Skoda Auto delivers 200th Fabia R5 rally car to team SRT from Latvia
The 200th Skoda Fabia R5
Skoda Auto had recently delivered its 200th Fabia R5 rally car to team Sports Racing Technologies (SRT) based out of Latvia. The R5 is the most successful car for Skoda Auto and back home in India, our own WRC contender Gaurav Gill has been using the Race-Torque prepped R5 for the last two FIA APRC seasons. He won his last two APRC titles behind the wheel of the R5. Till now 89 customers in 30 countries have 200 Skoda Fabia R5s in their garage, waiting to conquer local and international rallies with the car. These Fabia R5 customers have a collective 414 victories in 57 countries.
This year alone, Skoda factory teams have won four out of five rounds of the FIA World Rally Championship in WRC 2 category. Other accolades that the Fabia R5 brought to Skoda Motorsport and the teams using the car include victories in the FIA Asia-Pacific Rally Championship (APRC), the FIA Middle East Rally Championship (MERC), the FIA South American Rally Championship (CODASUR) and the FIA African Rally Championship (ARC).
Škoda head of motorsport, Michal Hrabánek on the Fabia R5
On the 200th Fabia R5 sold, Škoda head of motorsport, Michal Hrabánek said, “In the past, our work on the Škoda Fabia R5 focused on reliability. As a result, during the 2017 WRC season none of the factory cars had to retire due to technical issues. Thanks to the presence of our works team in the FIA World Rally Championship, we got the experience to further develop the car, making the Škoda Fabia R5 the best car in its category. In 2018 the competition is even more intense. We are facing new R5 cars from our competitors, but we are well prepared. For example, we are now offering an engine upgrade to our customer teams, which improves torque, power output and drivability of the Škoda Fabia R5’s power plant.”
