Škoda’s all-new Fabia R5 competition car will make its international rally debut in the manufacturer’s own market of the Czech Republic. The car will see action at selected rounds of the FIA World Rally Championship, and FIA Asia-Pacific Rally Championship, but will first take to the opening round of the Czech Rally Championship.
“We are delighted to now be able to test our new Škoda Fabia R5 at an actual rally, following the successful homologation by the International Automobile Federation FIA. It is obviously particularly symbolic that our first outing will be in the brand’s back yard in the Czech Republic,” said Michal Hrabánek, Škoda Motorsport director. “The plan for this year is to test the competitiveness of the new rally car around the world, starting with the opening race of the Czech Rally Championship”.
The all-new Fabia R5 features a 1.6-litre turbo engine, a marked change from the two-litre engine that powered the all-conquering Fabia Super 2000. The car also features a five-speed sequential gearbox and McPherson strut suspension configuration.
Developed over a 15 month period, the Fabia R5 received homologation from the FIA earlier this month.
“We are happy that we now have the homologation from the International Automobile Federation FIA under our belt,” added Hrabánek. “The development of our new rally hope was a tiring process and a major challenge for the entire team at Škoda Motorsport, to whom I would like to say a big thank you.”
Škoda states that the Fabia R5 has managed to attract a lot of customer attention already, with the team answering around 100 enquires, with at least 15 cars scheduled for delivery this year.
