ERC - Nicolas Vouilloz Won the Barum Rally Zlín 2007
Aug-29 2007 / 22:07 EDT | posted by RallyJGD

The Barum Rally Zlín 2007 knows its winner. It is Nicolas Vouilloz, a French driver from a Spanish team of Peugeot Sport Espaňa. His team fellow Enrique García Ojeda was second and introduced the Peugeot 207 S2000 car successfully. Local drivers surprised by their good positions. Václav Pech was third and won the Czech championship, Roman Kresta was fourth and Václav Arazim was sixth. All three of them were driving the Mitsubishi Lancer EVO IX cars. The fifth position is occupied by Bernd Casier from Belgium. Also Italy is included in the top 10 - Andrea Navarra, a former IRC leader, was seventh and Renato Travaglia, first time with the Super 2000 car, was eighth. Grzegorz Grzyb was ninth and kept his leadership within the group A. Simon Jean-Joseph was the last among the top 10 drivers.

The rally started with an attractive city SS which was won by Nicolas Vouilloz. The SS was watched by 40,000 spectators. The later winner of the rally also won the Slušovice SS. During this stage Roman Kresta had a defect and lost 2,5 minutes to Vouilloz. Kresta then won four stages and got to the fourth place. Enrique García Ojeda became one of the front drivers after the SS 3. He cut a previous record at the Pindula SS of 30 seconds. He lead until the SS 8 where Freddy Loix overtook him and became the leader for the rest of the Leg I.

Loix heightened his lead of four seconds during the two opening stages on Sunday. During the Troják SS he knocked off one wheel and Ojeda arriver at finish without the rear-axle drive. Nicolas Vouilloz was free to attack the leading position. The first passage through the Troják SS was rpoblematic for a lot of drivers :Italians Travaglia, Navarra, a Slovak Peter Gavlák and a Polish Michal Solowowa had defects. Karel Trojan had to change one wheel but it did not help and he had to retire. Roman Kresta wan three closing stages and confirmed his fourth position. Vouilloz kept the second position, Ojeda was second. It was a success of the Spanish team of the Peugeot Sport Espaňa.


Official order:

1. Voulloiz – Klinger (F, Peugeot 207 S2000) 2:28:10.8

2. Ojeda – Barrabes (E, Peugeot 207 S2000) +16.3

3. Pech – Uhel (CZ, Mitsubishi Lancer EVO IX) + 1:56.3

4. Kresta – Gross (CZ, Mitsubishi Lancer EVO IX) +2:28.8

5. Casier – Miclotte (B, Peugeot 207 S2000) +4:10.8

6. Arazim – Gál (CZ, Mitsubishi Lancer EVO IX) +4:16.9

7. Navarra – D’Esposito (I, Fiat Grande Punto S2000) + 4:47.7

8. Travaglia – Granai (I, Fiat Grande Punto S2000) +5:44.0

9. Grzyb – Hundla (P, Suzuki Swift S1600) +6:32.9

10. Jean-Joseph – Boyere (F, Citroën C2 S1600) + 7:10.1


Numbers of victories within the stages:

6 – Vouilloz Nicolas

4 – Kresta Roman

3 – Loix Freddy

2 – García Ojeda Enrique


Order in terms of the IRC:


1. García Ojeda Enrique (E), 36 pts

2. Navarra Andrea (I), 31

3. Vouilloz Nicolas (F), 26

4. Alén Anton (FIN), 15

5. Casier Bernd (B), 13

6. Rossetti Luca (I), 10

7. Basso Giandomenico (I), 10

8. Miyoshi Hideaki (J), 8

9. Magalhães Bruno (P), 8

10. Anwar Asad (EAK), 6


Order in terms of the IRC – makes:


1. Peugeot, 80 pts

2. ABARTH, 66

3. Mitsubishi, 43

4. Citroën, 4



Order in terms of the European championship:


1. García Ojeda Enrique (E), 51

2. Iliev Dimitar (BG), 43

3. Vouilloz Nicolas (F), 40

4. Jean-Joseph Simon (F), 40

5. Travaglia Renato (I), 35

6. Isik Volkan (TR), 33

7. Solowow Michal (PL), 32

8. Navarra Andrea (I), 26

9. Fontana Corrado (I), 25

10. Czopik Tomasz (PL), 15