Sibiu Rally (Romania) - 25-27 Jul 13

KOPECKÝ SEALS FOURTH ERC WIN OF 2013 WITH SIBIU VICTORY

Posted: February 7, 2014 2:18 PM

Jan Kopecký and co-driver Pavel Dresler have begun the second half of the FIA European Rally Championship season in style with victory number four of their campaign on the Sibiu Rally in Romania’s stunning Transylvania region.

The mixed-surface spectacular took place in bright sunshine with warm temperatures and attracted huge numbers of spectators, while throwing up some serious competition thanks to three different leaders, as well as plenty of on-stage drama.

François Delecour, the rallying legend and reigning Romanian champion, set the pace on Friday’s opening stage only to slip behind Bryan Bouffier at the completion of the next stage when his fellow Frenchman outgunned him as a powersteering glitch slowed Kopecký. But following repairs at service in Sibiu, Kopecký hit back with the fastest time through stage three.

Bouffier’s bid was over on the next test when a broken suspension mount triggered a succession of mechanical failures on his Peugeot 207 Super 2000. With Delecour easing his pace due to an overheating engine, the result of a water leak, Kopecký moved in front for the first time. The Czech then extended his advantage by going quickest on stage five and the all-asphalt sixth stage. But he had no answer to Delecour on the final test, which the 50-year-old won by 10.6s to narrow Kopecký’s lead starting Saturday’s final leg of seven stages to 15.4s.

By winning Saturday’s first stage, the all-asphalt Sadu test, Kopecký was able to gradually pull clear as Delecour focused on preserving his Romanian championship lead following a scare when a broken front-right shock absorber on his Peugeot caused a puncture nearing the finish of the mixed-surface ?anta Max test. But there were no such problems for Kopecký, who drove without error in his Michelin-shod ŠKODA Fabia Super 2000 to complete a lockout of day two stage wins on his debut on the demanding event.

“I’m really happy we got this opportunity from ŠKODA to be here and take my second win on gravel,” said the ERC title leader. “It was a really tough event: the hot weather was not such a problem but there were a lot of rocks and loose stones on the stages and you had to use your head to decide when and where to push. I was enjoying a big battle with Bryan and François until they had problems but this is motorsport and this can happen.”

Behind Delecour, Toshi Arai battled a stomach upset to top the FIA ERC Production Car Cup classification in third overall with a Stohl Racing Subaru Impreza R4 STI, which marked tyre firm Yokohama’s first podium in this year’s ERC. Napoca Rally Academy’s Marco Tempestini finished a fine fourth with Dávid Botka recovering from a broken turbo to take fifth.

Vali Porcisteanu overcame a succession of mechanical failures to finish sixth in a Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X. The Romanian driver’s rapid stage times and heroics in driving through two stages with broken suspension earned him the Colin McRae ERC Flat Out Trophy.

Jaroslav Orsák was the leading GPD Mit Metal Racing Team finisher in seventh despite a host of technical issues slowing his progress. János Puskádi nursed his Eurosol-backed Fabia S2000 and its troublesome gearbox home in eighth with Antonín Tlus?ák making it two GPD Mit Metal Racing entries in the top 10 in ninth overall.

Sebastian Barbu, in a Citroën DS3 R3T, beat Renault Clio R3 driver Alex Filip to the ERC 2WD Championship win by outpacing his rival on the very last stage. Points leader Zoltan Bessenyey fought back to finish sixth in his Eurosol-Honda Civic Type R following a time-consuming puncture and broken exhaust on stage two. Title rival and fellow Hungarian Kornél Lukács dropped out of contention with a throttle valve issue on Friday afternoon while leading the category.

Molly Taylor clinched the ERC Ladies’ Trophy following a controlled display in her United Business Rally Team Citroën. Ekaterina Stratieva crashed into retirement on Friday’s second stage.

Edwin Keleti and Dan Girtofan started day two locked in a close battle to be the top Romanian finisher in third overall but both hit trouble. Girtofan stopped on stage nine with a rear hub failure while a suspected front suspension fault ended Keleti’s hopes three stages later.

A brand-new app for iPhone and android provides live timing, news and other essential information as well as live ERC Rally Radio. Visit the official ERC website, www.fiaerc.com. Follow the ERC on Facebook and Twitter and watch the action on Eurosport and Eurosport Player.

