Barum Czech Rally Zlín 

Young Erik Cais is getting close to the leader Kopecký

28. 8. 2021 - Jakub Kudláč

After the SS Pindula, the 22-year-old driver and ambassador of the Barum rally Erik Cais dominated also the second pass of Hošťálková and follows the leader Jan Kopecký with the loss of 0.8 seconds. Norwegian Andreas Mikkelsen took third place with a gap of 6.9 seconds behind the first place. On the other hand, Adam Březík (technical failure before SS7) and Finn Jari Huttunen (crash at SS7) will not continue in the race.

The crew of Jan Kopecký and Jan Hloušek also won the second stage of the Březová special stage within the European classification. With their Škoda Fabia Rally2 Evo they set a time of 07:45.5 minutes, compared to the first pass they improved by almost eleven seconds. Two seconds later, Erik Cais' Ford Fiesta R5 MkII reached the finish line, with Andreas Mikkelsen taking third place with a loss of 2.7 seconds to Kopecký.

Other Czechs also did well, Adam Březík took fourth place and Filip Mareš finished fifth. Miroslav Jakeš closed the elite ten.

As a part of the classification of the Czech championship, Václav Pech showed again the pace with his Ford Focus WRC, setting the fastest time 7:43.2 at Březová. Overall, he is the third in the Czech Championship.

SS7 Hošťálková then clearly belonged to the crew of Erik Cais, Jindřiška Žáková. They set a time of 10:18.0 minutes on the almost 19 km track and left their much more experienced competitor Jan Kopecký behind by 3.9 seconds. Even this time, the Norwegian-Swedish crew Andreas Mikkelsen, Jonas Andersson was the third with a loss of 7.9 seconds to the winner. Filip Mareš earned the sixth place with a spare time, and Miroslav Jakeš and Petr Semerád shared the tenth place.

But this long stage did not go well for everyone. The accident met Finnish driver Jari Huttunen, after whose crash the race was stopped for a while. Adam Březík retired due to a failure before the start, Yoann Bonato got a puncture, while Albert von Thurn und Taxis crashed.

Ken Torn from Estonia (Ford Fiesta Rally3) is now a solo driver in the ERC Junior category. In the ERC2 category, the Hungarian Tibor Érdi junior (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X) leads fifteen seconds ahead of the Frenchman Cartier. In the category of 2WD, ERC3 + ERC3J Hungarian Martin László ruled fearlessly again, whose Peugeot 208 Rally4 leads over Italian Mabellini by 26.7 seconds.

Classification after SS7 Hošťálková:

1. Kopecký, Hloušek (CZE, Škoda Fabia Rally2 Evo) 58:07,4 min
2. Cais, Žáková (CZE, Ford Fiesta R5 MkII) + 0,8
3. Mikkelsen, Andersson (NOR/SWE, Škoda Fabia Rally2 Evo) + 6,9 s
4. S. Wagner, Winter (AUT, Škoda Fabia Rally2 Evo) + 39,9 s
5. Marczyk, Gospodarczyk (POL, Škoda Fabia Rally2 Evo) + 45,6 s
6. Herczig, Ferencz (HUN, Škoda Fabia Rally2 Evo) + 54,1 s
7. Mareš, Bucha (CZE, Škoda Fabia Rally2 Evo) + 55,3 s
8. Llarena, Fernandez (ESP, Škoda Fabia Rally2 Evo) + 1:33,3 min
9. Devine, Fulton (IRL, Ford Fiesta R5 MkII) + 2:01,1 min
10. Jakeš, Machů (CZE, Škoda Fabia R5) + 2:13,1 min

17. Torn, Pannas (EST, Ford Fiesta Rally3), 1. místo ERCJ + 4:52,1 min
19. Érdi jr., Csökö (HUN, Mitsubishi Lancer EVO X), 1. ERC2 + 6:08,4 min
22. László, Berendi (HUN, Peugeot 208 Rally4), 1. ERC3 + 7:27,4 min