Skoda official vehicle supplier to RACMSA Rally of Scotland

Skoda UK will continue as Official Vehicle Supplier to the RACMSA Rally of Scotland for a third consecutive year, when the penultimate round of the 2011 Intercontinental Rally Challenge (IRC) takes place next month (7-9 October).
 
Skoda UK will supply a fleet of four-wheel drive Yetis, Octavia Scouts and Superbs to transport VIPs and rally officials from stage to stage, while Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles will supply vehicles to carry all the essential rally equipment around the route – such as the timing systems and control points.
 
Skoda also aims to continue its unbroken winning record on the event, having won both previously held Rally of Scotland events in 2009 and 2010. This year, Skoda UK Motorsport is hoping that Andreas Mikkelsen and co-driver Ola Fløene will finish on the top step of the podium – having finished 2nd to JuhoHänninen (Skoda Motorsport) last year.
 
Robert Hazelwood, Director of Skoda UK, said: “We are delighted to continue our involvement with the RACMSA Rally of Scotland by supplying vehicles to the rally officials for a third year in a row. We’ve had a very successful association with our home round of the Intercontinental Rally Challenge, and we’re confident that our four-wheel drive road vehicles, as well as our Fabia S2000 rally car, will once again impress fans in the Scottish forests. We’re greatly looking forward to this year’s Rally of Scotland, where our one hundred and ten years of Skoda in motorsport celebrations will continue.”
 
Andrew Coe, Chief Executive of Rally of Scotland organiser International Motor Sports, commented: "We are once again delighted to welcome Skoda UK as the Official Vehicle Supplier to the 2011 RACMSA Rally of Scotland. Its support since 2009 has been terrific and it is the sort of highly enthusiastic and pro-active partner that any international sporting event – not just in motor sport – would love to have.
 
“Its Yeti, Octavia and Superb models perfectly suit the requirements of our VIPs and officials in enabling them to cover the event’s road mileage in between stages and then the more rugged terrain on the approach to them efficiently, practically and in both comfort and style.
 
“In the IRC, its Fabia S2000 model has of course been the car to beat with victories in six of the right rounds so far, whileSkoda drivers also fill the top three places in the IRC table. We very much look forward to seeing if Skoda – in particular its UK Motorsport Fabia driven by Andreas Mikkelsen – can win Rally of Scotland for the third year in a row.”
 
This year’s Rally of Scotland (7-9 October) will get under way on the Friday afternoon (7 October) with a Ceremonial Start at Stirling Castle before the event’s opening two competitive timed stages held in the dark of night around Carron Reservoir in Stirlingshire. The event will then move into Perthshire on the Saturday (8 October), taking in classic stages such as Craigvinean, Drummond Hill and Errochty before a return on the Sunday (9 October) to Stirlingshire for another run through Carron Valley prior to two new tests, Loch Chon and the giant 16.15 mile (26km) High Corrie that will each be tackled twice. The Rally will then finish late afternoon on the Sunday with its two short final stages through the majestic grounds of Scone Palace near Perth – also the scene for this year’s Ceremonial Finish.
 
Public admission costs £20 per vehicle at the entry to each stage with the exception of Sunday morning's Carron Valley stage which costs £10.
 
For more information about the 2011 Rally of Scotland – including latest news, route details and full stage timetable – visit the official rallyofscotland.com website.