Kopecky wins Rally of Queensland

West Coast (Australia): Overnight leader Jan Kopecky bagged his second straight win in the Asia Pacific Rally Championship after an uneventful run in the second stage of the International Rally of Queensland here on Sunday. The European champion had a comfortable lead after the end of stage one and he kept it safe and steady to make his maiden run on in the Australian rally memorable. Driving a Skoda Fabia S2000, the young, promising driver brought joy to the MRF camp after his team-mate and the rally favourite Gaurav Gill’s car had suffered a crash on Saturday. Kopecky had also won the New Caledonia-leg and is now the sole leader at the end of the third leg of the APRC.

The second stage of the rally was reduced to 15 stages when a couple of mishaps on Stage 14 led to a 30 minute delay. Interestingly, for the second straight day, Kopecky lost time after encountering wandering livestock along the route. Kopecky, who had won six of the 10 stages on Saturday, registered two crucial wins in the last two stages of 36 kms each to ensure that he finished ahead of Scott Pedder, who had won  the first two stages on the day.

“We drove steadily today and it has been a satisfying debut outing for me. It was quite slippery at some stages. he conditions were dry during reconnaissance,” Kopecky said.Meanwhile, with the right rear part of Gill’s car suffering heavy damages, the Indian is likely to get a new car for the next race.