Rally fans will know that Skoda has a fine tradition of rallying at the highest level, so it's good to see the Czech manufacturer once again getting serious about rallying with its factory-backed S2000 team.
Take a look at this promo video of the Fabia rally car if you want to see how serious Skoda is...
IRC Fabia - off to a flying start (ahem)
The S2000-spec cars currently run in the IRC (Intercontinental Rally Challenge) - where Jan Copecky and Petr Stary finished second in the latest event in Ypres, Belgium - but could be very similar to future WRC cars, depending on the outcome of an FIA World Motor Sport Council meeting in June.
Skoda's latest project brings back memories of the 1980s, when the firm ran the 130 LR Group B rally car. That died in 1988 when the FIA finally put a stop to all Group B-derived cars (the turbocharged four-wheel-drive monsters had been banned back in 1986).
Before the current S2000 car, Skoda's last project was a relatively short-lived works WRC programme with the previous Skoda Fabia. Colin McRae fans will remember that car as the tool for one of the rally legend's last great drives, where he ran in second place in the 2005 Rally of Australia before retiring.
 Skoda: a joke in the 80s, but not in rallying |
 McRae on spectacular form in Australia, 2005 |
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