The current reigning WRC 2 team, Skoda, has announced that they will come out strong to defend their 2015 title in 2016, as well. They say that all of their three crews running Fabia R5s are ready for the long battle that awaits them in the upcoming season. All of the team’s drivers from last year have remained with Skoda, including Jan Kopecky, Pontus Tidemand and Esapekka Lappi. All of them are already prepared for the 2016 WRC 2 and the team’s campaign will start during the second round, which will take place in Sweden. The brand new Fabia R5 had a perfect starting season during 2015, in which it was able to secure the fourth win in WRC 2, the fourth title in a row at the Asia-Pacific championship and 5 national titles.
What are the officials saying?
The Motorsport director of Skoda, Michal Hrabánek, has admitted that they did not expect to do so well in 2015, however, he also added that there is no stopping them and that they are looking to get more out of the new season. He also stated that the team has been working very hard during the whole winter break and that they are looking to compete in all events in 2016.
“Our goal is to exceed last year’s success in the WRC 2 with our three impressive drivers. We promise our fans that we will do everything in our power to continue Škoda Motorsport’s successful run in 2016″, Hrabánek said. He added that the whole team is filled with ambition to get even better results in the future and that they aren’t done yet. It will certainly be tough for Skoda, and many are claiming that last year was just a fluke, however, all the other teams know that they need to step up their game in order to compete with them.
Team setup
A change in lineup of Skoda includes the arrival of Jonas Andersson, a former co-driver of Mads Østberg, who will take over Emil Axelsson’s seat next to Tidemand. The brand new duo will make their debut at the Sweden Rally. The team stated that this brand new duo has done a lot of practice and testing and that they can’t wait to start their competitive work together. Tidemand said that he can’t wait to show what he and his new partner can do. The Finns Lappi/Janne Ferm duo will be second in Sweden.
Lappi stated that he sees a lot of space for improvement and that they want to be in the race for the WRC 2 title. Kopecky will also compete in many rounds during WRC 2 events. The potential threat to Skoda in 2016 is a veteran rally driver, Scott Pedder, who started competing in WRC 2 in 2015. Even though his first season was not so successful, the people at Skoda think that this guy is just a time bomb ready to explode. Time will tell whether this is true or not.
Skoda’s hidden card
The news is not yet official, but there are solid rumors spreading in the WRC 2 world that point to another line-up addition for Skoda. The Greek rally driver, Lambros Athanassoulas, is supposed to return to the WRC 2 during the opening rally at Monte Carlo, which starts on the 21st of January. This 39 year old rally driver hasn’t been competing in WRC 2 since 2013 and his history in this competition goes way back to 2005, when he first competed.
The Greek’s best result was in 2009, during the Greek event, in which he finished eight. This made him win in the PWRC category, in his Fabia S2000. Analysts believe that this addition to Skoda’s squad is a way of closing the gap in terms of having an experienced driver who can bring safe and steady results when needed.
These are certainly some major steps the Skoda team has taken for the 2016 season. It’s a clear statement that they mean business, and we can certainly expect an exciting WRC 2 season.