Barum Czech Rally Zlín 

Flash info after Leg 1

30. 8. 2014 - Ivan Hudcovský, Mariana Petrů, press centre BCRZ

The 45 minute long evening service in Otrokovice ended the first leg of the Barum Czech Rally Zlín. The leader is the Czech driver Václav Pech, followed by Sepp Wiegand and Tomáš Kostka. We interviewed the top drivers before the service entrance.

Václav Pech (CZE, Mini John Cooper Works S2000, st. no. 4):
'I'm not entirely happy with the first section because after the first two stages we hit some troubles. It didn't look good but we managed to get into the Service Park. We fixed it, however, we didn't expect to close the gap let alone be at the top. We went at full blast but carefully, as we didn't want to cause more damage. In the end we slowed down a bit and use the experiences from the first running. The first running through Troják was really hard. We had to deal with two or three critical situations and even though we were at great speed, the car worked well. Though the steering is quite stiff.

Sepp Wiegand (DEU, Škoda Fabia S2000, st. no. 7):
'I'm very happy that we're not out of race because on the last special stage we had puncture and we lost some time. We thought we lost the second place, but Tomáš Kostka had troubles as well. So we're glad to be holding up. Tomorrow we expect an exhilarating fight between the crews and we hope the roads stay dry.

Robert Consani (FRA, Peugeot 207 S2000, st. no. 14):
'I'm satisfied with our overall standing. Hopefully our mechanics will fix the problem because we are needlessly losing time.

Roman Odložilík, Martin Tureček (CZE, Ford Fiesta R5, st. no. 16):
'I'm absolutely happy with today's results. I didn't drive like a fool. But we were going for better times in the last two stages. I will need to push my limit even more. It's a fast rally and we don't know the tomorrow's weather. However, we'll do our best to remain in the same position.

Antonín Tlusťák (CZE, Škoda Fabia S2000, st. no. 20):
'The second running was just as tricky as the first one. I think I didn't make many mistakes. Today's position is good considering the competition. We'll see about tomorrow's weather and we wish the roads stay dry. If it rains, let it be rainy the whole day.'

Martin Vlček (CZE, Škoda Fabia S2000, st. no. 21):
'It looks like the cards are on the table, because we are all alone in our position, so there is no point in risking and trying to catch up with others. This is why we kept the pace constant. We will see about tomorrow, but we are not planning any harsh actions. The important thing is to finish the race.'

Mark Higgins (GBR, Subaru Impreza Sti, st. no. 27):
'We have spent all day adjusting the setup, but it looks like it's all okay now. The last two stages were amazing and I'm glad I could be a part of it. I find the whole day very successful, because if you had told me we were going to get so close to the finish and have this good of a time yesterday, I would not have believed you. Nice weather would be great for tomorrow, because we do not have tyres for wet roads.'

Martin Březík (CZE, Mitsubishi Lancer EVO IX, st. no. 31):
'We have managed to repair the clutch, so we were able to go on without any problems. Our performance was satisfying, the weather was good and I feel quite confident about this day. We played it safe in the last stage and we will see tomorrow. We are doing just fine.'

Jan Černý (CZE, Peugeot 208 R2, st. no. 40):
'We were successful at Troják, but I made a few mistakes like going off the racing line. There still is space for improving and speeding up. The last stage was not so great, let's hope for improvement tomorrow.'

Egon Smékal (CZE, Citroën DS3 R3T, st. no. 54):
'This day was quite promising except for some car troubles at Troják. Then we had a small crash in Semetín, but apart from that we're satisfied. Tomorrow is one big question mark.'

Adam Kobliha (CZE, Renault Clio R3, st. no. 55):
'I am absolutely pleased with the result. We experienced a little crisis in the first running at Maják, when we fell into a ditch because I was long on brakes. The second dangerous situation came in Slušovice. When exiting the circuit we made donuts, but the loss was only 10 seconds. We pushed it to the maximum in the first runnings. In the second ones we had some margin so we could slow down a bit. Everything worked perfectly and the setup was adjusted exactly for these roads. The whole team is doing a hell of a job.'