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Rally Portugal: ŠKODA drivers Pontus Tidemand
and Juuso Nordgren delayed by punctures
› With their ŠKODA FABIA R5 collecting two punctures last year’s winners and WRC 2
Champions Pontus Tidemand /Jonas Andersson dropped to fifth in WRC 2 category
› ŠKODA Junior Team Juuso Nordgren/Tapio Suominen suffered two punctures as well and
are currently in ninth place on the WRC 2 leader board
› ŠKODA Motorsport boss Michal Hrabánek: “Pontus and Juuso had really bad luck, but
valuable championship points are still in reach.”
Matosinhos, 18 Mai 2018 – Reigning WRC 2 Champions Pontus Tidemand/Jonas Andersson
(SWE/SWE) suffered two punctures with their ŠKODA FABIA R5 during the Friday leg of
Rally Portugal (17/05/–20/05/2018), sixth round of the FIA World Rally Championship.
Currently they are in the fifth position in WRC 2 category but can still earn valuable
championship points. Their young teammates Juuso Nordgren/Tapio Suominen (FIN/FIN)
encountered the same mishap, at the end of the Friday leg they are ninth in the WRC 2
category standings.
The ŠKODA factory crews Pontus Tidemand/Jonas Andersson and Juuso Nordgren/Tapio
Suominen started well into the Rally Portugal, the sixth round of FIA World Rally Championship.
The two ŠKODA FABIA R5 ex aequo scored the fastest time on the opening show stage, cheered
by tens of thousands of enthusiastic rally fans on the rally cross circuit of Lousada.
But on Friday morning, disaster hit both ŠKODA crews. “I don’t know how it happened. I got a
puncture 15 kms into the stage, although the road seemed to be relatively smooth. Obviously, that
doesn’t help when you have a puncture”, commented Pontus Tidemand. His young teammate
Juuso Nordgren showed some promising split times, until he suffered a puncture as well. “There
are stones in places, sometimes it’s like a lottery. If you hit one, you get a puncture easily”,
Nordgren said. As a consequence, both ŠKODA crews lost nearly one and a half minute and
dropped down the leader board.
Pontus Tidemand had to face a special challenge. Because he had decided to take only one spare
wheel into the car in order to save weight, another puncture on the remaining two morning stages,
totalling more than 45 kilometres of tough gravel tracks, would have put him out of the rally.
Therefore, the WRC 2 Champion from Sweden drove the next stage especially carefully. But on the
last stage before the midday service, he set a dominant fastest time, followed by teammate
Nordgren.
The repetition of the morning leg saw both ŠKODA crews fighting back through the WRC 2 field.
Tidemand set another fastest time on the fifth stage and moved back into fourth position.
Finnish junior Juuso Nordgren followed in the footpaths of his teammate and conquered fifth
position in the second works ŠKODA FABIA R5. But one stage later, both ŠKODA crews again
suffered punctures. Tidemand dropped to fifth in WRC 2, while Nordgren finished the day in ninth
position of the category.
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“This is really bad luck, but it is not over and there is still a long way to go. Pontus and Juuso can
still fight for valuable championship points. So far this year’s Rally Portugal is the toughest event of
the 2018 season, many of our competitors suffered as well”, commented ŠKODA Motorsport boss
Michal Hrabánek.
Like in 2017, Rally Portugal offers the longest leg on Saturday (19 May), running over nearly 155
kilometres divided into six special stages with a mixture of sandy roads, rocks and deep ruts during
the second pass of the stages. On Sunday (20 May), the spectacular Fafe loop with five stages on
fast and smooth gravel roads, including the famous jump, is the spectator highlight of the event. In
total, the teams will face 20 special stages of 358.19 kilometres, before the winner will reach the
podium on Sunday at 15h45 in Matosinhos close to the city of Porto.
Standings Rally Portugal after Day 2 (WRC 2)
1. Greensmith/Parry (GBR/GBR), Ford Fiesta R5, 1:44:27.8 h
2. Pieniazek/Mazur (POL/POL), ŠKODA FABIA R5, +34.3 sec.
3. Lefebvre/Moreau (FRA/FRA), Citroën C3 R5, +34.8 sec.
4. Heller/Olmos (CHL/ARG), Ford Fiesta R5, +1:28.4 min
5. Tidemand/Andersson (SWE/SWE), ŠKODA FABIA R5, +1:44.6 min
Number of the day: 4
Four punctures (two for each crew) delayed the ŠKODA works crews Tidemand/Andersson and
Nordgren/Suominen during a tough Friday leg of Rally Portugal.
The calendar of the 2018 FIA World Rally Championship (WRC 2)
Event Date
Monte-Carlo 24/01/–28/01/2018
Sweden 15/02/–18/02/2018
Mexico 08/03/–11/03/2018
France 05/04/–08/04/2018
Argentina 26/04/–29/04/2018
Portugal 17/05/–20/05/2018
Italy 07/06/–10/06/2018
Finland 26/07/–29/07/2018
Germany 16/08/–19/08/2018
Turkey 13/09/–16/09/2018
Great Britain 04/10/–07/10/2018
Spain 25/10/–28/10/2018
Australia 15/11/–18/11/2018
Further information:
Zbyněk Straškraba, Communications Motorsport
P +420 605 293 168
zbynek.straskraba@skoda-auto.cz
http://skoda-motorsport.com
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ŠKODA Motorsport:
YouTube
Media images:
ŠKODA at Rally Portugal 2018
Reigning WRC 2 Champions Pontus Tidemand/Jonas
Andersson (SWE/SWE), driving a ŠKODA FABIA R5,
suffered two punctures and finished day two in fifth position
of the WRC 2 category
Download Source: ŠKODA AUTO
ŠKODA at Rally Portugal 2018
Finnish ŠKODA juniors Juuso Nordgren and Tapio
Suominen were delayed by punctures and are in the ninth
position after the Friday leg
Download Source: ŠKODA AUTO
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ŠKODA Motorsport Overview
ŠKODA has been successful on the motorsport scene since 1901. Be it on the circuit or in rallies, ŠKODA has
celebrated victories and won titles all around the world. Historical highlights include winning the title in the FIA World
Rally Championship (WRC 2) for the first time in 2016, numerous title wins in the FIA European Rally Championship
(ERC), the FIA Asia-Pacific Rally Championship (APRC) and the Intercontinental Rally Challenge (IRC), as well as the
victory in the European Touring Car Championship in 1981. ŠKODA teams have also triumphed in the world’s oldest
and most famous rally, taking several class victories in the legendary Monte Carlo, which was first held in 1911.
