Škoda Motorsport has now sold 100 vehicles of its latest rally model, the Škoda Fabia RS Rally2. The 100th vehicle was handed over to Romanian driver Andrei Gîrtofan, the front runner of the Romanian championship, during a small ceremony held at the team’s head office in Mladá Boleslav.
Romanian driver Andrei Gîrtofan of Prorally Team Brasov is looking forward to replacing his current Škoda Fabia Rally2 with the latest model, the Škoda Fabia RS Rally2. “I have been able to achieve top results with the first‑generation Škoda Fabia Rally2 so far, but now I am happy to switch to the Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 which, in my opinion, is currently the best car I can have in my fight for the national championship title,” says Gîrtofan.
The success story of the Rally2‑specs Škoda Fabia started nearly a decade ago and is based on a competitive car that is continuously tested and further developed. The latest‑generation Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 is no exception: In the second half of the 2024 season, Škoda Motorsport will offer a second gear set, which makes the car even more suitable for fast events like Rally Finland. Moreover, Škoda Motorsport has recently further improved the brake pedal response and the durability of the brake cooling ducts.
After the homologation of the first-generation Škoda Fabia Rally2 on 1 April 2015, Esapekka Lappi won the FIA WRC2 Drivers Cup in 2016, and Pontus Tidemand and Jan Kopecký continued that success story in the following two years. 1 April 2019 saw the homologation of the Škoda Fabia Rally2 evo, and future world champion Kalle Rovanperä won the FIA WRC2 Pro title while Pierre-Louis Loubet dominated the FIA WRC2 Drivers Cup in that year. Andreas Mikkelsen won both the FIA European Rally Championship and the WRC2 category of the FIA World Rally Championship in 2021. One year later, Emil Lindholm was crowned the WRC2 champion.
Named Škoda Fabia RS Rally2, the following generation was based on the series-production Fabia IV. The vehicle featured a completely new chassis and major upgrades made to the engine. The Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 continued the brand’s success story, making its FIA World Championship debut at the 2023 Monte Carlo Rallye. Driving for Škoda Motorsport‑supported Toksport WRT that year, Andreas Mikkelsen again took the WRC2 Drivers title. In the 2024 season of the FIA World Rally Championship, the teams relying on the latest Rally2 car made in Mladá Boleslav again celebrate numerous WRC2 victories.
Since its homologation in early 2015, the Rally2‑specs Škoda Fabia has won 28 regional and 125 national championships, making around 22.000 appearances at rally events over the last nine years and notching up 2,563 wins and 6,400 podium positions. Since 2015, Škoda Motorsport has delivered close to 600 Rally2-specs Škoda Fabias to 42 countries world-wide, and the recently delivered 100th Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 underscores the model’s position as No. 1 in its category.
Article source: www.skoda-storyboard.com