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Rally Croatia: ŠKODA FABIA Rally2 evo crews storm to convincing 1-2-3 in WRC3 category

› After the second leg, /Maciej Szczepaniak (POL/POL) lead WRC3 in LOTOS Rally Team’s ŠKODA FABIA Rally2 evo › WRT’s Emil Lindholm/Mikael Korhonen (FIN/FIN) and SXM Competition’s Chris Ingram/Ross Whittock (GBR/GBR) complete all ŠKODA FABIA Rally2 evo top 3 in WRC3 › Youngsters Marco Bulacia/Marcelo Der Ohannesian (BOL/ARG) in another Toksport WRT run ŠKODA FABIA Rally2 evo defend WRC2 fourth on Saturday’s eight stages › ŠKODA Motorsport supported /Ola Fløene (ŠKODA FABIA Rally2 evo) from Norway advance to sixth position in WRC2

Zagreb (HRV), 24 April 2021 – ŠKODA Motorsport customer teams excelled during the second leg of Rally Croatia (23-25 April 2021), third round of the FIA . Kajetan Kajetanowicz/Maciej Szczepaniak (POL/POL) of LOTOS Rally Team took the lead of the WRC3 category, followed by two more crews in ŠKODA FABIA Rally2 evo. Meanwhile in WRC2, Marco Bulacia/Marcelo Der Ohannesian (BOL/ARG) of ŠKODA Motorsport supported team Toksport WRT reached the leg’s finish still fourth of the category. Team mates Andreas Mikkelsen and co-driver Ola Fløene from Norway climbed one position and start as WRC2 sixth into the final leg on Sunday.

As expected, the 121.92 competitive kilometres during Rally Croatia’s second leg brought as much drama as the opening act on Friday. With the tarmac roads again being heavily polluted by gravel dragged onto the racing line by corner-cutting, even the most experienced teams couldn’t avoid a spin here and a little off there. Nevertheless, Kajetan Kajetanowicz and co-driver Maciej Szczepaniak, sharing a ŠKODA FABIA Rally2 evo of LOTOS Rally Team, kept their heads cool and completed Saturday’s eight stages without problems. The Polish crew stormed into the lead of WRC3 category, subsequently increasing their advantage to 46.6 seconds until the leg’s finish. With Finns Emil Lindholm/Mikael Korhonen in second and 2019 FIA European Rally Champions Chris Ingram/Ross Whittock (GBR/GBR) in third, ŠKODA even enjoys a 1-2-3 in WRC3. Fabrizio Zaldivar/ (PRY/ESP) in another Toksport WRT run ŠKODA FABIA Rally2 evo round up the top six of the category.

Team Toksport WRT’s Marco Bulacia (BOL) and co-driver Marcelo Der Ohannesian (ARG) also enjoyed a trouble-free second leg. The South American crew easily defended fourth position in WRC2. Team mates Andreas Mikkelsen and co-driver Ola Fløene, who came to Zagreb as WRC2 points leaders, had lost 40 minutes already during the Friday leg. Damaging the rear suspension of the Toksport WRT ŠKODA FABIA Rally2 evo with a minor slide off the road, they had to throw in some ingenious roadside repairs, to stay in the competition at all. „We lost the rally,“ Mikkelsen admitted after his mishap. „Now we are just trying to learn the stages for the years to come.“ The two Norwegians did exactly that. Staying out of any further trouble during the Saturday stages, they advanced to WRC2 sixth.

Rally Croatia ends on Sunday after four more stages covering 78.58 kilometres. The winners’ ceremony will start at 3:30 pm local.

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Standings Rally Croatia after Leg 2 (WRC2)

1. Østberg/Eriksen (NOR/NOR), Citroën C3 Rally2, 2:13:41.8 hrs. 2. Suninen/Markkula (FIN/FIN), Ford Fiesta Rally2 Mk2, +1:03.6 min. 3. Gryazin/Aleksandrov (RAF/RAF), VW Polo GTI Rally 2, +1:18.5 min. 4. Bulacia/Der Ohannesian (BOL/ARG), ŠKODA FABIA Rally2 evo, +2:15.3 min. 5. Brazzoli/Barone (ITA/ITA), ŠKODA FABIA Rally2 evo, +18:08.3 min. 6. Mikkelsen/Fløene (NOR/NOR), ŠKODA FABIA Rally2 evo, +40:12.8 min.

Standings Rally Croatia after Leg 2 (WRC3)

1. Kajetanowicz/Szczepaniak (POL/POL), ŠKODA FABIA Rally2 evo, 2:15:17.2 hrs. 2. Lindholm/Korhonen (FIN/FIN), ŠKODA FABIA Rally2 evo, +46.6 sec. 3. Ingram/Whittock (GBR/GBR), ŠKODA FABIA Rally2 evo, +2:53.3 min. 4. Rossel/Coria (FRA/FRA), Citroën C3 Rally2, +3:01.7 min. 5. Ciamin/Roche (FRA/FRA), Citroën C3 Rally2, +3:32.9 min. 6. Fabrizio Zaldivar/Carlos del Barrio (PRY/ESP), ŠKODA FABIA Rally2 evo, +8:34.6 min.

Number of the day: 1-2-3 Three ŠKODA FABIA Rally2 evo crews not only hold WRC3 positions one, two and three after the second leg of Rally Croatia. This sequence also describes the progress of these trio during Saturday’s eight stages. Kajetan Kajetanowicz/Maciej Szczepaniak (POL/POL) advanced one position from second to first. Emil Lindholm/Mikael Korhonen (FIN/FIN) gained two places from fourth on Friday to second on Saturday. And Chris Ingram/Ross Whittock (GBR/GBR) even jumped three steps from P6 to P3.