The ŠKODA FABIA R5, a high-tech 4×4, was homologated by the International Automobile Federation FIA on 1 April
2015. ŠKODA’s new FABIA R5 is successfully continuing the long tradition of ŠKODA Motorsport. Its predecessor, the
FABIA SUPER 2000, won 50 national and international titles around the world. In the FIA World Rally Championship
(WRC 2) 2016, Esapekka Lappi/Janne Ferm (FIN/FIN) won the title for the Czech car maker. In total, ten of the 2016
season’s races in the World Rally Championship were won by a ŠKODA FABIA R5. ŠKODA drivers Gustavo Saba
(PRY) and Gaurav Gill (IND) also won the continental championships in South America and the Asia-Pacific region at
the wheel of the successful ŠKODA FABIA R5. Nasser Al-Attiyah (QAT) was unbeatable in the Middle East Rally
Championship (MERC), while a further ten national titles also went the way of ŠKODA drivers.
2017 was the most successful year in the history of ŠKODA Motorsport. Works duo Pontus Tidemand/Jonas
Andersson (S/S) became WRC 2 Champions, ŠKODA Motorsport won the Team Championship. Jan Kopecký/Pavel
Dresler (CZ/CZ) won the Czech Rally Championship (MČR) for the third time in a row and are the spearhead of in total
14 crews winning their country’s national titles. Furthermore the FIA Asia-Pacific Rally Championship (APRC), the FIA
South American Rally Championship (CODASUR) and the FIA African Rally Championship (ARC) have been won by
teams competing in a ŠKODA FABIA R5.
ŠKODA AUTO
› is one of the longest-established vehicle manufacturers in the world. The company was founded in 1895 – during the
pioneering days of the automobile. Today, the company’s headquarters remain in Mladá Boleslav.
› currently offers the following models in the range: CITIGO, FABIA, RAPID, OCTAVIA, KAROQ, KODIAQ and
SUPERB.
› in 2017 delivered more than 1.2 million vehicles to customers worldwide.
› has belonged to Volkswagen Group since 1991. The Volkswagen Group is one of the most successful vehicle
manufacturers in the world. ŠKODA, in association with the Group, independently manufactures and develops
vehicles, as well as components, engines and gear transmissions.
› operates at three locations in the Czech Republic, produces in China, Russia, Slovakia, Algeria and India mainly
through Group partnerships, as well as in Ukraine and Kazakhstan through local partners.
› employs over 35,000 people globally and is active in more than 100 markets.
https://www.skoda-storyboard.com/en/category/media/
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Rally Portugal: ŠKODA drivers Pontus Tidemand and Juuso Nordgren delayed by punctures
› With their ŠKODA FABIA R5 collecting two punctures last year’s winners and WRC 2 Champions Pontus Tidemand /Jonas Andersson dropped to fifth in WRC 2 category
› ŠKODA Junior Team Juuso Nordgren/Tapio Suominen suffered two punctures as well and are currently in ninth place on the WRC 2 leader board
› ŠKODA Motorsport boss Michal Hrabánek: “Pontus and Juuso had really bad luck, but valuable championship points are still in reach.”
ŠKODA has been successful on the motorsport scene since 1901. Be it on the circuit or in rallies, ŠKODA has celebrated victories and won titles all around the world. Historical highlights include winning the title in the FIA World Rally Championship (…
The ŠKODA FABIA R5, a high-tech 4×4, was homologated by the International Automobile Federation FIA on 1 April 2015. ŠKODA’s new FABIA R5 is successfully continuing the long tradition of ŠKODA Motorsport. Its predecessor, the FABIA SUPER 2000, won 50 …
› is one of the longest-established vehicle manufacturers in the world. The company was founded in 1895 – during the pioneering days of the automobile. Today, the company’s headquarters remain in Mladá Boleslav.
› currently offers the following models in the range: CITIGO, FABIA, RAPID, OCTAVIA, KAROQ, KODIAQ and SUPERB.
› in 2017 delivered more than 1.2 million vehicles to customers worldwide.
› has belonged to Volkswagen Group since 1991. The Volkswagen Group is one of the most successful vehicle manufacturers in the world. ŠKODA, in association with the Group, independently manufactures and develops vehicles, as well as components, engine…
› operates at three locations in the Czech Republic, produces in China, Russia, Slovakia, Algeria and India mainly through Group partnerships, as well as in Ukraine and Kazakhstan through local partners.
› employs over 35,000 people globally and is active in more than 100 markets.
ŠKODA at Rally Portugal 2018
ŠKODA at Rally Portugal 2018
