On Saturday, 18 May 2024, the 51st Rallye Český Krumlov continued with its second stage. The schedule of the final stage includes 103 timed kilometres, which will take place on three classic sections of Malšín, Malonty and Kohout. Between the sections, the competitors returned to the exhibition centre in České Budějovice, where a spectator Super SS and a stop at their mechanics awaited them. This year’s Rallye Český Krumlov is included in the FIA European Rally Trophy and the Czech Rally Championship. The race cars from the past years started in the Autoclub Czech Rally Championship for historic cars. The weather forecast in the vicinity of Český Krumlov predicted partly cloudy skies, local showers were not excluded.
After leaving the closed car park at the České Budějovice Exhibition Centre, the participants set off for the first measured test, which was Malšín. Dominik Stříteský won the ten-kilometre stage in his Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 and confirmed that yesterday’s stage win was no accident. He was followed by Václav Pech and Erik Cais. Jan Kopecký arrived at the finish line in Malšín as the fourth fastest. Malšín was the last test for the crew of Fridrich – Kreslová, because their Alfa Romeo 147 suffered a failure of the semi-axle.
Malonty. There is probably no rally fan who doesn’t know this village and the legendary special stage that passes through the village. Malonty was often the place where the results of the whole rally were decided, because “those who fell asleep here never caught up”. This year’s version of this special stage was 26.15 measured kilometres. Václav Pech and Petr Uhel, starting in a Ford Focus WRC, were on the attack and set the fastest time at Malonty. Their lead after twenty-six kilometres was 7.8 seconds. In the overall standings, this meant they moved up to bronze. The second fastest time on the longest test of the 51st Rallye Český Krumlov was set by Dominik Stříteský in his Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 and increased his lead at the front of the competition to 5.8 seconds. Not far from Cetvin, David Soldát and Jan Winzig, the locals, unwillingly looked off the track, but continued on. Robert Hordossy’s Skoda Fabia R5 also suffered a puncture and after Malonty Jan Procházka had to retire due to a servo failure.
Today’s third classic section was the almost fourteen-kilometre long Kohout. Václav Pech set the fastest time there as well and it meant moving up one place again, i.e. to the silver position. Dominik Stříteský, who had been leading until then, set the second fastest time on Kohout. He kept his lead in the competition, but only by 3.9 seconds. Jan Kopecký set the third fastest time and the same position belonged to him in the standings, as he was overtaken by Pech. Václav Šejda from České Budějovice was off the track at Kohout. Stanislav Musil had to retire from the race after the special stage due to a turbo failure in his Toyota Yaris GR.
The spectator CB Auto Rallye Arena in České Budějovice, although it was the third time the 51st Rallye Český Krumlov was held, has not yet known any other winner than Filip Mareš. In conjunction with the new Toyota GR Yaris Rally 2, Filip Mareš was the king of the spectator super special stage. Václav Pech lost just three tenths of a second to Mareš’s Toyota. For the battle at the front, it was important what time the leader Dominik Stříteský would set. Even at the Exhibition Grounds he did not lose to his pursuer and Pech reduced the lead to 2.8 seconds. The passage through this special stage did not change anything about the other positions in the “top ten”.
The last fifty kilometres of the 51st Rallye Český Krumlov were still to be completed on three timed sections. The first one was a repeated passage through the Malšín stage, which was won by Jan Kopecký. Only 0.9 seconds behind, Erik Cais finished second. Václav Pech lost only one tenth of a second to the second Cais. Dominik Stříteský finished fourth. From the point of view of what was happening at the front of the competition, this meant that the time difference between the leading pair of Stříteský and Pech had shrunk to 2.3 seconds. In the top ten, the intermediate positions were exchanged between Věroslav Cvrček, who leapfrogged Tomáš Enge.
