Barum Rally: Jan Kopecky becomes the master of Zlin again

The program for the second stage was simple. A little over 100 km of timed runs were planned, with a group of three SS stages to be contested twice. Contrary to tradition, the Zlin region and the race were spared the rain this time, allowing the competitors to focus on these roads, which are already very difficult even in the dry. Always very fast, they wind between fields or through the undergrowth, where they can be very tight. What also characterizes them is their cambered surface and the lack of grip they offer. Jan Kopecky (Fabia RS) knew all this by heart.

The Barum legend has struck again. Lacking inspiration last year, he handed victory to his compatriot Dominik Stritesky (Fabia RS). This year, Kopecky has absolutely mastered everything. Already brilliant throughout Saturday, he had a 6" lead at the start of this stage. He allowed himself to concede 5" in the dreaded Pindula (SS0) before finally putting himself out of contention by winning SS2 and 8. This time, with a gap of 9" he could have been content to roll on during the final three sections to go and secure his 10th^e success in Zlin.

Behind Kopecky, the battle had been interesting to follow during Saturday and this gave hope for a lively Sunday. The positions ultimately changed very little during this stage. Excellent 2^e Last night, Jon Armstrong (Fiesta) never managed to threaten Kopecky. The Irishman, supported by M-Sport However, he set times (2 scratch times) which confirmed that he has the speed to challenge for first place. Armstrong managed to contain Andrea Mabellini (Fabia RS) to obtain his 3^e podium in ERC.

The Italian is the one who performed the best operation in the ERC. With this 3^e With his ranking and victory in the Power Stage, he has erased 11 points from his deficit over Mikolaj Marczyk. With the small game of counting, the Pole who has not been at the expected level this weekend, it is Mabellini who leads the championship with a 2-point margin while there are 2 races left in this competition.

To the 4^e and 5^e places, both drivers HyundaiSimon Wagner and Erik Cais were two of the key players in this round. The Austrian could have even become the leader in SS7 if it hadn't been for a puncture that caused him to touch down. A local, Cais also set times, particularly in Pindula 1 and 2, that could once again give him cause for regret this year.

The Barum Rally has crowned the first European title of 2025 with Sweden's Kalle Carlberg (Opel Corsa) in the Junior ERC. He has thus earned his participation in the 2026 JWRC.

Final ranking