Barum Czech Rally Zlín 

Star Rally Historic awaits its sixteenth round

4. 8. 2024 - Jakub HOFBAUER

STAR RALLY HISTORIC, designated for competition specials from the 1960s to the 1990s, will again be an integral part of the Barum Czech Rally Zlín. A total of 87 crews from 9 countries have registered for the upcoming 16th edition, of which 44 crews will drive in the unmeasured demonstration run of Rally Legends. The main part is again included in the Autoclub Czech Historic Rally Championship 2024. Unlike the Legends, which will finish their journey on Saturday evening, the timed crews can look forward to competing until Sunday afternoon.

The biggest favourites are not too far away from Zlín - both Vlastimil Neumann and Jaroslav Vančík have three victories in Star Rally, both of them would certainly like to extend their statistics and, moreover, to make a reparation for their unsuccessful previous year. Back then, Neumann with his Mitsubishi Lancer Evo III unfortunately quit at the very beginning due to a technical failure, while Vančík crashed just two laps later. However, Martin Černý with BMW M3 or the current leader of the historic championship Petr Jurečka with Subaru Impreza 555 will also want to fight for the top positions. In the category of the youngest cars from the turn of the 80s and 90s there will also be no lack of attractive entries. Martin Klepáč, a fan of French cars, will present the Peugeot 306 Maxi for the first time in Zlín and Lumír Vyorálek will drive a brand new Lancia Delta HF Integrale. An interesting diversification will be the participation of José Calvar González, who will arrive with a tiny Seat Marbella from Spain.

It is no longer the case that the group of older cars from the 1970s and 1980s consists of Škoda and Zhigulis. They will naturally not be absent in their various versions this time either, however, the classic RWDs of Ford Escort RS of Jindřich Štolfa and Roman Mihulka have firmly established themselves on the domestic scene in recent years. Fiat 131 Racing will also be a refreshing feature, with which Jan Lunga returned to the tracks this year after a few years' break. The Swedish Hans Gustafsson, who raced in Zlín in the 1980s and 1990s and also took part in the Star Rally Historic several times with his Toyota Starlet, will also show up with new equipment. This year, he will drive the newer model Corolla AE86 for the first time. His country is also home to the Volvo Amazon 122 S of Polish driver Artur Skrabalak, who will be competing in the oldest car category from the 1960s along with Oldřich Kovařík in a Škoda Octavia TS.

The audience will again not miss an attractive show full of wild skids and burnt tyres. The status of the greatest entertainer has long belonged to Jozef Béreš Jr., who will perform the same dance as last year in his Opel Ascona 400. The Spišák brothers with Lada VFTS or the almost domestic family tandem of the Urbans with Škoda 130 LR will not be missing either. Even Florian Jäger with Ford Escort RS 2000 will return to Zlín after last year's break. The Rally Legends group will also offer a number of impressive cars; fans can look forward to an overview of rally history, from the round 1960s Saab 96 through the legendary Škoda 130 RS coupe or the iconic Audi Quattro to the well-known favourites that formed the core of domestic rally sport in the first half of the 1990s.

Participants of the sixteenth competition of Star Rally Historic will have to face a total of 12 special stages with a total length of almost 146 kilometres. After the ceremonial start at 2 p.m., the competition will start as usual with the evening special stage in Zlín, which starts at 7:15 p.m. On Saturday, the cars will go twice to the Březová and Kateřinice special stages, while one passage is set in Rajnochovice and Bunč, the best circuit of this year's event. The starting field will continue on Sunday without the demonstration run of the Rally of Legends, on the classic sections of Halenkovice, Semetín and Pindula. The best crews will then be welcomed at the finish ramp in Zlín after 4 p.m.

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

Zlín, 4th August 2024

Jakub HOFBAUER
Press Office
Barum Czech Rally Zlín