Skoda wins the World Championship title for the first time in history

Skoda has achieved a historic triumph, the first World Championship title in its history, after Red Bull Skoda's Juho Hänninen & Mikko Markkula (FIN) in a Fabia Super 2000 secured the overall victory in the last rally of this year's SWRC. Having put in a fantastic performance in its first year in the SWRC, the Red Bull Skoda team indeed deserves to celebrate. The World Championship title is the climax of this year's celebrations marking 110 years of Skoda's motorsport efforts.  Head of the Red Bull Skoda team Raimund Baumschlager comments: “Today is a very special day for all of us. Juho has showed his calibre by putting in a technically precise and mature performance here.

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Moreover, he has been the fastest driver of the season, putting in the most consistent performances of all the drivers. We are really proud of this achievement!” RACC Rally Espana was a perfect climax of the season for the whole team. Juho Hänninen crowned his previous performances by driving confidently, smartly but fast in Catalunya.  Playing it cool but driving aggressively at the same time, Hänninen fought for victory in Spain with Dakar Rally winner Al-Attiyah in a Ford until the very last stage. The battle for the championship title was in fact decided already in Friday's first stage – while the current championship leader Juho Hänninen achieved the best time, his biggest rival for this year's crown, Ott Tänak, had a crash that made it impossible for him to appear in the rest of Friday's programme. At that point Hänninen changed his strategy – driving tactically became the top priority. Yet he carried on achieving excellent times, remained focused and realised that the overall victory was within his reach.

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Juho Hänninen: “This is a perfect day for all of us and an excellent achievement, one of the milestones of my career.  Everything worked perfectly, and although we didn't have to play it risky, we were at the head of the pack throughout this rally. I wish to thank all those who've been helping us on our way to this achievement. We have been provided with all necessary conditions and resources to be able to put in first-class performances, and the World Championship title is a sweet reward for all of us.” Red Bull Skoda's other crew, Hermann Gassner & Timo Gottschalk, put in a mature performance in Spain. Gassner achieved the fastest time in one of the stages and got to top 3 in several other stages to finish fifth overall. Hermann Gassner: “I needed a long time to find the right rhythm, but as the rally progressed, I became more confident to drive aggressively enough without having to play it too risky. It has been an encouraging end to a season in which we've had both ups and downs and have learned a lot, too.”

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