Sepp Wiegand in a SKODA Fabia wins the WRC-2 class at the Monte Carlo Rally

What a premiere! The opening event of the new year of the World Championship, the new WRC-2 class, and a victory for ŠKODA! Sepp Wiegand/Frank Christian of Germany score a valuable win in their first appearance at the legendary Monte Carlo Rally.

Commenting on ŠKODA´s appearance at the Monte Carlo Rally, Head of ŠKODA´s motorsport department Michal Hrabánek says:

“Congratulations to Sepp and Frank on this historic triumph they have achieved for ŠKODA. They put in a tactically mature performance which is a promise for the events to come. We have decided to give a chance to young drivers this year, and we believe it´s the right decision for the future.”

Sepp Wiegand was thrilled to bits: “An incredibly difficult rally and an incredible success! I never even dared to dream about such an excellent result before my first appearance at the Monte.”

Esapekka Lappi made a good start to the event by winning Stage 1, but then he had to give up in Stage 2 after a driving mistake and its consequences – a damaged front-left suspension:

“It is a big disappointment, because we won Stage 1 and we felt really good, despite the mistake we´d made. However, we had to stop in Stage 2 due to the consequences of that small collision (with a rock). Considering the hard work put in by all the team members, we are so sorry about this outcome! We had a completely different idea about the start to this season, but we will certainly do our best to make up for this failure at the next event. We took a team training session here in Monte Carlo that should help us.”

The Monte Carlo Rally is the world´s oldest car race and one of the most difficult events. As usual, the on-track conditions were difficult, mainly due to a combination of snow and ice. Rides through mountain passes including the “Night of the Long Knives”, the famous ride through the Col de Turini at 1,606 a.s.l., 468 special-stage kilometres, 1,352 liaison kilometres and 18 special stages spread over four days – that is the legend by the name of ´Monte´.

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