The Best of Storyboard: Pucks, Wheels, Seconds

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yIqOVB3Q6bQ

In the summer, Storyboard whisked you off to sunny France. ŠKODA, you see, is a proud partner of the Tour de France, so we gave you an insight into what it’s like behind the scenes of the publicity caravan, which precedes every stage of the race and, for many spectators, is a bigger draw than the race itself.

And anyone who felt France wasn’t enough could explore more countries in our summer serial. Our trek with professional downhill biker Miss Peaches started off in Germany, but, after stops in Austria, Switzerland and France, ended up on the sun-kissed beaches of Spain.

The sun isn’t always shining, though, nor is our path through life always peaceful and straight. There are twists and turns. And occasionally the odd accident. As rally driver Fredrik Åhlin well knows. He is a shining example that the journey from rock bottom back to the very top is challenging, but doable, and definitely worth it. He has bounced back from a serious accident and is now notching up one success after another with his co-driver.

Speaking of rally co-drivers, ŠKODA Storyboard got to talk to one – none other than Pavel Dresler, co-driver of the 2018 WRC2 world champion Jan Kopecký. It’s clear from what Pavel says that a good co-driver has to do deal with a lot more than just reading while driving without getting car sick. We also got to interview Jan Kopecký, of course, as part of our My Life, My Car series, giving you the chance to get to know him off the clock and discover a different side to him.

And, sticking to rallying, did you know that, besides WRC categories, rallies also take place with RC cars? No, that wasn’t a typo; we didn’t mean RS. RC stands for remote control. We staged one such race down the ŠKODA production line in Mladá Boleslav, taking in the press shop, paint shop and assembly shop.

Having said that, this was a tour at the speed of a rally car, so there’s not that much to see in the space of a minute. To make up for it, Storyboard also published a series of articles offering you 360° shots of various workplaces, including the parts warehouse and engine testing centre.

Motorsport, of course, is not limited to rallies, and we also shed light on other disciplines in this field. Ahead of its world première, the ŠKODA KODIAQ RS was taken for a spin by Sabine Schmitz, who drove it to a speed record for a seven-seater SUV at the legendary Nürburgring track.

And, to wrap things up, a small puzzle. What do you get when you bring together Austria’s archery champion, a martial arts instructor and a driving instructor at the wheel of a ŠKODA OCTAVIA COMBI RS 245 and tell them to catch a flying arrow? Let’s just say a representative of the Guinness Book of Records was present.