Škoda Motorsport has delivered the 500th Fabia Rally2

• Lucie Bortová, Customer Program Manager at Škoda Motorsport, delivered the 500th Škoda Fabia Rally2 to the Italian Delta Rally team

• Since 2015, the Škoda Fabia in the Rally2 version has accumulated hundreds of victories as well as dozens of national and international titles.

• Škoda dominates Rally2 entry numbers across most rounds of the FIA World and European Rally Championships

Mladá Boleslav, May 2, 2023 – Created primarily for private teams, Rally2 represents the second category of the FIA World Rally Championship and the top class of virtually all other international series as well as countless national championships. Škoda Motorsport introduced a Rally2 variant of the Fabia in 2015, which quickly became the world’s most successful and best-selling model in its class. Last week, the 500th Škoda Fabia in Rally2 version left the company’s headquarters in Mladá Boleslav.

In 2013, the FIA reorganized the pyramid of cars authorized for international rallying. In this new system, Rally 2 (formerly called R5) serves as the second highest performing league. The Rally 2 regulations pay particular attention to cost reduction. Base cars must come from the B segment. They can be equipped with a turbocharged engine derived from another production model, provided its displacement does not exceed 1,620 cc. A 32-millimeter restrictor in the air intake limits power to around 214 kW (290 hp). The five-speed sequential gearbox and the purely mechanical four-wheel drive transmission must be purchased in the market. Finally, the FIA has capped the price of the car ready to race at 260,766 euros excluding taxes in 2023.

Škoda Motorsport realized the potential of this new concept and started the development of a successor model to the Škoda Fabia S2000, which since 2009 has been the most suitable Škoda for rallying. At the beginning of 2015, the Rally2 variant of the Škoda Fabia was ready. It quickly became the winningest car in its class on rally tracks around the world. It also turned into a commercial success. At most rounds of the FIA World Rally Championship and FIA European Rally Championship, at least half of the Rally2 cars carry the Škoda badge.

Today, Škoda Motorsport delivered the record 500th Fabia Rally2. Lucie Bortová, Customer Program Manager at Škoda Motorsport, handed over the 500th Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 to the Italian Delta Rally team.

“Reaching the 500 unit mark for the Škoda Fabia in Rally2 specification makes me incredibly proud of everyone here at Škoda Motorsport. On the other hand, this success would not have been possible without the great loyalty of our customer teams. I sincerely thank them all. Together we will continue this success story with the new Škoda Fabia RS Rally2.”

Lucie Bortová, Customer Program Manager at Škoda Motorsport

Škoda Škoda Fabia Rally2 (2015)

Škoda entered the Rally2 category in spring 2015 with the rally variant of the third generation Fabia. The Škoda Fabia Rally2 has taken the rally scene by storm. Factory drivers Esapekka Lappi (Finland/2016), Pontus Tidemand (Sweden/2017) and Jan Kopecký (Czech Republic/2018) won the World Rally Championship titles in the WRC2 category with this car. Škoda has added the WRC2 manufacturers’ titles to the list.

Škoda Fabia Rally2 evo (2019)

In 2019, Škoda Motorsport presented the even more developed Rally2 evo version of the Fabia. And the success story continued. Factory driver Kalle Rovanperä (Finland) became WRC2 Pro champion that year, while Pierre-Louis Loubet (France) won the WRC2 category reserved for private drivers. Once again, Škoda Motorsport wins the team title. Chris Ingram (Great Britain) won the FIA European Rally Championship drivers’ title. Two years later, Andreas Mikkelsen (Norway) achieved the double: at the wheel of the Škoda Fabia Rally2 evo, he became WRC2 champion and FIA European rally champion. In 2022, Škoda driver Emil Lindholm (Finland) celebrated the overall and Junior WRC2 titles.

Added to this impressive list are victories in the FIA championships of Africa (ARC), North and Central America (NACAM), South America (CODASUR), Asia-Pacific (APRC) and in the Middle East Rally Championship (MERC). In total, Škoda Motorsport and its customer teams have won 16 world championship titles in the driver and team categories with vehicles based on the third generation Fabia. The Fabia Rally2 and Fabia Rally2 evo were more successful than their predecessors, the Fabia S2000 and Fabia WRC.

In total, both models achieved 2,000 overall and class victories worldwide.

Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 (since 2023)

In June 2022, the Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 was officially presented. The all-new rally model from Mladá Boleslav is based on the fourth generation Škoda Fabia. The Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 benefits from sophisticated aerodynamic features and the exceptionally rigid body of the production model. Engineers have also developed a new 1.6-liter turbocharged engine based on the 2.0 TSI engine, which is used in Škoda’s RS models, among others.

The Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 made its debut in the FIA World Rally Championship at the Monte-Carlo Rally, which opened the 2023 season. While it was already the fastest Rally2 car on most legendary “Monte” special stages, the first WRC2 victory was celebrated by 21-year-old Oliver Solberg, son of former world champion Petter Solberg, who won the Swedish rally.

Private drivers behind the wheel of the Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 have also already achieved victories at national level. There is a strong chance that the Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 bearing the number 500 will complete this list: the car will be entered by the Delta Rally team in the Italian championship.