver’ champions respectively, while ŠKODA took the manufacturers crown.*
*subject to the publication of the official results by the FIA
The calendar of the 2019 FIA World Rally Championship (WRC 2 Pro)
Event/Date
Monte-Carlo 24/01/–27/01/2019
Sweden 14/02/–17/02/2019
Mexico 07/03/–10/03/2019
France 28/03/–31/03/2019
Argentina 25/04/–28/04/2019
Chile 09/05/–12/05/2019
Portugal 30/05/–02/06/2019
Italy 13/06/–16/06/2019
Finland 01/08/–04/08/2019
Germany 22/08/–25/08/2019
Turkey 12/09/–15/09/2019
Great Britain 03/10/–06/10/2019
Spain 24/10/–27/10/2019
Australia 14/11/–17/11/2019
