Racing legends on snow and ice

Three famous motorsport names, three ŠKODA cars, drifting and lots of fun in Zell am See. Enjoy a wild ride on the snow and ice.

12. 3. 2021 Lifestyle MOTORSPORT

These three gentlemen have left their mark on motorsport history, and they’re not finished yet. Hans-Joachim Stuck is a legend of Formula 1 and both Le Mans and DTM series, while Jan Kopecký and Andreas Mikkelsen are long-standing stars of international rally competitions. But as tends to be the case, they are a bit introverted and laconic, so getting them to talk about their impressions of the car out of them was a tough job. But who needs a lot of words when the driving tells you all you need to know? See for yourself in the video:

When the three racing drivers had tested the legendary veteran ŠKODA 130 RS, a state-of-the-art rally car in the shape of the FABIA Rally2 evo and a taste of the future in the form of the electric FABIA RE-X1, they became a bit more talkative and opened their hearts to ŠKODA Storyboard.

Back to their roots

Sitting behind the wheel of the 130 RS is today a truly retro experience – and the three drivers enjoyed it enormously. “It’s wonderful to see how far our sport has come. Having said that, the 130 RS is a fun and frisky car. I really enjoyed the drive,” says Mikkelsen, a recent winner of the Monte-Carlo rally in WRC2 category

Jan Kopecký also views the legendary car as an iconic representative of the 120-year history of ŠKODA Motorsport. “The 130 RS models were outstanding cars, very fast and reliable. In 1977 Václav Blahna and navigator Lubislav Hlávka managed to come first in their class and twelfth overall in Monte Carlo. I’m proud that Pavel Dresler and I followed up this Monte Carlo success in 2018 by winning the WRC2 category of the world championships in the ŠKODA FABIA R5, ending up in tenth place overall.”

ŠKODA 130 RS (1975)

“It brought back a lot of memories. It was like going to my roots: you have to change gear manually, the car has a wonderful naturally aspirated engine, and there’s no power steering or electronic assistance systems. A brilliant experience, but these days I prefer modern cars. You know, I was once asked what the difference is between racing in my day and today. I replied that there’s only one difference: in my day sex was safe and racing dangerous. I think that sums it up perfectly,” laughs Stuck.

Electric surprise

How did the experienced pros like driving the new all-electric car? For Andreas Mikkelsen, the ride in the FABIA RE-X1 was an entirely positive experience. “It’s fast! The powertrain gives the car a huge power output and great driving qualities. I like its power and acceleration without gear changes. Sure, you can feel the bit of extra weight when you’re driving, but overall I was very pleasantly surprised,” confided Mikkelsen.

The FABIA RE-X1 electric rally car built with support from ŠKODA and based on the ŠKODA FABIA Rally 2 evo

The FABIA RE-X1 is the creation of Austrian company Kreisel Electric who, with the Czech carmaker’s support, based it on the ŠKODA FABIA Rally 2 evo. The car delivers a total power output of 500 kW (670 horsepower) and 880 Nm of torque. Needless to say, it has all-wheel drive. It weighs in at 1,300 kilos. And the specially modified battery gives it a range of 135 kilometres, which is enough for races.

From the left: Andreas Mikkelsen, Hans-Joachim Stuck and Jan Kopecký

“Fantastic experience. I really enjoyed driving all three cars on the snow. They are all fun, and each one has technical and performance specifications that are cutting-edge for their time. The 130 RS is a beautiful car from the old days and the FABIA RE-X1 is a modern electric car, so it was very diverse. If you asked me which my favourite is, I wouldn’t be able to tell you,” enthuses legend Hans-Joachim Stuck.