[WRC] News & rumours (part III)

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Kopecký is strongly connected with Škoda and will stay there. Anyway he is an asphalt specialist who isn't that fast on gravel (and even sometimes on wet or very dirty asphalt). His problem is also that he doesn't drive WRC events so he doesn't know them. He is too old for any team to buy him a learning season or two. On the other hand it's not true that Mikkelsen is clearly better. When both had absolutely same cars Mikkelsen beat Kopecký in IRC 2011 only due to special IRC rules. With WRC point-scoring system Kopecký would clearly win (only 8 of 12 events counted plus double points from the last rally). 2012 Kopecký did only half of the events Mikkelsen did.

Here their battles...

2012 (both same works cars)

Canarias - Kopecký 1., Mikkelsen 2.
Circuit of Ireland - Kopecký 3., Mikklesen 2.
Corsica - Kopecký 2., Mikkelsen 5.
Targa Florio - Kopecký 1., Mikkelsen 2.
Barum - Kopecký retired from 1st place (engine failure), Mikklesen 8.

2011 (both same works cars)

Monte Carlo - Kopecký 8. (epic Škoda tyre fail), Mikkelsen crash
Canarias - Kopecký 2., Mikkelsen 6.
Corsica - Kopecký 2., Mikklesen 6.
Yalta - Kopecký 3., Mikkesen 4.
Ypres - crash for both
Acores - Kopecký 3., Mikkelsen 2.
Barum - Kopecký 1., Mikklesen 5.
Mecsek - Kopecký 1., Mikklesen crash
Sanremo - Kopecký 4., Mikkelsen 2.
Scotland - Kopecký 5., Mikkelsen 1.
Cyprus - Kopecký 2., Mikkelsen 1.

Anyway Hänninen usually beat them both...


Regarding the record of Kopecký he was twice fifth overall and won three stages overall. Take into account that he was driving private Fabia WRC (in that time his car had circa 100 Nm less torque than contemporary opposition - Fabia had approximately 640 Nm and 340 Hp). Anyway it's all a history, too much time passed.

Catalunya 2006 5. (between Bengue and Duval), Deutschland 2007 5. (between Grönholm and Solberg)

The negative trend of Andreas actually started in 2011.
To understand what Andreas is capable of You really should look at what he was capable of in a Subaru Group N car, and what he managed in the wake of this (his WRC drive in Poland in 2009, his S2000 Hankook etc).
But I agree that Kopecky can be very good at tarmac.