· Three factory Fabias and three private teams to appear on the start line
· Support provided to the Fabia Super 2000 project extended to Sweden and Finland
· Third event of this year's IRC – in Corsica for the first time in history
In Mladá Boleslav, six Škoda Fabia Super 2000s in total are going to appear on the start line of the Corsica Rally (12-14 May, 2011), the third event of this year's IRC series. Besides Kopecký (Škoda Motorsport), Loix (Škoda Belgium) and Mikkelsen (Škoda UK) in factory cars, IRC will see Patrick Sandell's premiere with a private Fabia (Škoda Sweden) and Toni Gardemeister with another private car, both of the latter two being supported by Škoda importers in their respective countries. Jean-François Succi will also privately-entered a Fabia Super 2000. Škoda currently leads the IRC Manufacturers rankings.
Broken down to fourteen stages (321 kilometers) and extending over three days, this asphalt rally will surely test the resistance and preparedness of both the drivers and their teams who will have to move all their equipment to a different service park each day. Moreover, this logistics challenge will combine with the event's competition program scheduled from early mornings till late evenings. The Corsica Rally is getting back to its roots - its route goes throughout the island.
Commenting on the upcoming event, Jan Kopecký of Škoda Motorsport (factory team) says: “This rally will certainly not be an easy one, mainly because IRC events are usually simpler in terms of logistics. Furthermore, the program extends from early mornings till late evenings, and the whole team will have to keep moving all the time. All that will have an impact on our performance, because we won't do much sleeping. I appeared in Corsica in the past, but this year's rally is completely different as far as the composition of the respective stages is concerned, and includes combinations of fast flat asphalt and old broken surface. Furthermore, the event takes place in mountains where the drivers can't see through bends, and so the quality of our preparation will be an important factor. However, we are determined to do our best – we put in a great performance in the Canary Islands, and we want to carry on going and move up the championship rankings”.
After the first two IRC events, Škoda tops the Manufacturers rankings, while Juho Hänninen dominates the Drivers rankings. Freddy Loix is third overall, Jan Kopecký is fifth.
