ŠKODA MOTORSPORT PRESS RELEASE Page 1 of 5 Vodafone Rally de Portugal: ŠKODA privateer Kajetan Kajetanowicz wins WRC3 category › Polish ŠKODA FABIA Rally2 evo crew Kajetan Kajetanowicz/Maciej Szczepaniak celebrates second category victory in a row › 2019 FIA European Rally Champions Chris Ingram/Ross Whittock (ŠKODA FABIA Rally2 evo) score their first ever WRC3 podium › Marco Bulacia/Marcelo Der Ohannesian (BOL/ARG), sharing a ŠKODA FABIA Rally2 evo, reach the finish sixth in WRC2 › Although missing the FIA World Rally Championship’s fourth round, Andreas Mikkelsen (NOR) of ŠKODA Motorsport supported team Toksport WRT still leads WRC2 overall Porto (PRT), 23 May 2021 – Two ŠKODA customer crews climbed onto the WRC3 podium of Vodafone Rally de Portugal, fourth round of the FIA World Rally Championship (20-23 May 2021). Kajetan Kajetanowicz/Maciej Szczepaniak (POL/POL) celebrated their second category victory in as many starts. 2019 FIA European Rally Champions Chris Ingram/Ross Whittock (GBR/GBR) drove their ŠKODA FABIA Rally2 evo over the 20 stages covering 337.51 kms to third place in WRC3. Marco Bulacia/Marcelo Der Ohannesian (BOL/ARG) of ŠKODA Motorsport supported team Toksport WRT came sixth in WRC2 and collected valuable points for the category’s drivers’ and co-drivers’ overall standings. As expected, Vodafone Rally de Portugal provided lots of action not only in the overall classification, but as well in the support category WRC3. Emil Lindholm/Reeta Hämäläinen in Toksport WRT’s ŠKODA FABIA Rally2 evo led WRC3 briefly during leg 1. But the Finns were thrown down the order by two punctures. For the next couple of stages, it was up to Kajetan Kajetanowicz and co-driver Maciej Szczepaniak to chase WRC3 interim leaders Yohan Rossel/Alexandre Coria from France. And so the Polish ŠKODA FABIA Rally2 evo crew did, taking command of WRC3 on Saturday morning. Unfortunately, a spin from Kajetanowicz caused a change of positions again. At the end of the second leg, only 3.0 seconds separated the French from the Polish crew on top of the standings. The gap to third placed 2019 FIA European Rally Champion Chris Ingram and co-driver Ross Whittock, sharing a ŠKODA FABIA Rally2 evo of team SXM Competition, stood at nearly one minute. With the last leg underway, Kajetan Kajetanowicz left no doubt, that second in WRC3 was not enough for him. He started into Sunday trading WRC3 stage wins with ŠKODA brand mate Chris Ingram and eventually overtook Yohan Rossel. Once in the lead, Kajetanowicz and co-driver Szczepaniak held on to this position, repeating WRC3 victory from last month’s Rally Croatia. With this success, Kajetan Kajetanowicz advanced to second overall in the WRC3 standings. Ingram/Whittock followed in third position, scoring their first ever WRC3 podium. Emil Lindholm/Reeta Hämäläinen at least finished the event on a high, posting fastest WRC3 time in the rally ending Powerstage. ŠKODA MOTORSPORT PRESS RELEASE Page 2 of 5 WRC2 overall leaders Andreas Mikkelsen/Ola Fløene of ŠKODA Motorsport supported team Toksport WRT missed Vodafone Rally de Portugal because Mikkelsen was tested COVID-19 just before the event. Their teammates Marco Bulacia (BOL) and co-driver Marcelo Der Ohannesian (ARG) showed a solid performance. The South-American ŠKODA FABIA Rally2 evo crew finished sixth in the category. The next round of the FIA World Rally Championship takes the teams to the Mediterranean for Rally Italia Sardegna (3 – 6 June). Then, Mikkelsen/Fløene are expected to be back in action, provided that Mikkelsen