Václav Pech leads the Barum Czech Rally Zlín after setting fastest time on the opening super special stage around Zlín city centre, which was watched by thousands of enthusiastic spectators.
On a stage delayed by yellow flags, the Mini John Cooper Works S2000 driver set a time of 7m08.3s on the 9.51 kilometre test, 3.6 faster than second-quickest Jan Kopecký (ŠKODA Fabia R5), who struggled to find grip on hard compound Michelin tyres.
It was a disastrous stage for Sepp Wiegand who was slowed by an engine problem in his GPD Orsak Rally Sport-run ŠKODA Fabia S2000. With no power, he pulled over to let a faster car overtake, but in doing so hit some railings and broke the right rear suspension.
Alexey Lukyanuk had no intercom, couldn’t hear co-driver Alexey Arnautov, and had to rely on his memory to guide his Ford Fiesta R5 through the stage, losing almost 10s.
With all 129 starters doing the stage in reserve order, the last car didn’t cross the finishing line until after midnight – an hour later than scheduled. Unfortunately, that last car was driven by Kopecký, who will have less time in bed tonight than anyone else, as he is running first on the road tomorrow morning!
