Freddy Loix in a Skoda Fabia Super 2000 dominated the Ypres Rally

Freddy Loix in a factory Skoda Fabia Super 2000 comfortably won the fifth IRC event this season, the Ypres Rally in Belgium. His seventh victory in Ypres has earned him a place in the history of this rally. “Fast” Freddy Loix won nine stages of 18 in total and finished 1 minute and 41 seconds ahead of Bouffier in a Peugeot who came second overall. Loix has moved up to the top of the current IRC rankings. The overall success of Skoda Fabias is underlined by a fantastic third place by Hans Weijs (Ned) in a private Skoda Fabia Super 2000. Skoda remains top in the Manufacturers competition

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The rally did not start well at all for Skoda Motorsport (factory team) – one of the consequences of Kopecký & Starý's crash in Thursday's shakedown was a sharp pain in Starý's right collar bone, and the team decided to withdraw Kopecký & Starý before the start. Although fears of a collar bone fracture proved unfounded, Starý's pain made the crew's participation in this event impossible.As a result, the only driver to represent Skoda's factory team was Belgium's ace Freddy Loix. Day 1 was a disaster for a number of drivers with podium ambitions – both Neuville in a Peugeot and Mikkelsen in a Fabia had to give up the rally due to vehicle damages already in Stage 1, and so Friday's 96-km part was a battle between Loix and the rest of the field. At the end of Friday's programme, Loix had a lead of 37 seconds over Guy Wilks.

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Day 2 (12 stages, 192 kilometres) saw a spectacular performance by Loix who made perfect use of knowing every piece of his “home track” and gave his opponents no chance of catching up. Controlling his lead all over Saturday, Freddy only had one ambition – making no silly mistake. When he eventually crossed the finish line, he was thrilled to bits: “It's like a dream to win here for the seventh time, although a number of excellent drivers did not take part or had problems right at the beginning. I and Fréderic will definitely enjoy this victory, but we are already looking forward to the Bohemia Rally next week where we will compete for Skoda Motorsport again. I am most grateful to the team and all its members”.

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Head of Skoda Motorsport Michal Hrabánek adds: “Congratulations to Freddy on his record-breaking victory that he's achieved with a Fabia Super 2000. He has proven to be still one of the best drivers in the field. We are sorry that Kopecký & Starý had withdraw from this rally before its start, but good health of all our team members is our top priority. We will find out within a few days whether Petr Starý is fit for the next IRC event in the Azores. We wish him a fast recovery and I want to thank the whole team for a great performance after not really a lucky start of this event”.Skoda Motorsport (factory team) will appear at the Bohemia Rally next week, with the current IRC leader Freddy Loix to compete under its colours. The decision as to whether the other crew will take part too will be made within the days to come.

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