Dominik Stříteský finished the dramatic opening stage of the Barum Czech Rally Zlín on course for his first FIA European Rally Championship victory, while Jan Kopecký’s attempt to extend his record-breaking 12th victory in his home ERC series stalled.
The 2013 European champion was 0.7 seconds behind Stříteský, the current leader of the Czech championship, in SS5, but dropped to 15th place overall due to a flat front tire.
“There was something on the line and I hit it, there was an immediate puncture and I had to change it and our change was quite slow,” said Kopecký, who is powered by a Škoda engine.
Stříteský, who shot from third to first on SS4 despite braking problems on SS2, finished SS5 with a slowly flat front tyre but with a lead of 10.1 seconds over the onrushing Erik Cais.
Despite starting Saturday with a 20-second time penalty, Michelin-equipped Cais fought his way into contention with five consecutive fastest stage times, leaving him 4.2 seconds behind Stříteský after SS7, Kateřinice.
But with torrential rain in Rajnochovice and hard tyres on his Fabia RS Rally2, Cais was powerless to prevent a significant loss of time. He needed 41.9 seconds longer than Stříteský to complete the 13.19 km stage and slipped from second to fourth place in the overall standings.
“It was like driving on snow with summer tires,” said a dejected Cais at the end of the SS8, where Kopecký lost even more time due to a high-speed slip.
While Simon Wagner benefited from a mixed tyre pattern of wet and dry Michelin tyres on the rainy SS8, Stříteský excelled on dry Hankook tyres and was 3.5 seconds faster than Wagner, reaching SS9 with a lead of 21.1 seconds.
“Erik was at full speed and there was nothing we could do, but there is still a long way to go,” said Stříteský. “I tried to stay calm because the most important thing for us is the points in the Czech championship.”
Since the SS9 was cancelled for safety reasons due to the weather, Stříteský is ahead of the winner of the first stage, Wagner, with Adam Březík in third place, just 0.2 seconds ahead of Cais.
Březík stormed to the top of the Barum Czech Rally Zlín standings with the fastest time in Saturday morning’s opening test, Březová, and a lead of 1.6 seconds over Kopecký.
Although Kopecký was 1.1 seconds faster than Březík on SS3, the younger Czech rider was 0.5 seconds ahead from SS4 onwards. But an off-road moment cost him valuable seconds and he finished the stage with his right front tyre off the rim, 13.5 seconds behind the new leader Stříteský.
“On the first stage everything was fine, on the next I was a bit more cautious and we lost some time, but on the third everything was going well until we had the puncture,” said Březík. “I hit something in the grass, I don’t know what, but after I went off the road. Then I was too fast on the brakes in a left-hand bend (on SS5), so I had to turn harder and spun. I’m fighting for the lead, so we have to push to the maximum.”
Behind Cais (below), Filip Mareš is in fifth place, while Mathieu Franceschi in sixth place is well on course to take the lead in the ERC points standings after Hayden Paddon had to change two damaged tyres on SS8.
Efrén Llarena is in seventh place after spinning into a ditch at high speed on SS5, while Miko Marczyk is eighth after his Fabia lost rear-wheel drive on the same stage.
Hermann Neubauer is ninth, followed by the recovering Kopecký and the two-time Zlín winner Václav Pech. Martin László is twelfth, the former circuit racer Aleš Jirásek is 13th, Albert von Thurn und Taxis 14th and Jarosław Kołtun complete the points rankings.
Filip Kohn (Ford Fiesta Rally3) leads the FIA ERC3 standings, Patrik Herczig is in the lead in the FIA ERC4 with a Peugeot 208 Rally4.
The 53rd edition of the Barum Czech Rally Zlín ends tomorrow (Sunday) with two rounds of three special stages each over a competition distance of 81.12 kilometers. The action begins with the legendary Semetín stage at 08:23 local time. The Halenkovice Power Stage is scheduled to start at 16:05.