has fully recovered from corona and is cleared by the authorities. Result Vodafone Rally de Portugal (WRC2) 1. Lappi/Ferm (FIN/FIN), VW Polo GTI, 3:48:03.4 hrs. 2. Suninen/Markkula (FIN/FIN), Ford Fiesta Rally2 Mk2, +1:42.8 min. 3. Østberg/Eriksen (NOR/NOR), Citroën C3 Rally2, +2:24.3 min. 4. Gryazin/Aleksandrov (RAF/RAF), VW Polo GTI, +2:58.6 min. 5. Solberg/Johnston (SWE/IRL), Hyundai i20, +3:13.5 min. 6. Bulacia/Der Ohannesian (BOL/ARG), ŠKODA FABIA Rally2 evo, +4:41.6 min. Championship Standings WRC2/Drivers (after 4 rounds) 1. Andreas Mikkelsen (NOR), ŠKODA FABIA Rally2 evo, 68 points 2. Esapekka Lappi (FIN), VW Polo GTI, 59 points 3. Marco Bulacia (BOL), ŠKODA FABIA Rally2 evo, 45 points Result Vodafone Rally de Portugal (WRC3) 1. Kajetanowicz/Szczepaniak (POL/POL), ŠKODA FABIA Rally2 evo, 3:52:49.7 hrs. 2. Rossel/Coria (FRA/FRA), Citroën C3 Rally2, +5.6 sec. 3. Ingram/Whittock (GBR/GBR), ŠKODA FABIA Rally2 evo, +55.3 sec. 4. Ciamin/Roche (FRA/FRA), Citroën C3 Rally2, +1:31.5 min. 5. Josh McErlean/Keaton Williams (IRL/GB), Hyundai i20, + 4:10.8 min. 6. Fabrizio Zaldivar/Carlos del Barrio (PAR/ESP), ŠKODA FABIA Rally2 evo, +5:07.7 min. Championship Standings WRC3/Drivers (after 4 rounds) 1. Yohan Rossel (FRA), Citroën C3 Rally2, 70 points 2. Kajetan Kajetanowicz (POL), ŠKODA FABIA Rally2 evo, 56 points 3. Nicolas Ciamin (FRA), Citroën C3 Rally2, 49 points Number of the rally: 5.6 ŠKODA FABIA Rally2 evo crew Kajetan Kajetanowicz/Maciej Szczepaniak from Poland and Yohan Rossel/Alexandre Coria repeatedly changed the leading position in WRC3. In the end, Kajetanowicz/Szczepaniak beat their French opponents by the small margin of 5.6 seconds. ŠKODA MOTORSPORT PRESS RELEASE Page 3 of 5 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 ŠKODA Motorsport: Facebook YouTube Twitter Media images: ŠKODA Motorsport at Vodafone Rally de Portugal Kajetan Kajetanowicz and co-driver Maciej Szczepaniak (ŠKODA FABIA Rally2 evo) from Poland won category WRC3 at the fourth round of the FIA World Rally Championship Download Source: ŠKODA AUTO ŠKODA Motorsport at Vodafone Rally de Portugal Private ŠKODA FABIA Rally2 evo crew Kajetan Kajetanowicz/Maciej Szczepaniak (POL/POL) celebrated second WRC3 victory in a row Download Source: ŠKODA AUTO ŠKODA MOTORSPORT PRESS RELEASE Page 4 of 5 ŠKODA Motorsport at Vodafone Rally de Portugal Marco Bulacia/Marcelo Der Ohannesian (BOL/ARG) “flew” the Toksport WRT ŠKODA FABIA Rally2 evo to sixth position in WRC2 Download Source: ŠKODA AUTO ŠKODA Motorsport at Vodafone Rally de Portugal Sharing SXM Competition’s ŠKODA FABIA Rally2 evo, 2019 FIA European Rally Champions Chris Ingram (GBR) and co-driver Ross Whittock (GBR) scored their first WRC3 podium position Download Source: ŠKODA AUTO ŠKODA Motorsport at Vodafone Rally de Portugal Fabrizio Zaldivar/Carlos del Barrio (PAR/ESP) brought the Toksport WRT ŠKODA FABIA Rally2 evo in sixth position in WRC3 to the finish Download Source: ŠKODA AUTO ŠKODA Motorsport at Vodafone Rally de Portugal Emil Lindholm/Reta Hämäläinen (FIN/FIN) in the ŠKODA FABIA Rally2 evo of team Toksport WRT briefly led WRC3 and also posted fastest WRC3 time in the Powerstage Download Source: ŠKODA AUTO 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 R5, 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. ŠKODA MOTORSPORT PRESS RELEASE Page 5 of 5 The success story of the ŠKODA FABIA R5 took off in 2016, when Esapekka Lappi (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 Jonne Halttunen (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.