Season
Jan Kopecký wins championship point in the Rallye Monte Carlo
The legendary Rallye Monte Carlo ended on Sunday morning with the spectacular super-stage, some of which followed the famous Formula 1 circuit. Jan Kopecký and Filip Schovánek defended their eighth place on Saturday and entered Sunday's final stage with a secure head-start. With this in mind, the Czech Rally Team Kopecký approached the stage as a stage for them to demonstrate to spectators the ability of the crew and the Škoda Fabia WRC.
In the challenging tests of the Rallye Monte Carlo, Jan Kopecký battled his way to a superb eighth place, thus gaining a point in the drivers' standings in the very first event of this year's World Rally Championship. Jan Kopecký's excellent performance is underlined by the fact that all his times in the Rallye Monte Carlo's stages were in the top ten. His performance peaked on Saturday with two fourth-best times, an improvement on the sixth-best time from the opening stage of the rally and the whole championship.
'I am as pleased as punch with the crew's performance and the final result. The Rallye Monte Carlo is a highly challenging, treacherous meet. However, the Škoda Fabia WRC drove fantastically and the crew put in a great performance. Eighth place is excellent - and we achieved it in a situation where none of the absolute elite crews suffered technical problems or major driver errors. Therefore we really had to fight hard for each position.
I would like to wrap up by thanking the crew for their performance, the team members for the quality preparation of the car before and during the event, and of course all our partners. Without the support of our partners, and in particular the major sponsorship of Škoda Auto a.s., Jan Kopecký and Filip Schovánek would not have been able to take part in the Rallye Monte Carlo,' said Josef Kopecký, the team manager, at the end of the Rallye Monte Carlo.
'I was really geared up for the start of the Rallye Monte Carlo. This event is a legend among world rallies and every start here is a red-letter day for me. Of course, I was wondering how well the drivers, teams and their cars were prepared for the new season. Because of the mild weather, this year's Rallye Monte Carlo was a classic asphalt meet, which suits my driving style because I was brought up on an asphalt surface.
I'm proud of our eighth place, because we had to battle hard for our championship point, especially on Friday and Saturday.
We achieved our excellent result thanks to the perfect work of all members of the Czech Rally Team Kopecký, and of course the support of our partners, which I genuinely appreciate. Škoda Auto a.s. has played the greatest role in securing my participation in selected events in 2007, and therefore my biggest thanks go to the company,' added Jan Kopecký.
'Before the start of Sunday's final stage, we knew that only a fatal error or incredibly bad luck could deprive us of eighth place. On the other end, in the current situation seventh place was beyond our reach, so we decided to treat the super-stage as a show to thank all the fans who supported us during the stages of the Rallye Monte Carlo. We are coming away from this first event of the season very happy,' added Filip Schovánek.
Final standings in the 2007 Rallye Monte Carlo:
1. LOEB S. / ELENA D. Citroën C4 WRC 3:10:27.4
2. SORDO D. / MARTI M. Citroën C4 WRC +0:38.2
3. GRÖNHOLM M. / RAUTIAINEN T. Ford Focus RS WRC 06 +1:22.8
4. ATKINSON C. / MACNEALL G. Subaru Impreza WRC 2006 +2:28.1
5. HIRVONEN M. / LEHTINEN J. Ford Focus RS WRC 06 +2:28.3
6.SOLBERG P. / MILLS P. Subaru Impreza WRC 2006 +3:12.0
7.GARDEMEISTER T. / HONKANEN J. Mitsubishi Lancer WRC 05 +3:38.1
8. KOPECKÝ JAN / SCHOVÁNEK FILIP ŠKODA Fabia WRC +4:36.4