Results

Posted: February 7, 2014 2:15 PM

1 Jan Kopecký (CZE)/Pavel Dresler (CZE) ŠKODA Fabia 2000 2h18m07.8s
2 François Delecour (FRA)/Dominique Savignoni (FRA) Peugeot 207 S2000 +3m12.8s
3 Toshi Arai (JPN)/Anthony McLoughlin (AUS) Subaru Impreza R4 STI +6m03.6s
4 Marco Tempestini (ROU)/Lucio Baggio (ITA) ŠKODA Fabia 2000 +7m33.1s
5 Dávid Botka (HUN)/Péter Mihalik (HUN) Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX R4 +7m48.3s
6 Vali Porcisteanu (ROU)/Dan Dobre (ROU) Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X +8m39.8s
7 Jaroslav Orsák (CZE)/Lukáš Kostka (CZE) Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX R4 +9m15.6s
8 János Puskádi (HUN)/Barna Gódor (HUN) ŠKODA Fabia S2000 +9m59.4s
9 Antonín Tlus?ák (CZE)/Jan Škaloud (CZE) ŠKODA Fabia S2000 +11m39.1s
10 Sebastian Barbu (ROU)/Horatiu Baltador (ROU) Citroën DS3 R3T +18m33.0s

ERC Production Car Cup:
Toshi Arai (JPN)/Anthony McLoughlin (AUS) Subaru Impreza R4 STI

ERC 2WD Championship:
Sebastian Barbu (ROU)/Horatiu Baltador (ROU) Citroën DS3 R3T

ERC Ladies’ Trophy:
Molly Taylor (AUS) Citroën DS3 R3T

Colin McRae ERC Flat Out Trophy:
Vali Porcisteanu (ROU)

Full Results: rally-base results | European Rally Championship (ERC) - fiaerc.com

ERC LEADER KOPECKÝ TO START FIRST ON THE ROAD IN SIBIU

Posted: July 26, 2013 9:33 AM

Jan Kopecký is not only the leader of the FIA European Rally Championship, he’ll also lead the near-capacity entry over the first seven stages of the Sibiu Rally in Romania tomorrow (Friday).

The Czech star chose to run first on the road after earning the right to select his starting position first by winning the Qualifying Stage in his ŠKODA Motorsport Fabia Super 2000.

Normally on gravel events drivers prefer to run lower down the order to benefit from a clean and more stable road surface. However, Kopecký said the potential for small rocks being dragged onto the road by cars running in front and the possibility of hanging dust clouds on Friday night’s final stage prompted him to run at the head of the star-studded field.

“Many loose stones will come out from the first cars,” he said. “I have the pacenotes and I know where they going to be if I am first on the road so I can try to go around them. But you never know where the loose stones are going to come if you start at the back. The first loop I have this advantage and in the second loop if there is no wind the dust can be very heavy in the night stage.”

Jean-Pierre Nicolas, a former international rally-winning driver and now the ERC General Co-ordinator, confirmed that the event organisers are making additional efforts to maintain the stages to a very high standard. “They made a big investment to rebuild the roads before the rally and now they have committed to removing any large rocks from the stages after the first pass, which should help making the stages less rough than 2012.”

Meanwhile, Bryan Bouffier will start second after recording a time 0.056s slower than Kopecký on the 3.42-kilometre Qualifying Stage located at Sibiu’s rallycross track. Romanian champion François Delecour was third quickest and will run behind Kopecký and Bouffier. Hungarian Dávid Botka sprung a surprise when he went fourth fastest in his Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX R4. Toshi Arai, on his first ERC start of 2013, was fifth quickest for Subaru. Click here for the starting selections.

Following the City Demo, a parade through the streets of Sibiu this evening, the Ceremonial Start begins at 20:30hrs local time and is set to attract thousands of fans. The first stage, Dobârca 1, gets underway at 14:01hrs on Friday.

ERC GLORY CHASE HEADS TO ROMANIA FOR THE SIBIU RALLY

Posted: July 26, 2013 9:09 AM

There’s no time to rest in the all-action FIA European Rally Championship. Less than a month after Belgium’s Geko Ypres Rally brought the curtain down on the first half of the season, the chase for on-stage success resumes with the Sibiu Rally in Romania from 25-27 July.

A new addition to the ERC for 2013, the Sibiu Rally is a truly spectacular affair with a mixture of gravel and asphalt stages, including some run at night. And to underline the popularity of the Transylvania event and the ERC, organisers were one entry short of reaching full capacity.

A host city full of history
Sibiu, located in the centre of Romania, oozes history and culture. Records of its existence date back to 1191, while it was designated European Capital of Culture in 2007. It makes for one of the most scenic service parks in international rallying with quaint historic buildings lining the Pia?a Mare, a large square in Sibiu where it’s located.

