VThe 52nd Rallye Český Krumlov 2025, which is included in the FIA European Rally Trophy, Autoklub Czech Rally Championship, Autoklub Rally Challenge or Autoklub Czech Historic Sporting Rally Championship, kicked off on Friday afternoon. The opening stage had five special stages with a total length of 63.52 measured kilometres. The longest test was the Kohout-Ján, almost 24 kilometres long, which is being run in this form for the first time and was created by combining the Kohout and Ján stages.
For this year’s Rallye Český Krumlov, a total of 129 competition cars (86 in modern, 25 in historic and 18 in legendary) were entered. None of the favourites aspiring for the title of Czech Rally Champion for 2025 were missing at the start. The first participants of the 52nd Rallye Český Krumlov 2025 were presented at the České Budějovice Exhibition Centre as part of the Rallye Legends Show. The spectators present could watch the famous cars of the past on the CB Auto Rallye Arena track. On the spectator super speed test, the Opel Manta 400, Mercedes-Benz 190E, Opel Kadett Coupe, Ford Escort and representatives of the domestic car manufacturer Škoda with the 130 LR or 136 L Favorit models were circling. After driving the modern and historic cars, the participants of the legends repeated the stage.
The South Bohemian crew of the Kraml brothers did not start the 52nd Rallye Český Krumlov 2025.
Filip Mareš was the fastest on the opening three “sharp” kilometres and once again proved that his Toyota GR Yaris Rally2 is suited to the route of the České Budějovice super special stage. Jan Kopecký and Adam Březík were one and a half seconds behind in the opening test. Václav Pech finished the Rally2 with the still new-smelling Citroën C3 Rally2 and another slight loss of 0.2 seconds. Dominik Stříteský finished the stage with a further ten-second loss. Stanislav Budil drove his Toyota GT-86 with one extra lap, while Bernard Mann drove his Mitsubishi Lancer EVO IX with one less lap. Miloslav Stejskal (Renault Clio Sport) and soon afterwards also Austrian Markus Stockinger (Mazda 2 Proto) suffered technical problems during the opening test.
After this warm-up, the crews headed for a short service, which was also located at the České Budějovice Exhibition Centre. Then it was on to Český Krumlov, where the starting ramp was waiting for the competing cars in the Deer Garden. From there, the crews headed to the two classic timed tests in the first section, which were Rožmitál and Kohout-Ján. The second measured test was more than six kilometres long Rožmitál. Here Jan Kopecký was the fastest driver and he pulled the lead on the second place Filip Mareš to one second. Third went to Simon Wagner in his Hyundai i20N Rally2 and he jumped Václav Pech to the bronze place in the overall lead. Tyre failures at Rožmital affected Daniel Bartůnek (Ford Fiesta Rally4) or Jaroslav Kastner (Renault Clio Rally5), who had to retire from the race because of it.
Jan Kopecký was also the fastest on the longest measured test of Friday’s stage, which was Kohout-Ján. He was 3.6 seconds faster than second-placed Filip Mareš on this almost 24-kilometre stretch. This partial victory meant that Jan Kopecký moved into the overall lead of this year’s Rallye Český Krumlov. His Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 has the new Škoda Motorsport “Packet 25” and he was already delighted with the car during the pre-race test. Filip Mareš, although he also has the latest specification of the Toyota GR Yaris Rally2, lost out on the first pass of this stage. Third place went to Kohout-Ján Simon Wagner in his Hyundai. Václav Pech arrived at the end of the test more than four minutes down, caused by a double puncture, and dropped into the depths of the field in the standings. He subsequently retired from the competition. The stage was briefly halted after Patrik Kdér crashed when his Peugeot 208 Rally4 blocked the track. Martin Huber (Toyota Celica GT-Four) was also involved in the crash. Technical failures stopped for example Milan Dolák jun. (Toyota Yaris GR) or Jiří Pánek (Mitsubishi Lancer EVO IX).
In the category with one driven axle, Filip Ocelka (Renault Clio Rally4) was the fastest after the first section of Friday’s leg, with a minimum loss of 1.9 seconds, Filip Šipoš (Peugeot 208 Rally4) was second and David Štefan (Peugeot 208 Rally4) third. In the category of historic cars, Vlastimil Neumann (Mitsubishi Lancer EVO III) was safely in the lead after three stages, having won all these timed tests. Jindřich Štolfa was in second place with his Ford Escort RS 1600, which starts for the home team ČK motorsport. The Jurečka cousins (Subaru Impreza 555) dropped from the third place after the third test, as they were leapfrogged by Jiří Kašpar (Škoda 130 LR) and Petr Pavlát (Toyota Celica GT-Four). Tomáš Klokočník jun. (Škoda Favorit 136 L) did not continue in the competition, who was stopped on the second test by a technical fault of the semi-axle. Martin Fazekaš (Škoda Favorit 136 L) and Jan Šimánko (Škoda 130 L) were stopped by engine failures.
