Having netted several podiums in its returning year to rallying, Team Oreca has announced it will continue in the sport through 2016. The French team will contest the WRC2 championship in an all-new Skoda Fabia R5, which will be piloted by TMG Junior Driver Development Program member Teemu Suninen, with co-driver Mikko Markkula alongside him.
The WRC2 season begins at the iconic Rally Monte-Carlo later this month (January 21) following on private practice sessions scheduled through January, which the team state will be ‘an opportunity for the squad to get familiar with the car’. Skoda’s 2015-specification Fabia R5 enjoyed regular success in the second class of the World Rally Championship, as well as a title in the Asia-Pacific Rally Championship and several national rally championship wins.
“With a driver like Teemu and a car like the Fabia R5, our new 2016 programme is obviously ambitious,” explained Oreca Group CEO, Hugues de Chaunac. “We’ve got an excellent package there and the experience that both Teemu and the team have garnered throughout this recent season should enable us to compete amongst the leaders next year. However our objective must remain clear: Teemu is a young driver, there’s still a lot of room for him and the team to improve, and we’re only going to discover the Fabia R5. We know Skoda Motorsport well and this car seems fantastic but we’re going to have to get familiar with it. In this context, we’re working towards the Rally Monte-Carlo with great humility as we know how difficult it is. Results matter, but the way you achieve them is actually as important.”