Champions and former winners abound

The near-capacity Sibiu Rally entry is awash with national champions and former event winners. Jan Kopecký, the European championship leader and current Czech title-holder, heads the list of registrations in a factory ŠKODA Fabia Super 2000. He will face opposition from former French and multiple Polish champion Bryan Bouffier and current Romanian champion François Delecour. Like Bouffier, Delecour will line up in a Peugeot 207 S2000. Jean-Michel Raoux, the IRC 2WD champion of 2011, will also rely on Peugeot power, while Yuan-Hu Lin holds the Taiwan rally crown and will compete in a Romanian-built Dacia Logan.

Of the former event winners in action, Marco Tempestini steps up from his regular Subaru Impreza to a Fabia for his home round of the ERC. Gergo Szabo and Bogdan Marisca, who have also triumphed in Sibiu in the past, will be among the contenders for ERC Production Car Cup glory where their rivals will include double Production Car world champion Toshi Arai, who will jet in from Japan to drive an Impreza R4 STI for the occasion, and Vitaliy Pushkar, the production class winner in Sibiu last season in a Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X.

Early battle for supremacy
The competition starts in earnest with the Qualifying Stage from 10:00hrs local time on Thursday 25 July. Following two runs of Free Practice at Sibiu’s rallycross circuit from 08:00hrs, priority drivers get one run over the 3.42-kilometre course to set their best time. The fastest driver will then get to choose their starting position for leg one first with the second fastest driver next to make their selection and so on until all priority drivers have made their choice. Road position can be pivotal to the outcome of dry gravel rallies as drivers will be eager to run further down the order to benefit from a ‘clean’ and stable stage surface that’s been ‘swept’ clear of loose gravel.

Night fever in Romania
There will be night fever in Romania with two tests – Paltini? and ?anta – run under the cover of darkness on Friday’s leg (26 July), which features seven stages over a competitive distance of 101.80 kilometres. To increase the challenge facing drivers and the spectacle for the fans, the 10 kilometres of Paltini? is on asphalt, which drivers will tackle with gravel tyres and settings. Saturday’s route includes two more Tarmac stages, plus the monster Gâtu Berbecului, which at 30 kilometres is the longest of the 14-stage event and is run twice.

Top ERC Ladies’ Trophy contenders in action

Ekaterina Stratieva and Molly Taylor, currently first and second in the ERC Ladies’ Trophy standings, will be competing in Sibiu – and for the first time. Stratieva heads the scores by four points from Taylor but admits her lack of gravel experience could be a hindrance.

It’s a team game in the ERC
Three outfits will be chasing points for the respective ERC Teams’ championships. The GPD Mit Metal Racing Team is in contention for overall honours with Czech drivers Antonín Tlus?ák and Jaroslav Orsák both aiming to strike big in Romania. The Napoca Rally Academy has five drivers targeting points in the ERC Production Car Cup for Teams with its best two finishers eligible for points. Meanwhile, Zoltán Bessenyey, the current ERC 2WD Championship leader for Honda, will be hoping to add to Eurosol Racing Team Hungary’s tally in the two-wheel-drive division.

Local heroes out to shine
As well as counting as round seven of the 12-event ERC season, the Sibiu Rally is a round of the Romanian championship. That means a number of local heroes will be aiming to make an impact, while securing valuable domestic points. They include Edwin Keleti, Valentin Porcisteanu, Dan Girtofan and Alex Filip, who will bid for ERC 2WD success in a Renault Clio R3. Several Hungarian drivers will also be competing. They include Kornél Lukács, Janós Puskádi and Gergo Szabo. Meanwhile, former rallycross star ?ukasz Kabaci?ski is travelling from Poland to take part.

Q&A: MARCO TEMPESTINI
Napoca Rally Academy star on stepping up and competing at home in the ERC

How have you prepared for the Sibiu Rally?
“We took part on the San Marino Rally last weekend, which has some stages very similar to Sibiu and also some sections on Tarmac so it was a good test. Unfortunately my JM Engineering ŠKODA that I normally use in the Romanian championship was not available so I ran with a Fiesta S2000, quite a different car but still a Super 2000 so I hope it will be useful for Sibiu. Also, we are pushing with our physical preparation because the rally is not only hard for the cars but also the crews. The last thing we will also be doing is praying for luck against the punctures and mechanical failures that this rally is famous for.”

Why have you switched from your usual Subaru Impreza to a Skoda Fabia for this event?
“Because Sibiu is not only an ERC event, it is also the most important round of the national championship, with double points available. This is not just important for me but for Napoca Rally Academy. We are fighting point to point with ESD (François Delecour’s team) and BCR (Valentin Porcisteanu and Edwin Keleti’s team) for the teams’ title. We were champions in 2011, vice champions in 2012 and we strongly want to come back on the first place in 2013. I normally race with the ŠKODA in the Romanian championship so we decide to do the same also for the Sibiu Rally because we can rely on Simone Tempestini and Bogdan Marisca’s performances in the ERC Production Car Cup for Teams. We also have other friends that will compete under the NRA colours in Sibiu, the fast Italian Andrea Smiderle and the reliable Romanians Adrian Dragan and Horatiu Savu.”

