It all started with a dream.. a  dream of being the fastest. Skoda has always pushed the limit. Skoda has achieved many victories. One thing is still the same, Skoda still has the dream of being the fastest.

Sporting spirit was deeply ingrained in keen cyclists Václav Laurin and Václav Klement, the founders of the firm that became SKODA, and that spirit lives on today. Skoda has been notching up success on race circuits, dirt tracks, and hill climbs for 120 years in a row. Come and take a  look at the brand’s glorious sporting history.

• SKODA Motorsport builds on a tradition spanning 120 years. In 1901, an L&K motorcycle built by the company’s founding fathers Václav Laurin and Václav Klement competed in a 1,200 kilometres race between the French capital Paris and Berlin in Germanys. Marked the start of a long series of sporting glory of Czech Maker

• Switching from two to four wheels only four years later, L&K became a household name in car racing as well

• SKODA celebrated more victories on race circuits and rally tracks during the 1970s and ’80s.

• Today, the SKODA FABIA Rally2 Evo continues the success story of SKODA Motorsport by winning titles around the globe, from national championships to the FIA World Rally Championship.

Early years and First Victories

The love for motor racing goes all the way back to the company founding fathers Laurin and Klement (L&K). It started with a journey from making a bicycle and started producing motorcycles in the year 1899.  Only two years later, L&K entered the Paris to Berlin race with the single-cylinder model TB.

Although Václav Klement was an avid motorcycle racer himself, he and his business partner Václav Laurin saw their economic future on four wheels and eventually stopped producing motorcycles. From 1905 onwards, L&K cars continued the company’s success story. A Laurin & Klement FCS set a speed record at Brooklands in England (1908), Powered by a four-cylinder engine delivering roughly 100 hp, the open car reached 118.72 kilometres per hour. From 1910 for five years in a row, the three cars strong L&K factory team won a gold medal at the notorious Alpine Run (Alpenfahrt). For the first time in 1912, a car sporting the L&K logo appeared on the entry list of the Rallye Monte-Carlo.

1936 – 1986: SKODA established as a force to be reckoned in motor racing

In January 1936, a SKODA POPULAR SPORT took second place in its category at the gruelling, nearly 4,000 kilometres long Rallye Monte-Carlo. The SKODA RAPID repeated this success one year later. In 1948, the SKODA 1101 production model celebrated a triple class victory at the 24 hours race in Spa-Francorchamps (Belgium). The ŠKODA SPORT, a two-seater special based on SKODA 1101 model, took part in the famous 24-hour race in Le Mans in 1950. In 1953, a supercharged engine powered the SKODA SUPERSPORT to 197.8 kph, making it the fastest Czech car of its era.

With the successor, SKODA 130 RS, especially Norwegian rally driver John Haugland achieved a lot of remarkable results. The car, because of its technical layout gave the affectionate nickname “Porsche of the East”, won its class at the 1977 Rallye Monte-Carlo and the Acropolis Rally in 1978, 1979, and 1981.

The 130 RS also won SKODA the manufacturer title of the European Touring Car Championship 1981. Its successor, SKODA 130 LR, was driven to class victories at the RAC Rally, the British round of the World Rally Championship, in 1985 and 1986.

1990s: Further success in the World Rally Championship (WRC)

SKODA’s presence in modern motorsports started with the Rallye Monte-Carlo of 1991. Pavel Sibera/Petr Gross, driving a SKODA FAVORIT 136 L, won the class four years in a row (1991-1994). In 1994, SKODA also took the FIA World Rally Championship’s F2 Cup for vehicles featuring engines with less than two-litre capacity and one driven axle.

With the SKODA OCTAVIA WRC, introduced in 1999, the factory team entered the FIA World Rally Championship at the top level for the first time. The 300 hp all-wheel-drive vehicle with turbo engine was the SKODA brand’s first so-called World Rally Car.

2000s: SKODA FABIA SUPER 2000 and SKODA FABIA R5 write motorsport history

 

In 2009, the SKODA FABIA SUPER 2000 took the rally scene by storm. In 2012 and 2013, the two-litre engined all-wheel-drive car won its class at the Rallye Monte-Carlo with crews

More milestones for the SKODA FABIA SUPER 2000 were three title wins in a row in the FIA European Rally Championship: In 2012 and 2014. In total, the SKODA FABIA SUPER 2000 won 50 national and international titles worldwide, thereby writing the most successful chapter in SKODA’s motorsport history – until its successor, the SKODA FABIA R5, surpassed it.

The SKODA FABIA R5, powered by a 1.6 litres turbo engine, was an instant hit. SKODA Motorsport factory drivers won the FIA World Rally Championship’s WRC2/WRC2 Pro category in 2016,2017,2018 and in 2019 with  Skoda Fabia R5 Evo.

During the same era, SKODA celebrated multiple titles in the FIA European Rally Championship (ERC), the FIA Asia-Pacific Rally Championship (APRC), the FIA South American Rally Championship (CODASUR), FIA African Rally Championship (ARC). Numerous national championships were won by teams competing in a ŠKODA FABIA R5 or SKODA FABIA R5 Evo.

2020: The SKODA FABIA Rally2 Evo continues the success story

In 2020, the SKODA FABIA R5 Evo was re-named to SKODA FABIA Rally2 Evo to comply with the new FIA class system. At the same time, SKODA Motorsport changed its FIA World Rally Championship strategy from fielding an own factory team to supporting private teams and crews running SKODA FABIA Rally2 Evo. One of these, Toksport WRT, became WRC2 Team Champion 2020.

Among the 14 titles and trophies, SKODA Motorsport customers won in 2020, one is a historical landmark for the Czech brand which won the ARA National Championship Trophy in the USA, the first-ever such title for the SKODA FABIA Rally2 Evo.

The 2021 WRC season started with another victory for the SKODA FABIA Rally2 Evo, to first in the WRC2 category at the Rallye Monte-Carlo.