Barum Czech Rally Zlín 

European Barum rally ready to start in August

21. 7. 2023 - Roman ORDELT

The fifty-second edition of the Barum Czech Rally Zlín is literally knocking on the door. It will take place a week earlier than usual, the date is set for 18-20 August 2023. Tens of thousands of fans watch the Barum Rally in the Zlín region every year, which makes it one of the most visited sporting events in the Czech Republic. This year, too, the FIA European Rally Championship (ERC) is expecting a quality show. Barum rally will also be held as a PSG event in the 2023 Czech Rally Championship (MCR).

The centre of the competition will be concentrated in the regional city of Zlín. The start of the competition will be preceded by a technical acceptance held on Thursday 17 August in the afternoon in Otrokovice. On Friday, August 18, qualifying and a test SS (shakedown) will take place in the morning on the Maják section in the Malenovice district of Zlín, and is routed around the local castle. The ceremonial start will take place at 4 pm in the square in front of the Zlín Town Hall, the rally itself will start with an evening Super SS in the streets of Zlín, followed by two legs. The entire rally is 759.79 km long and includes 13 stages with a total length of 200.43 km on seven asphalt sections. The longest and most challenging stage in this year's Barum Rally itinerary will be the Trojak stage in the first leg, which measures a total of 25.64 km! Traditionally, the Zlín Rally will kick off into high gear on Friday evening with a circuit Super Stage in the streets of the regional city. The first car will appear on the track at 9 pm, after which the crews will hand over the competition cars to the closed parking lot under the Shopping Mall in Zlín. The first stage starts from the same location on Saturday 19 August at 8am, and after a fifteen-minute morning service, the starting field will be facing a portion of three special stages in the order of Slušovice (12.73 km long), Kateřinice (10.86 km) and Troják (25.64 km), which will be completed twice and will be divided by a half-hour afternoon service. Saturday's day will be closed by a 45-minute evening service, after which the cars will spend the night in a closed car park in Zlín.

The second leg will take place on Sunday 20 August and starts under the Zlín Grand Cinema at 6:40 am. The crews will head to Otrokovice for the morning service and then we can find in the competition itinerary the stages called Semetín (length 11.51 km), the legendary Pindula section (18.00 km) and Halenkovice (16.69 km). The next portion of six timed sections will be separated by a 30-minute lunchtime service. The final Power Stage will be the Halenkovice stage near the service zone, which will again be located at the Continental Barum test track in Otrokovice. "We have arranged difficult stages to test the readiness of both the crews and cars. The itinerary includes two timed sections at Kateřinice and Pindula, while parts of these stages were last run in 1994. The competition will certainly not lack the intensity and difficult nature of the individual stages. This year's competition in the European championship promises a very high quality driver line-up. The spectators have something to look forward to again," said Ing. Jan Regner, Clerk of the Course of Barum Czech Rally Zlín. The first car will appear at the finish line in front of the Zlín Town Hall at 17:40, and the award ceremony and prize distribution will take place at the same place.

More information available at www.czechrally.com and don't forget to follow Barum rally on the official Facebook, Instagram, Twitter accounts and other press information.