As part of testing and getting acquainted with the new fabia, the Škoda people have prepared something else for us. A ride in the Fabia R5 and also a legend of the biggest.
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In fact, we should now call the Fabia Rally2 evo, the original designation R5 has been dropped from the name, now the category is called Rally2. Probably not only for me, but this fabie will be just er-five for a long time.
Doesn’t matter in the end? After the ride with a masked prototype of the fourth-generation Fabia in short, her competition sister was waiting for us in Zell am See, of course built on the foundations of the troika. This year, however, the fabia of the fourth generation should also appear as a special Rally2. One of the best news I’ve heard in Austria. Škoda motorsport obviously has a secure future. Maybe for a long time.
The history is rich, rich, this year Mladá Boleslav is celebrating 120 years of motorsport. It all started at the end of June 1901, when the racer Narcis Podsedníček took part in a twelve hundred km long race from Paris to Berlin. He started behind the handlebars of the Laurin & Klement Slavia type B motorcycle, which has been preserved and is still mobile. However, Narcis arrived at the finish line at three in the morning, when the official timekeeper was closed. And even though he was the first in his category, his victory was not officially consecrated.
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We could also see this very first Mladá Boleslav competition machine in Austria, but we could try it (at least on the passenger seat) only a bit from the later Škoda production. And perhaps the most legendary – the amazing 130 RS bath. Matthias Kahle, a six-time German champion, sat behind the wheel.
When the 52-year-old guy greeted me on the intercom, it sounded almost apologetic. “And now back to the past,” the German competitor insisted that I had moved to him from the Fabia Rally2 evo, which was led by Honza Kopecký on a short improvised track. Of course, compared to the latest technology, at first I had the feeling that I would have to suppress Matthias, as the bathing suit did not feel emotionally at all. In the end, however, it was a far greater experience for me than in the Fabia Rally2 evo.
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Sometimes I remember the motorcycle legend Milan Chalupník. In his Strašnice shop, this witness of František Šťastný’s times published a Honda journalist motorcycle for us. And sometimes he added a memory, a story… I once asked him about the natural circuits that it seemed terribly dangerous to me. Mr. Chalupník shrugged. “It simply came to our notice then. Today, at those giant racetracks, it feels like racing according to a ruler. “
And that’s exactly how the Fabia Rally2 evo affected me in direct comparison with the 130 RS. A perfectly accurate and efficient machine that can be driven in centimeters on ice and snow, even at centimeters and at speeds that the 70-wheeler could not even imagine. When it occurred to me that in these absolutely safe conditions (a short but very wide circuit lined with flexible snow barriers), I would dare to drive a Fabia. And that, for example, in a moment I would be able to slide in a controlled way, almost like Honza Kopecký. Very remotely similar, of course, and in these specific, safe conditions. So that you don’t happen to take my word for it, perhaps I would like to compare myself with Honza.
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It was just a bit of a ruler, already a very exact discipline. But Matthias behind the wheel of 130 RS… How he threw the car in front of the curve, perfectly exemplary in Scandinavian, intermediate throttle, counter and at the right moment full throttle! And how he had to handle the steering wheel! Where Honza just turned the steering wheel, Matthias frantically jumped to one side and then the other to keep the bath in a beautifully smooth and long skid. This was really work, and I didn’t know where to look before. Whether on your feet or smiling as the master spins the steering wheel in a flash.
I would bet here for a change that I would not be entitled for a long time. And that maybe I would tighten the technique (and myself) before I find the sweet pot in which the snow bath works around the snow. And keep the Škoda in this mini window. Hard, tiny, but wonderful work!
RS reminded me of one of my greatest driving experiences, the snowy Porsche driving academy. Maintaining a smooth slip took the most work and needed the most feeling in the weakest 911, with the Turbo S it didn’t matter at what speed I got into a corner, or when and how much gas he added. Enormous torque and a sophisticated ATV have always made me whistle sideways. In the 911 Carrera S, the instructor once spun between the skittles. Here we had to be very, very sensitive and hit everything – approach speed, throttle and steering wheel rotation. And Matthias had many times more work.
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And I heard one more good news in Austria. Although the factory team will not take part in this year’s Czech champion after many years, Škoda crews will receive support from eight crews from seven dealer teams. Škoda will provide half a million through a marketing bonus and CZK 900,000 in spare parts. Injections are absolutely essential for the functioning of private individuals. This year, the Czech champion could be very interesting! We will see if the first event is ready, because Valaška should start at the end of March…
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