Freddy Loix in a factory Škoda Fabia Super 2000 comfortably won the fifth IRC event this season, the Ypres Rally in Belgium. His seventh victory in Ypres has earned him a place in the history of this rally. “Fast” Freddy Loix won nine stages of 18 in total and finished 1 minute and 41 seconds ahead of Bouffier in a Peugeot who came second overall. Loix has moved up to the top of the current IRC rankings. The overall success of Fabias is underlined by a fantastic third place by Hans Weijs (Ned) in a private Fabia Super 2000. ŠKODA remains top in the Manufacturers competition.
The rally did not start well at all for ŠKODA Motorsport (factory team) – one of the consequences of Kopecký & Starý's crash in Thursday's shakedown was a sharp pain in Starý's right collar bone, and the team decided to withdraw Kopecký & Starý before the start. Although fears of a collar bone fracture proved unfounded, Starý's pain made the crew's participation in this event impossible.
As a result, the only driver to represent ŠKODA's factory team was Belgium's ace Freddy Loix. Day 1 was a disaster for a number of drivers with podium ambitions – both Neuville in a Peugeot and Mikkelsen in a Fabia had to give up the rally due to vehicle damages already in Stage 1, and so Friday's 96-km part was a battle between Loix and the rest of the field. At the end of Friday's programme, Loix had a lead of 37 seconds over Guy Wilks.
