Barum Czech Rally Zlín 

Daniel Polášek has become the Barum Rally’s Ambassador

4. 3. 2024 - Roman Ordelt

The organizers of the European car competition Barum Czech Rally Zlín have appointed a new ambassador for this year. Daniel Polášek, a young talented driver, will be the official ambassador and will spread the fame of the Zlín rally throughout the FIA European Rally Championship (ERC). The 24-year-old driver from Zlín will be competing in the European Junior Championship this season with his new co-driver Zdeněk Omelka and the new Peugeot 208 Rally4.

The organizers of the Zlín Rally aim to further increase the popularity of the Barum rally on the European continent, attract foreign crews to Zlín and further increase the number of fans from all over the Europe. To achieve this, the post of Rally Ambassador was created to actively promote Barum rally, as well as the entire Czech Republic and the Zlín region within the European Championship. Daniel Polášek and his co-driver Zdeněk Omelka are the third ambassadors of the Zlín Barumka. The first ones were Jaromír Tarabus and Daniel Trunkát in 2015, who were replaced three years ago by Erik Cais and Jindřiška Žáková. "Barum rally has long been a part of the prestigious European Championship, hosting leading drivers from the Czech Republic on a regular basis. Daniel Polášek is not only a young and talented driver in the European Championship, but above all a regional competitor from the Zlín region. Logically, our choice for ambassadorship was focused on him. In addition, Daniel guarantees an excellent representation of human values and will follow the previous ambassadorships of Mirek Tarabus and Erik Cais," said Ing. Jan Regner, Clerk of the Course of Barum Czech Rally Zlín and continued: "Let's take advantage of Dan's races abroad to promote the Barum rally even more. His task will be to attract not only foreign drivers to the start, but also motoring fans to visit Zlín. We wish Dan as much success as possible in the European Junior Championship and keep our fingers crossed for him in his promising racing career."

Daniel Polášek made his debut in rally during the summer of 2018 at the Star Rally held as a part of Barum rally, where he competed in the Legend category in a Nissan Micra, and he started his first live rally a year later in Vsetín in a Honda Civic VTi. His career began to develop fully in 2020, when he competed in the Moravian Rally Sprints in an Opel Adam Cup car followed by a start in the Rally Pačejov. For the next two seasons, he focused on competing in the European Junior Championship with the Ford Fiesta Rally4 as the only Czech Republic representative, finishing seventh overall in both years. At Barum rally, he took an excellent fourth place among juniors twice. In the previous season he prioritised the prestigious championship in Finland, which was run exclusively on snow and gravel. In the tough competition, he achieved an excellent fourth place in his category. "It is an incredible honour for me to be an ambassador of the Barum rally, in short, it is a dream come true as it is a home event. I am a Zlín native, I live and work in Zlín. Barum rally is a matter of heart for me and I appreciate this honour very much," said Daniel Polášek.

The former Czech representative in fin swimming competed twice at Barum rally and always finished just below the podium on fourth place in the junior ranking. "The first two seasons among juniors in Europe were all about learning with the goal to finish competitions. The races in Zlín were some of the hardest I have ever ridden. We struggled with difficult track conditions, mostly rain and limited tyre choice, incredibly tough conditions. This year we want to finish at the top of the 2WDs in Zlín," said the talented Polášek.

"Kačka Janovská changed her job and for time reasons she cannot attend the whole European Championship and be away from home for six weeks. That's why the choice fell on Zdeněk Omelka, who is in a better time situation. In previous years we rented or borrowed the vehicle, this year we have established our own team with a full service support. That is also why we switched to the Peugeot brand. Firstly from a performance point of view and then from a customer support point of view in terms of spare parts distribution and race assistance." The car will make its first start of the season at the Tuuri Rally in Finland in early March, followed by the European Championship kick-off in the second weekend of April at the gravel Rally Hungary in Veszprém.

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

Zlín, 4th March 2024

Roman ORDELT
Press Relations Officer
Barum Czech Rally Zlín