Feedback from pilots on pre-start press conference and autograph session
In the Bondy Center in Mladá Boleslav, the pre-start autograph session of the top crews with a press conference took place with great interest from fans. We bring you some feedback from drivers at pre-start press conference.
Jan Kopecký: “The tracks are interesting, they are short stages but they are demanding. Each stage looks completely different, so we will have to think a lot while driving and we will definitely try to drive as fast as possible.” Pavel Dresler: “The reconnaissance was standard, we are already looking forward to the track.”
Kalle Rovanperä: “Yes, it is the first start for us here in the Czech Republic. The special stages are very nice, somewhere really fast, but also technical and with very good flow, something is going on all the time. They promise a very enjoyable driving. We don’t know exactly what the weather will be like during the race, but it seems to be challenging because it is supposed to be rainy.” The answer to the question of whether he thinks it is possible to beat Jan Kopecký: “Well, that would be difficult and I do not know if it is possible at the first start, as Jan always wins here. But we will try to be as fast as possible here. ” Jonne Halttunen: “The tracks are beautiful. From a co-pilot standpoint, it should be fine when reading a breakdown, and there should be quite a bit of time for dictation. ”
Jan Černý: “This year’s season we are rather unlucky and are accompanied by technical problems, similar to the last year’s Rally Bohemia. But I believe that will break through here and we reach the finish ramp satisfied and smiling. We no longer have a lot to fight for in the championship, but we want to enjoy every mile and yard of the track. I really admire the organizers’ work and thank them for the beautiful track. It’s a big challenge, because the stages are new and there are many of them. I can’t wait to get in the car and go. ” Petr Černohorský: “The fact that the organizer took over the job and entered other areas for totally new special stages is just the right thing and it will be almost a new competition or all of us. They already owe great thanks and appreciation for that. ”
Petr Semerád: “Unlike Hustopeče, where we were fatal to thrown out concrete “anticut”, there are only bollards on the roadside, which will not do much to the car. We are going to gather experience, we want to drive as many miles as possible safely and reach the goal.” Jiří Hlávka: “I like tracks very much, the new stages that took place on Saturday are amazing. All very challenging and nice. The organizer did a fantastic job!”
Mirek Jakeš: “We curently ninth in the championship due to various problems in previous races, so the overall result in this year will probably not be of great value to us this year. We want to break trough it here. We were doing well on Hustopeče, we withdrew fom race just before the finish ramp, so now we really want to reach the finish a lot.
Vojtěch Štajf: “Petr Machů said here that he is fond of Fabia S2000, so I remember with love the Subaru, which we succeeded here with. When we went with him it the first year, we won the European Trophy and then officially the overall classification of the Rally Bohemia, so this is the race where I am among the winners. It’s been a good number of years, but it’s not forgotten. I am glad that the competition returned to the tracks around Liberec, where we were racing that time. The tracks are shorter, but after all, it would be better for us elders, in terms of physical stress (smile). I rate very positively that the organizers have embarked on such a change and that the track has been changed so much. I hope that we will continue on trend of improving our results with our Polo. Although it will be very difficult now, because we were sixth, fifth and then fourth in the past championship races, we should now be on the podium – which is probably a very daring or unreal goal, if you look at the list of our competitors. But it’s a rally and you never know what’s going to happen. We want to go ahead both on the track and overall in the championship. “
Štěpán Vojtěch: “We are especially happy to be able to compete again after some time. Last year we went here with the R5 Skoda, but we forgot it all anyway after a year passed. We haven’t been driving much with our Peugeot, so we hope to catch some pace during the competition. ”
There was also a big legend (not only) of Rally Bohemia and former factory driver of the ŠKODA team from 1970’s and 80’s – Norwegian John Haugland. He won Rally Bohemia three times, then still with label Rallye Škoda, in 1977, 1979 and 1980. Among other things, John Haugland mentioned that he is pleased that the Rally Bohemia tradition is still alive and that there are still so many fans and supporters, as well as of the rally sport in the Czech Republic. He also pointed out that although he is a Scandinavian rider, he found great pleasure in asphalt competitions, where he could concentrate more on the ideal track line than on gravel and take advantage of better vehicle grip on better roads.
More information on all parts of Rally Bohemia 2019 including maps of the stages and individual time schedules can be found at www.rallybohemia.cz. There is also the Internet Radio Rally Bohemia, which will broadcast interviews with riders from special stages during the competition and other information. You can find it here: http://www.rallybohemia.cz/2019/en/Radio/. You can also watch more information and learn interesting facts about the competition on social networks. The traditional general partner of the competition is ŠKODA AUTO.
Rally Bohemia can be found on these accounts on social networks:
Facebook: www.facebook.com/rallybohemia
Youtube: www.youtube.com/user/RallyBohemia
Instagram: www.instagram.com/rallybohemia
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2019-07-12 [171]
