ŠKODA driver Sepp Wiegand and his co-driver Frank Christian want to be riding high in the FIA World Rally Championship (WRC), and are setting their sights on a podium finish once again in the rally taking place in Spain from 25 to 27 October. If successful, this promising German duo could also stake their place in the top three overall in the WRC 2 category during their sixth event in the current WRC season. It promises to be an exciting weekend, with the pair needing to make good 16 points to achieve this goal.
“I’m delighted to be going for top times in the ŠKODA. Rally Spain is one of the highlights in the calendar, and it goes without saying that we want to make it onto the winners’ rostrum,” says 22-year-old Wiegand, who has got ready for the challenge of Rally Spain by carrying out special asphalt tests there. “With its mix of asphalt and gravel tracks, this is an especially tricky rally – as a driver you have to adapt your driving and also the car’s set-up again and again,” says Wiegand. This means the driver, his co-driver Frank Christian and the team of ŠKODA mechanics all have their work cut out.
The Spanish rally, which takes place on the Costa Daurada, has a long history and will start in front of the cathedral in Barcelona. It covers a distance of 355.92 kilometres comprising 15 special stages and includes not only picturesque stretches, but also demanding ones in terms of driving skills. For Wiegand and Christian, the aim is to return to their good form at the beginning of the season, which saw them win in the snow at Rally Monte Carlo and take two third places, on the ice in Sweden and on the gravel in Portugal.
Wiegand is in fifth place on 67 points in the WRC 2 category ahead of Rally Spain – just 16 points short of a place on the podium. “We want to be in with a chance of finishing the season in third place overall, so we will give it our all in Rally Spain,” says Christian.