Barum Czech Rally Zlín 

The organizers of the Barum Czech Rally Zlín published the Rally Guide and presented a new motif

29. 4. 2024 - Roman Ordelt

More than three months before the start of the 53rd edition of the Barum Czech Rally Zlín 2024, the organisers of the rally have published the core rally document in the form of the Rally Guide 1. On almost fifty pages you can find introductory information about this year's edition, which will take place in the Zlín region from 16 to 18 August. At the same time, a new competition theme has been introduced, dominated by the Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 car in the traditional yellow and blue colours.

Every year, the popular Barum rally is one of the key events and highlights of the FIA European Rally Championship (ERC) and the Czech Rally Championship (MCR). The introductory Rally Guide is informative and provides basic information about the event. Right on the front page we can find the new theme of this year's event, where the Škoda special is dressed in the traditional colours of the Zlín Rally. "From our point of view, this year's motif is very successful and will certainly attract the attention of motorsport fans. We used a car from a significant partner Škoda Auto and the rally special was recoloured in the colours of Barumka and the city of Zlín. The round number is a reflection of the history when these numbers were used in competitions many years ago, even though the Zlín rally missed it. The round number is also connected with the Barum company logo, as this company also has the letter B graphically arranged in a circle," said Ing. Jan Regner, Clerk of the Course of Barum Czech Rally Zlín. The new competition theme will be featured on all promotional and press materials for the fifty-third edition.

The Zlín organisers have divided the first Rally Guide into several sections, namely rally history, contacts, accommodation, rally programme and important dates, rally entry, entries, advertising, course, service zone, familiarisation runs, SS shakedown test / qualifying SS, media, insurance, vehicles, hospitality, presentation offer, published materials, general information, glossary - useful words and phrases. The introduction includes a foreword by Miloslav Regner, Chairman of the Organising Committee and Jan Regner, Clerk of the Course of Barum Czech Rally Zlín. You can read the history of Barum rally on more than ten pages. The prestige of the Zlín Rally has grown steadily over the years, since 1984 it has been part of the European Championship, since 2007 it has been part of the Intercontinental Rally Challenge (IRC) series and in recent years it has been one of the mainstays of the European Championship (FIA ERC). Big names of rally sport have entered the winner's gallery, with Jan Kopecký celebrating a total of eleven triumphs and dominating the last eight editions! Three times Vladimír Hubáček, John Haugland from Norway, Enrico Bertone from Italy and home rider Roman Kresta were the winners. A total of 29 riders from 12 countries have entered the winners' gallery over the years. In Zlín, big names of competitive sport, such as the double world champion from 1980 and 1982 Walter Röhrl from Germany, the world champion from 2019 Ott Tänak from Estonia, five-time world vice-champion Thierry Neuville from Belgium, as well as the winners of the world championship Franz Wittmann from Austria, Armin Schwarz from Germany, Andreas Mikkelsen from Norway, Daniel Sordo from Spain and Esapekka Lappi from Finland, took part in the competition.

The introductory guide includes the ERC 2023 calendar, contacts to rally directorates, national sporting authorities and key rally officials. You can read the rally programme, important dates and information about the route, entry conditions for competitors and the amount of deposits. Compared to last year's edition, 29% of the route of the stages, which measure a total of 202 km, has been changed. Naturally, the names of the individual timed tests are missing, these will be revealed in early July with the publication of the special provisions for this year's event.

Journalists will find the accreditation rules, conditions and procedure for accreditation for this year's event in the introductory Rally Guide. Accreditation applications for all media must be submitted via Eventhos' online form. All media accreditation for international and national media personnel will be done exclusively through the championship promoter's system listed above. Last year alone, 321 media representatives from 13 countries were accredited by the press centre. You can read general information, facts about the Czech Republic, driving in the Czech Republic, general services to motorists, health information, rally safety and rally visiting regulations. At the end there is a glossary of useful words and phrases. You can download the Czech and English versions of the Rally Guide 1 on the official rally website in the section Drivers, Documents.

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, 29th April 2024

Roman ORDELT
Press Relations Officer
Barum Czech Rally Zlín

You can find this document in section dedicated to competitors - documents.