2021 FIA World Rally Championship

Rallye Monte-Carlo 21 – 24 January Arctic Rally Finland powered by CapitalBox 26 – 28 February Rally Croatia 22 – 25 April Vodafone Rally Portugal 20 – 23 May Rally Italia Sardegna 3 – 6 June Safari Rally Kenya 24 – 27 June Rally Estonia 15 – 18 July Renties Ypres Rally Belgium 13 – 15 August Acropolis Rally Greece 9 – 12 September Rally Finland 30 September – 3 October RallyRACC Rally de España 14 – 17 October Rally Japan 11 –14 November

Further information: Zbyněk Straškraba, Communications Motorsport P +420 605 293 168 [email protected] http://skoda-motorsport.com

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ŠKODA Motorsport at Rally Croatia Marco Bulacia/Marcelo Der Ohannesian (ŠKODA FABIA Rally2 evo) of ŠKODA Motorsport supported team Toksport WRT defended fourth spot in WRC2 during Saturday’s eight stages

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ŠKODA Motorsport at Rally Croatia Toksport WRT’s Norwegians Andreas Mikkelsen and co- driver Ola Fløene (ŠKODA FABIA Rally2 evo) climbed one position and go into the final stages on Sunday as sixth in WRC2

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ŠKODA Motorsport at Rally Croatia New leaders in WRC3 – Kajetan Kajetanowicz/Maciej Szczepaniak (POL/POL) of ŠKODA Motorsport customer team LOTOS survived the tricky conditions and jumped from second to first in the category

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ŠKODA Motorsport at Rally Croatia Finns Emil Lindholm/Mikael Korhonen (ŠKODA FABIA Rally2 evo) of team Toksport WRT hold WRC3 second after 16 of 20 scheduled stages

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ŠKODA Motorsport at Rally Croatia Newcomers to WRC3, 2019 FIA European Rally Champions Chris Ingram (GBR) and co-driver Ross Whittock (GBR) brought SXM Competition’s ŠKODA FABIA Rally2 evo in category third to the finish of leg 2

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ŠKODA Motorsport Overview

ŠKODA has been successful in motorsports since 1901. Be it on the circuit or in rallies, ŠKODA has celebrated victories and won titles all around the world. Historical highlights include victory in the European Touring Car Championship 1981 as well as multiple titles in the FIA World Rally Championship’s WRC2 category. Over the years, ŠKODA customer teams also won numerous national championships as well as titles in the FIA European Rally Championship (ERC), the der Intercontinental Rally Challenge (IRC), the FIA African Rally Championship (ARC), the FIA North American and Central American Rally Championship (NACAM), the FIA South American Rally Championship (CODASUR) and the FIA Asia-Pacific Rally Championship (APRC). ŠKODA teams have also triumphed in the world’s oldest and most famous rally, taking several class victories in the legendary Rallye Monte-Carlo, which was first held in 1911.

In 2009, the ŠKODA FABIA SUPER 2000 took the rally scene by storm. The following seasons, the all-wheel-drive rally car with a 2.0 litres normally aspirated engine won 50 national and international titles worldwide. It then wrote the most successful chapter in ŠKODA’s motorsport history – until its successor surpassed it. The ŠKODA FABIA , a production-based rally car with four-wheel drive and 1.6 litres turbo engine, was homologated in its original form by the International Automobile Federation FIA on 1 April 2015. Further developed to ŠKODA FABIA R5 evo (homologated on 1 April 2019), the high-tech car successfully continues the long tradition of ŠKODA Motorsport. Due to changes in regulations, the car was re-named ŠKODA FABIA Rally2 evo in 2020.

The success story of the ŠKODA FABIA R5 took off in 2016, when (FIN) won the WRC2 drivers’ title of the FIA World Rally Championship. The following year, Pontus Tidemand (SWE) won the WRC2 drivers’ category, while ŠKODA Motorsport took the WRC2 manufacturers’ title. In 2018, ŠKODA factory driver Jan Kopecký was crowned WRC 2 drivers’ champion. 2019 was the most successful year in the history of ŠKODA Motorsport. Kalle Rovanperä and (FIN/FIN) won the WRC2 Pro drivers’ and co-drivers’ title as well as substantially supporting ŠKODA Motorsport to win the WRC2 Pro manufacturers’ title. In 2020 ŠKODA customer team Toksport WRT became Team Champion of the WRC2 category.

ŠKODA AUTO › is focusing on three priorities with the “NEXT LEVEL ŠKODA” program for the future: expanding the model portfolio in the direction of entry-level segments, opening up new markets for further growth in the volume segment, and making concrete progress in sustainability and diversity. › currently offers its customers ten passenger-car series: the CITIGOe iV, FABIA, RAPID, SCALA, OCTAVIA and SUPERB as well as the KAMIQ, KAROQ, KODIAQ and ENYAQ iV. › delivered more than one million vehicles to customers around the world in 2020. › is part of Volkswagen Group since 30 years. Volkswagen Group is one of the most successful vehicle manufacturers in the world. In association with the Group, ŠKODA AUTO independently develops and manufactures vehicles, as well as components such as engines and transmissions. › operates at three locations in the Czech Republic; manufactures in China, Russia, Slovakia and India mainly through Group partnerships as well as in Ukraine with a local partner. › employs approximately 42,000 people globally and is active in more than 100 markets.