After three measured tests, the regrouping in the Deer Garden in Český Krumlov and the TFA zone in Kájov followed. In this zone, it is possible to change tyres, put on a light ramp or repair defects using spare parts that the crew brings with them in the car. Then the crews set off again for the Rožmitál and Kohout-Ján stages. Repeated passes through the final two stages of the opening leg were made in complete darkness.
Repeated passage through Rožmitál became the prey of Jan Kopecký. The second-placed Filip Mareš set the fourth fastest time on this special stage, but nothing changed in the overall standings. Simon Wagner lost just 0.2 seconds to Jan Kopecký in this test, with third-placed Erik Cais (Hyundai i20N Rally2) a further 1.3 seconds more. The reigning Czech Rally Champion Dominik Stříteský, who is concentrating on European starts this year, was in fourth place after the penultimate stage of the event. Michal Gregor (Ford Fiesta R2T) was off the track at Rožmital, while Jiří Sojka, who starts in the exotic Ford Puma Kit Car, also had to retire due to a gearbox failure. At the end of Friday’s leg, the Kohout-Ján stage was held. After the first pass there was a lot of mud and the already difficult test was run at night. Jan Kopecký, who has already won the Český Krumlov Rally 8 times in the past and is the record holder in the number of victories, apparently decided to win in the south of Bohemia again this year and was the fastest on the final twenty-four measured kilometres. He thus consolidated his overall lead in the 52nd Rallye Český Krumlov 2025 and won the first stage. Erik Cais set an excellent second fastest time and moved up to bronze in the standings. Filip Mareš set the third fastest time (he overtook the slow Wagner on the stage), but kept the second position. However, he is already 21.1 seconds behind the leader Jan Kopecký. Technical problems struck Simon Wagner (Hyundai i20N Rally2) in the final test of the opening leg and meant he lost one and a half minutes and dropped to the bottom of the top ten in the standings. Ján Kundlák (Škoda Fabia R5) set the fourth fastest time and earned himself a move up to fifth place just behind Dominik Stříteský.
After the final timed test of the first leg, Filip Šipoš (Peugeot 208 Rally4) took the lead among the cars with one driven axle. Only 1.2 seconds behind was the second “two-wheeler” Filip Ocelka (Renault Clio Rally4), while the third David Štefan (Peugeot 208 Rally4) is already 20.9 seconds behind. The category of historic cars was dominated by Vlastimil Neumann with Mitsubishi Lance EVO III. He was almost two minutes behind the second in the standings Jindřich Štolf, who started with Ford Escort RS 1600. The third place in Friday’s stage of the 52nd Rallye Český Krumlov belonged to Jiří Kašpar with Škoda 130 LR. Jan Lunga with Fiat 131 Racing 2000 withdrew from the race after the fourth stage.
Results of the 1st leg of the 52nd Rallye Český Krumlov 2025:
- Kopecký / Hovorka – Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 36:00,2
- Mareš / Bucha – Toyota GR Yaris Rally2 +21,1
- Cais / Trunkát – Hyundai i20N Rally2 +26,8
- Stříteský / Bacigál – Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 +52,2
- Kundlák / Baran – Škoda Fabia R5 +1:03,3
- Březík / Krajča – Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 +1:07,0
- Kohn / Whittock – Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 +1:35,4
- Von Thurn und Taxis – Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 +1:41,8
- Wagner / Ostlender – Hyundai i20N Rally2 +1:44,3
- Cvrček / Těšínský – Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 +1:51,0
Results of the 1st leg of the 52nd Rallye Český Krumlov 2025: (historic cars):
- Neumann / Hlavatý – Mitsubishi Lancer EVO III 43:12,6
- Štolfa / Hawel – Ford Escort RS 1600 +1:55,3
- Kašpar / Adámek – Škoda 130 LR +2:17,4
- Jurečka / Jurečka – Subaru Impreza 555 +2:49,9
- Hejhal / Hejhal – Škoda 130 LR +4:05,5
- Bahník / Bahník – Peugeot 205 Gti +5:03,7