Barum Czech Rally Zlín 

Flash info at the final regrouping in Otrokovice

31. 8. 2014 - Ivan Hudcovský, Mariana Petrů, press centre BCRZ

The 44th Barum Czech Rally Zlín 2014 has successfully come to an end. After the last regrouping in the Service Park the crews headed to the ramp in front of the City hall where the final ceremony was held and the prices were awarded. We managed to interview the top drivers of this year's Barum Rally after their final special stage.

Václav Pech (CZE, Mini John Cooper Works S2000, st. no. 4):
'At first, a good final position was not in our minds. We had engine troubles. But we believed that if we get to the service we'll fix everything. In the end we weren't losing by huge margin and we tried to put up a fight. Yesterday's rally was quite fast and we went at full blast to all the stages. And today we struggled to maintain our concentration especially in the turns because we wanted to avoid any mistakes. Sometimes it would have been safer to go faster through certain passages.'

Sepp Wiegand (DEU, Škoda Fabia S2000, st. no. 7):
'When I arrived to the finish, I thought we were third. I couldn't believe that we managed to keep Tomáš Kostka behind our backs. It was so close. I'm truly happy. The whole team did very well. None of the mechanics made mistakes, the whole time we had good tyres and everyone did their best. It was perfect and they made it. Today's priority was to reach the finish. I didn't push hard in order to be safe. The Barum Czech Rally is very hard and even the most experienced crews make mistakes. I'm glad we kept our speed and made minimum errors on the roads.

Tomáš Kostka (CZE, Ford Fiesta R5, st. no. 17):
'I'm delighted to be in the finish because at Pindula our engine stopped working properly. Unfortunately we fixed the problems only for a short period of time and on the last stage they appeared again. We spend all weekend repairing the car setup and the team did hell of a job. For us it was a first real race with this car and we're pleased with our final third position.'

Jaroslav Orsák (CZE, Škoda Fabia S2000, st. no. 15):
'Our intention was to be in the top five. In spite of yesterday's puncture and issues with the setup we're satisfied with our standing. It is a huge success to finish the competition considering all the technical difficulties. On Saturday the condition of our car forced us to try hard but without making unnecessary faults. And the same was on Sunday.

Jaromír Tarabus (CZE, Škoda Fabia S2000, st. no. 11):
'We were enjoying the last stages. It was fast so with any luck we'll get some points for today. We managed to move in front of Kajetanowicz and we're happy for that. A while ago we knocked the mirror off but it was worth it. If I had done better job yesterday, we could have been somewhere else. In general we're disappointed but today's performance was good. We're alive and that's what matters.'

Ott Tänak (EST, Ford Fiesta R5, st. no. 2):
'I think our team did a good job. All the roads were very hard and occasionally unpredictable. We've never experienced roads like these. Even though I had to be completely focused, we still had fun today. We also used the opportunity to try out utterly new and different tyres. It was a wonderful weekend and we gained a lot of experiences.'

Vlček Martin (CZE, Škoda Fabia S2000, st. no. 21):
'We feel good about the race and our standings. It is only our car that does not feel well at all. In case there was one more stage to go, we wouldn't probably be able to finish. We had a problem that we managed to fix; unfortunately the same thing happened in the last stage. Let's hope the car makes it to the ramp. There was no point in risking. The important thing is to cross the finish line safely.'

Antonín Tlusťák (CZE, Škoda Fabia S2000, st. no. 20):
'With this kind of competition I am happy to have finished and to reach our goal of staying in the top 10. The car was working perfectly, never mind the fact that we left some parts of it on the roads of Semetín.'

Bruno Magalhães (PRT, Peugeot 208 T16, st. no. 8):
'The whole rally was difficult. I knew it cannot be easy, but I never thought it would be this hard. The overall setup must be completely different than anywhere else. The tracks were new to us and sometimes it was impossible for our crew to finish. There were many terrifying moments here and I'm happy we made it to the end. On the other hand, we are leaving this tough rally with a handful of positive experiences.'

Neil Simpson (GBR, Škoda Fabia S2000, st. no. 19):
'I am satisfied, because the main priority was to finish the rally and I'm thrilled to be in the top 15. It wasn't easy to find the right car setup due to the fact that we are not used to these types of roads. We will definitely be readier next time. The drivers competing here are very fast even in the dangerous sections, but we really liked our stay here.'

Březík Martin (CZE, Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX, st. no. 31):
'It was a fantastic experience we totally didn't expect. We have failed to finish the rally two times before, but we wanted to change it this year. It was my fault the first time. In the second case it was car troubles that put us out of the game. The whole team was doing their best and the outcome is amazing. We tried to speed up at Raková today, but then we slowed down for the remaining part of the stage.'

Kobliha Adam (CZE, Renault Clio R3, st. no. 55):
'Now that it's over, I've got a wonderful feeling. We were prepared and there were no crucial problems during the rally. We put in some good effort and kept the pace up. The whole team is happy.'