ERC Take Five with Filip Mareš

Another ERC points-scoring finish on Rally di Roma Capitale. How important was that result going forward to Zlín?
“The important thing is we were in the finish and we collected some information about the tyres and the car as well. For sure I believe that our potential is much bigger than we showed throughout the weekend. We maybe showed it in some stages but, overall, it was not a constant performance of our package so I can’t be happy with it. Overall, we have learned a lot about the tyres, about the car. We need to take this experience to Zlín and hopefully we will be much stronger there.”

What can you take forward from Rome to Zlín, two very different rallies of course, and what can you achieve there?
“It’s difficult to say. You will see there are going to be much more Czech crews trying to achieve the podium. Adam Březík, Domink Stříteský is really fast with Hankook tyres, Jan Kopecký for sure and maybe Václav Pech, who will be with a Rally2 car. The Czech crews will be really strong there so to fight for the top five in Zlín will be a really high target for everyone, but we will like to try it and for sure we will keep working. Hopefully we’ll be really strong.”  

Is it possible that Czech crews could dominate?
“I hope so and for sure in this rally you need some experience to be fast there. For sure there are some drivers who have proved it is not necessary, but normally you need some experience and the Czech drivers have the experience of these bumpy, dirty roads. Hopefully Czech flags are going to be flying really high.”

How hard is Barum Czech Rally Zlín?
“It’s a very hard, definitely. It’s really bumpy and also the pressure on Czech drivers is much higher than on other ERC rounds. Okay I like bumpy stages, and this Czech character of stages, so we can just look forward to the rally. For sure rain can be part of the game and could be a game-changer because there can be slippery places and this is why you need experience. This is one event I would like to run in dry conditions rather than wet ones.”  

You had a really good result on Rally Bohemia, the last Czech championship event you contested, finishing just 3.4sec behind the winner, Domink Stříteský. To what extent can that serve as a boost for Zlín?
“For sure it was my home event and it’s fair to say I know the stages but everyone at the top of the Czech championship knows these stages so we can be satisfied with this result. We were also able to beat Jan Kopecký, which is not an automatic thing to do in the Czech championship and that meant a lot for us because it means we are step by step improving, getting faster and faster and I am sure we have learned, even in Roma, things we can use in Barum to be even faster.”