Jan Kopecký (born January 28, 1982) is a professional

rally driver Rally is a wide-ranging form of motorsport with various competitive motoring elements such as speed tests (often called ''rally racing),'' navigation tests, or the ability to reach waypoints or a destination at a prescribed time or average speed. ...

from

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...

who drives for

Škoda Motorsport Škoda Motorsport is the division of Czech car manufacturer Škoda Auto responsible for motorsport activities. The team had competed as a manufacturer in the World Rally Championship between 1999 and 2005 and Intercontinental Rally Challenge (be ...

. He is the 2013 ERC champion, 2018 WRC-2 champion as well as a multiple champion of the Czech Rally Championship

Career

After beginning his career as a circuit touring cars driver, Kopecký changed to rallysport in 2001, winning the national sprintrally championships at first. In 2004 he won the national classical rally championships and entered the world championships next year. In the

2006 World Rally Championship season The 2006 World Rally Championship was the 34th season in the FIA World Rally Championship. The season began on January 20 with the 74th Monte Carlo Rally where Finland's Marcus Grönholm, in a Ford Focus RS WRC, took the win ahead of France's S ...

he competed with co-driver Filip Schovánek driving a

Škoda Fabia WRC The Škoda Fabia WRC is a World Rally Car built for the Škoda Motorsport by Škoda Auto in the World Rally Championship. It is based upon the Škoda Fabia The Škoda Fabia is a supermini car produced by Czech manufacturer Škoda Auto since ...

. Kopecký won 3 Special Stages, SS18 at the

2006 Rally d'Italia Sardegna The 3° Rally d'Italia Sardegna, the seventh round of the 2006 World Rally Championship season, took place between May 19 and May 21, 2006. Results Special Stages All dates and times are CEST (UTC+2). External links ResultsaeWRC.coma {{R ...

and SS9 and SS14 at the

2006 Rallye Deutschland The 2006 OMV ADAC Rallye Deutschland was the ninth round of the 2006 World Rally Championship season. It took place between August 11-13, 2006. Results Special Stages All dates and times are CEST (UTC+2). External links ResultsaeWRC.coma ...

. His best finish was 5th place at the

2006 Rally Catalunya The 42º Rally RACC Catalunya - Costa Daurada, the fourth round of the 2006 World Rally Championship season, took place from March 24 to 26, 2006. Report The rally was the first all-tarmac event of the season. The event was marred by an acciden ...

, he scored 7 points and 15th position. In 2007, he continued competing with the Fabia and placed 12th in the drivers' world championship. His best finish was 5th place at the 2007 Rallye Deutschland, he scored more points than in 2006, 10 points and 12th position. In

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

Kopecký entered Rally México with

Fiat Grande Punto Abarth S2000 The Fiat Punto is a supermini car (B-segment) produced by the Italian manufacturer Fiat from 1993 to 2018, spanning over three generations. The third generation of the car was marketed between 2005 and 2009 as the Grande Punto, and between 2009 a ...

but retired at 2nd special stage. After that he switched to

Peugeot 207 S2000 The Peugeot 207 S2000 is a Super 2000 rally car developed by Peugeot Sport. It is based upon the Peugeot 207 road car. Drivers Enrique García Ojeda, Nicolas Vouilloz and Kris Meeke won the Intercontinental Rally Challenge The Intercontinental ...

and

Intercontinental Rally Challenge The Intercontinental Rally Challenge was an FIA-sanctioned rallying series organised by SRW Events and Eurosport Events, and aimed to "give new opportunities to young or amateur rally drivers competing in recognised regional and international ral ...

. His best result was 2nd place at the Rally Portugal and after Rally Russia he was hired by Škoda Motorsport and started testing

Škoda Fabia S2000 The Škoda Fabia S2000 is a Super 2000 rally car built by Škoda Motorsport. It is based upon the Škoda Fabia road car. History It made its début at Rallye Monte Carlo 2009, with factory team Škoda Motorsport and drivers Jan Kopecký and ...

. Kopecký competed in the

with a works Škoda Fabia Super 2000 finishing second in the championship and winning two events, the Rally Principe de Asturias and Barum Czech Rally Zlín, making him the first Czech driver to win the rally in a Czech car. Kris Meeke became champion with Peugeot 207 S2000 in 2009. In 2010 Kopecký continued his relationship with Škoda and also with his good performance in IRC. He won

Rally Islas Canarias The Rally Islas Canarias, known originally as the Rally El Corte Inglés is an international rally racing event based on the Spanish island of Gran Canaria in the Canary Islands. The event has been a long running round of the European Rally Champion ...

and finished 2nd at

Ypres Rally The Belgium Ypres Westhoek Rally (BYWR) founded by Frans Thévelin in 1965 is one of the most famous rallies in the European Rally Championship, the Belgian Rally Championship, the British Rally Championship, and the Intercontinental Rally Challen ...

and at

Rali Vinho da Madeira The Rali Vinho da Madeira is a tarmac rally held in Madeira Island, Portugal, and it is the biggest annual sporting event of the island, bringing thousands of people into the roads to watch the drivers compete through the hilly terrain and the natu ...

but he also twice retired from 1st position almost at the end of rally. It was at

Rally Azores Rally or rallye may refer to: Gatherings * Demonstration (political), a political rally, a political demonstration of support or protest, march, or parade * Pep rally, an event held at a United States school or college sporting event Sports ...

and at

Barum Rally Zlín Barum may refer to: Places * Barum, Azerbaijan *Barum, Lüneburg, a municipality in the district of Lüneburg, Lower Saxony, Germany *Barum, Uelzen, a municipality in the district of Uelzen, Lower Saxony, Germany *, a village where the Mesolithic ...

. Kopecký was again 2nd in drivers standings, this time

Juho Hänninen Juho Ville Matias Hänninen (born 25 July 1981) is a Finnish rally driver. He is the 2010 Intercontinental Rally Challenge (IRC) champion and 2011 Super 2000 World Rally Championship (S-WRC) champion with co-driver Mikko Markkula driving a works ...

, 2nd factory driver of

was champion. In 2011 Kopecký was entered by

at the

2011 Monte Carlo Rally The 2011 Monte Carlo Rally, officially 79ème Rallye Automobile de Monte-Carlo was the first round of the 2011 Intercontinental Rally Challenge (IRC) season. The rally took place between January 19–22, 2011. The event marked the centenary of the ...

alongside of

Freddy Loix Freddy Loix (born 10 November 1970) is a Belgian rally driver. Career Loix's career in motor sport began in karting at the age of 15. In 1990, he bought his first rally car, a Lancia Delta group N, though he soon progressed to a Mitsubishi Gal ...

and

Nicolas Vouilloz Nicolas Vouilloz (born 8 February 1976) is a French professional mountain biker and former professional rally driver. He won the Downhill Mountain Bike World Championships ten times, starting as a junior in 1992 and finishing h ...

.In 2021 he entered to the Hungarian Rally Championship with a Skoda Fabia Rally2 Evo under the Topp Cars Rally Team alongside the Czech Championship .

Results

WRC results

* Season still in progress.

WRC-2 results

WRC-2 Pro results

IRC results

ERC results

* Season still in progress.

Czech Rally Championship results

* Season still in progress.

References

External links

IRC Official SiteJan Kopecký – profile at ewrc-results.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kopecky, Jan 1982 births Living people Czech rally drivers Intercontinental Rally Challenge drivers European Rally Championship drivers World Rally Championship drivers People from Opočno Sportspeople from the Hradec Králové Region