The legend named Malonty did not decide this year’s Rallye Český Krumlov, but he certainly contributed to making the final of the competition more dramatic. The fastest time on this special stage was achieved by Jan Kopecký in his Škoda Fabia RS Rally2. Compared to the first run through Malonty, Jan Kopecký improved by an incredible 25 seconds. Václav Pech crossed the photocell in the second fastest time, but lost 3.5 seconds to Jan Kopecký. The third fastest time belonged to Erik Cais, who lost 0.9 seconds to Pech. The fourth time, but with the smallest possible loss to the previous Cais, was set by Dominik Stříteský. Dominik Stříteský in his Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 remained at the top of the standings. Only 1.3 seconds behind was Václav Pech, second in the standings, in his Ford Focus WRC. Jan Kopecký, an experienced greaser driver who is the record holder of the South Bohemian competition, having won eight times already, was only 0.7 seconds behind Pech. The last special stage was to be decided by Kohout. David Soldát piloting his Škoda Fabia R5 did a pirouette in the fast section above Rychnov, but continued on. The last timed test for Robert Hordossa and his Škoda Fabia R5 was Malonty, as the car suffered a gearbox failure.
The final stage was the second passage through Kohout. Václav Pech was the fastest in the last timed test in his Ford Focus WRC. The second fastest time was recorded by Dominik Stříteský in a Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 and thus became the absolute winner of the 51st Rallye Český Krumlov. Third place went to Jan Kopecký in a Škoda Fabia RS Rally2. Tomáš Enge and Lucie Enga crashed on Kohout. The shiny new Toyota GR Yaris Rally2 ended up in the forest among the trees. After this crash, the stage was interrupted and subsequently cancelled.
In the FIA European Rally Trophy and Czech Rally Championship, the aforementioned Dominik Stříteský and Jiří Hovorka won. The second place in these championships was awarded to Jan Kopecký and Jan Hloušek and the third place was taken by Filip Mareš and Radovan Bucha, having leapfrogged Erik Cais, who had a puncture. The winner of the Autoclub Rally Challenge was Václav Pech and Petr Uhl.
51. Rallye Český Krumlov 2024
1. Stříteský / Hovorka – Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 1:28:25,3
2. Pech / Uhel – Ford Focus WRC +0,8
3. Kopecký / Uhel – Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 +3,6
4. Mareš / Bucha – Toyota GR Yaris Rally2 +40,2
5. Cais / Těšínský – Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 +1:14,3
6. Březík / Krajča – Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 +2:44,9
7. von Thurn und Taxis / Hain – Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 +4:07,4
8. Jirásek / Machů – Škoda Fabia R5 +4:46,8
9. Cvrček / Prokorát – Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 +5:45,2
10. Vlček / Kunst – Hyundai i20 N Rally2 +6:20,9
Historical cars also competed in Český Krumlov. Vlastimil Neumann and Martin Hlavaty with Mitsubishi Lancer EVO III won the start-finish system. They missed the second place in the historical vehicles’ standings Libor Kotrmon, navigated by Veronika Teplá, by 3 minutes and 26.8 seconds. Last year’s winners Martin Knížek and Petr Šlegel were ranked bronze. Before the first stage on Saturday, the home team of Jan Schmied and Tomáš Lovčík and Vladimír Berger and Pavel Ryšánek withdrew. Malonty meant a “stop” for Karel Horčík and Tomáš Klokočník jun. Due to engine failure of the Ford Escort RS 1600, the “home” crew of Jindřich Štolfa and Zdeněk Hawel finished from the third place in the second Malonty. The last stage was cancelled also for the historic cars.
51. Rallye Český Krumlov 2024 – historic cars
1. Neumann / Hlavatý – Mitsubishi Lancer EVO III 1:41:57,2
2. Kotrmon / Teplá – Ford Escort RS Cosworth +3:26,8
3. Knížek / Šlegl – BMW 318 iS +5:59,1
4. Jurečka / Jurečka – Subaru Impreza 555 +7:03,7
5. Hráček / Kretlík – Lada VFTS +8:12,5
6. Mihulka / Soumar – Ford Escort RS 2000 +11:46,8
7. Řepa / Votava – Škoda 130 LR +13:21,6
8. Lunga / Kozák – Fiat 131 Racing 2000 +13:48,9
9. Pavlát / Pavlát – Toyota Celica GT Four +13:52,3
10. Burget / Poch – Škoda 120 S Rallye +15:37,1
In the Organizer’s Cup, the Austrian crews were judged at the finish. The fastest was Franz and Knödlseder driving a Volkswagen Golf III Kit Car. The crews competing in the XVI. Rallye Legends Show.