Skoda gets wings
Skoda had a very successful IRC campaign in 2010, winning the championship in great style. Skoda celebrated their win by becoming part of Red Bull Skoda, which is a new team based on the brand’s alliance with another young and dynamic company – Red Bull.
The new team will consist of two cars competing for the championship, the IRC champions Juho Hänninen & Mikko Markkula of Finland and Germany’s young hope Hermann Gassner jr. & Katharina Wüstenhagen, are going to appear in the 2011 S-WRC.
The Red Bull Skoda team is an alliance of three teams, Skoda Motorsport – factory team, Baumschlager Rally Racing (BRR) – private team and Red Bull. Michal Hrabanek who is head of Skoda Motorsport said, “We are really pleased that we can contribute to further growth of the Fabia Super 2000 project as part of Red Bull and BRR. Red Bull is one of the strongest possible partners on today’s sports scene. The BRR team led by Raimund Baumschlager, a nine-times Austrian Rally Champion and the buyer of the first Fabia Super 2000 vehicle we sold, is a guarantee of a highly professional approach and top-class background.“
Austria’s rallying icon, Raimund Baumschlager has many years experience of competing in Rallies, with his leadership the Red Bull Rally team has been successfully using a Fabia Super 2000 for the past two campaigns. The team scored several wins in 2010/2011 with the Super 2000 driven by Patrik Sandell.
Raimund Baumschlager is sure that the team with Hänninen has a great future: “First of all, I wish to thank Skoda Motorsport and also Red Bull, our partner, for their support. We have only the best experience of cooperating with them, and they are both leaders in what they do. Juho has been one of the top drivers over the last few years, I remember him when he used to appear in PWRC – he was our toughest competitor in the battle for the championship title. At the same time, I know him as an excellent test driver and a great chap, too. I am sure that with him around we can think of the highest ranks. Hermann Gassner has a great opportunity to grow beside Juho and learn from him, in both tests and races. We are planning to appear in about seven Championships events.”
Skoda and Red Bull’s participation in motorsport has given both great exposure in their target demographic, Skoda has benefited by selling more cars and increased Skoda after sales Huntingdon enquiries. Red Bull has increased the number of drinks it sells, the brand has also propelled in to the international stage, especially after Red Bull’s winning F1 championship in 2010.
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