Jan Kopecky first leader of the Barum Rally  

Raced at night and in a fiery atmosphere, the first ES kept all its promises. At the end of these 9,57 km traced in the town of Zlin which hosts the rally, Jan Kopecky placed his Skoda Fabia in the lead. Perfectly mastering the changes in grip and not seeming to be bothered by the darkness, the record holder for victories at Barum won with a margin of 1s4. He is ahead of Simon Wagner, who was already excellent during the final practice session and the qualifying stage. Also in good form, Filip Mares (at 5s6) confirmed that he would have to be counted on. If the Czechs monopolized the first places, Erik Cais is however missing. An engine problem on his Ford Fiesta Rally2 pushed him back 9^e at 11s9. The concern also concerned the champion's Skoda Fabia ERC 2022. Efren Llarena indeed completed the ES with a clutch pedal problem and the question is whether he will manage to leave parc ferme this morning. In the other categories, Manu Guigou produced a great demonstration by installing his Alpine the 16^e place of the general 6s3 in front of that of Raphaël Astier. In ERC4, Laurent Pellier did a good warm-up with a 2^e time behind Andrea Mabellini (at 2s6). The serious things will really begin this Saturday with a loop of 3 special stages to be run twice for a total of 97,12 timed km (starting at 9:31 a.m.). The puzzle of tire choice will be one of the keys, as showers are forecast during the day.

General classification at the end of SS1