IRC – A spoiled party for Juho Hanninen

The Barum Rally Zlin was a party in the Czech Republic. Many spectators were present to see the Skoda drivers, the only contenders for victory, evolve. Juho Hänninen was fighting for first place with Jan Kopecky returning to the Finn's wheels before the Czech retired at the start of SS13 following a mechanical failure. Andreas Mikkelsen was also in the fight for victory but the Norwegian had to settle for eighth place after suffering two consecutive punctures in the first special of the second stage.

Juho Hänninen had a good lead over Roman Kresta and Tomas Kostka before the start of the last special, but the last run was canceled following a serious accident in the Halenkovice special (SS13) following the exit of the Subaru Impreza of Vaclav Kopacek and Thomas Singer. One spectator died and another was seriously injured. The organizers of the event specified that this accident occurred in an area closed to the public. The IRC had already been in mourning last June with the death of Gareth Roberts, co-pilot of Craig Breen.

Discover the report of the Barum Rally Zlin in the next issue of AUTOhebdo, available from Tuesday in digital version for iPad, PC and Mac, and from Wednesday on newsstands.