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Mladá Boleslav, 14 May, 2013 – ŠKODA is getting ready for a very special motorsport premiere: the Rally of Whangarei in New Zealand (May 17 – 19) will see the ŠKODA MRF team make its debut in the Asia-Pacific Rally Championship (APRC). Having received full-fledged factory support, the team will field two crews, ŠKODA´s factory crew Esapekka Lappi/JanneFerm (FIN) and Gaurav Gill/Glen Macneall (India/New Zealand).
ŠKODA´s entry to the APRC is an important step in terms of the brand´s growth offensive in international markets. The brand´s ambition is to increase annual sales to 1.5 million vehicles/year by 2018, and Asia is exactly the region where ŠKODA plans to grow substantially. "The APRC is one of the key motorsport competitions in this region, offering us a great opportunity to present our brand to a large audience", says
Dr. Frank Welsch, ŠKODA Board Member for Technological Development.

ŠKODA won both the Manufacturers and Drivers categories in its debut appearance in the APRC in 2012 – Chris Atkinson (Aus) & Stephane Prévot (FRA) drove a private ŠKODA Fabia Super 2000 owned by MRF. The abbreviation MRF stands for the Madras Rubber Factory, an Indian-based tyre manufacturer. Now the team has received factory support, and ŠKODA has become part of its name.

Head of ŠKODA´s Motorsport Department Michal Hrabánek says: "ŠKODA is growing worldwide and is increasing its speed in all areas. We are proud to see ŠKODA Motorsport contributing to this growth."

Esapekka Lappi (FIN), ŠKODA´s factory driver, is looking forward a great deal to his APRC debut: "Driving for ŠKODA also in the APRC is a great task. Taking place on the other side of the globe, this rally is a big challenge in all respects. We will do our best - our ambition is to achieve the best possible result for ŠKODA".

The programme of the Rally of Whangarei consists of 16 special stages, 289 kilometres in total.

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