à  KODA awarded double IRC Champion honours

KODA and drivers of Fabia Super 2000s have been officially awarded the 2011 Intercontinental Rally Challenge (IRC) champion honours. KODA dominated the Manufacturers category for the second consecutive year and Andreas Mikkelsen in a Fabia Super 2000 won the Drivers' category. Second and third places were also taken by Fabia drivers ' Jan Kopeck and Juho Hnninen. Furthermore, Juho Hnninen & Mikko Markkula of Red Bull KODA won the first-ever World Championship title for KODA in the SWRC category. The year 2011 in which the brand is celebrating 110 years of its motorsport efforts has thus become the most successful year in the history of KODA Motorsport.

Drivers of KODA Fabia Super 2000s dominated eight of this year's eleven IRC events, sweeping the podium in three of them (the Azores, the Czech Republic (Barum Rally) and Cyprus). Mikkelsen triumphed in Scotland and Cyprus, Kopeck in the Czech Republic (Barum Rally) and Hungary, Hnninen in the Canary Islands, the Ukraine and the Azores Islands and Loix in Belgium. Andreas Mikkelsen won the highest number of stages this year ' 38.

Commenting on the season that has just ended, Head of KODA Motorsport Michal Hrabnek said: "The year 2011 was fantastic for KODA. We have repeated last year's victory in the Manufacturers' category of the IRC, Andreas Mikkelsen & Ola Floene in a factory-prepared Fabia Super 2000 have won the title in the Drivers' category and Juho Hnninen and Mikko Markkula have won the first-ever World Championship title for KODA in the SWRC. Furthermore, we have celebrated victories in four national championships (Czech Republic, Slovakia, Bulgaria and Slovenia). We have been absolutely successful this season, and the hard work put in by the whole team deserves great appreciation."

Andreas Mikkelsen - 2011 IRC Champion: "I'd like to thank KODA for this fantastic opportunity to be part of a top-class team, with a great car and top-quality support. I still can't believe that I really paid back the trust put in me by winning the title in my first season as a professional driver. I can't wait to start the new season in which we will try to become the first-ever crew to win the IRC series in two consecutive years."

Juho Hnninen - 2011 SWRC Champion, 2010 IRC Champion and third in this year's IRC: "Mikko and I saw our dream come true this year when we won the World Championship, which was actually our main goal. We did not appear regularly in the IRC this season, so we are quite happy to have finished third. I am pleased that we've helped the team win the IRC title in the Manufacturers' category."

Jan Kopeck - IRC Vice-champion for the third consecutive year: "Obviously, I am a bit disappointed, we were near winning the title this year ' we lost by just one point. We are not going to complain, though. Second place in this tough competition is certainly a good result. "

The finale of KODA Motorsport's season will be crowned at the prestigious Race of Champions to take place in Dsseldorf, Germany this weekend. KODA Motorsport will be represented by both its drivers, Jan Kopeck and Juho Hnninen, in both the nations' competition on Saturday and the individuals' competition on Sunday. KODA will provide four Fabia Super 2000s for the event. The appearance in the Race of Champions is one of the highlights of the year in which KODA is celebrating 110 years of its motorsport efforts.