You're a former winner in Sibiu. What's the secret to success?
“Until last year it was a mixture of being lucky and having the capacity to manage your speed in the rough part of the rally – punctures were a real nightmare in Sibiu in the past. Two times I was very fast but retired leading or fighting for the lead. In 2011 I won because the problems of the others. But that was Sibiu and now I’m very curious to see the great work to rebuild the special stages that the organiser has done with the help of the local authorities. The stages are now very good and not hard for the cars like before so maybe we change our strategy and go flat out.”

What challenges do you face driving on asphalt with gravel tyres and settings?
“That is an interesting question. On the Tarmac with gravel tyres and settings you have to leave the car ‘floating’ to catch the highest speed possible and also the lines have to be different from the usual Tarmac lines. But the gravel tyres on Tarmac suffer a lot with high temperatures and high consumption. With the new rules limiting each car to 24 tyres and so much Tarmac and long stages, tyre choice will be another important question for the result.”

The Napoca Rally Academy has been very active in the ERC this year. How pleased are you with the team's performances and what plans do you have for the rest of the season?
“I’m very pleased. Our target is to win the ERC Production Car Cup for Teams, the Romanian championship team title and the ERC Ladies’ Trophy with Ekaterina Stratieva and we are on schedule for all of them. We need the second part of the season to be as good as the first or, possibly, better to be sure to be able to achieve those targets. The Napoca Rally Academy is also coaching and teaching the young drivers and I’m really pleased about the growth of Simone Tempestini and Florin Tincescu, two very young drivers (19 and 20 years old) that we would like to see in the future in the top of the European rally world.”

FIVE FACTS
* With stages on gravel and asphalt, the Sibiu Rally is the only true mixed-surface round of the 2013 ERC.
* Until 1941 the majority of Sibiu’s population was ethnic German. Although many returned to Germany from the 1950s onwards, about 2000 remain including Klaus Johannis, the city’s mayor.
* Tocani??, a meat stew seasoned with onions, sarmale, picked cabbage leaves stuffed with a mix of minced meats, rice and spices, and mititei, small skinless grilled sausages, are among popular entrees served in Romania. * Transylvania is Dracula country and author Bram Stoker’s fictional Count’s castle is located in Brasov, 143 kilometres from Sibiu.
* Another major local attraction is Transf?g?r??an national road, 90 kilometres of dramatic twists and turns through the Southern Carpathians as featured on the BBC Top Gear television show.

QUALIFYING STAGE TO SPICE UP SIBIU ERC ACTION

Posted: July 18, 2013 1:49 PM

Priority drivers contesting round seven of the FIA European Rally Championship will take part in a Qualifying Stage to help determine the start order for the leg one of the Sibiu Rally.

The nominated drivers will get two runs in Free Practice from 08:00hrs local time on Thursday 25 July plus one timed Qualifying run from 10:00hrs. The fastest driver will then get to select their starting position first followed by the second fastest driver and so on until all priority drivers have made their selection. The ceremony to choose the starting positions will take place at the media centre in Sibiu from 12:00hrs.

Sibiu’s 3.80-kilometre rallycross circuit will host the Free Practice and Qualifying Stage. It will also be used for the shakedown for all other drivers from 11:00hrs-14:00hrs.

RECORD-BREAKING ENTRY FOR ERC SIBIU RALLY

Posted: July 18, 2013 1:47 PM

Sibiu Rally organisers have attracted a record-breaking entry for round seven of the FIA European Rally Championship.

A total of 68 crews – two less than the 70-car capacity – have registered for the exciting event in Romania, which uses a mixture of gravel and asphalt stages – including some run at night – and takes place from 25-27 July.

Event organiser Sorin Itu was naturally delighted with the amount of interest in his rally:
“I am very happy because we established a new record of entries at Sibiu Rally. I am sure that a very interesting battle will unfold between the local drivers and those who come from abroad, which will translate into a very good show for the spectators. I would also really like to establish a new record of attending spectators onto the special stages.”

The 68 crews come from 12 countries with a strong representation of Super 2000, production and two-wheel-drive machinery. There are two drivers contesting the FIA ERC Ladies’ Trophy, Ekaterina Stratieva and Molly Taylor.

Entry List

Posted: July 18, 2013 1:47 PM

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Sibiu Rally (Romania)

Website / Details

Posted: July 2, 2013 3:04 PM

Sibiu Rally (Romania)