Among the stars of the World Rally Championship, Hyundai’s Adrien Fourmaux, Toyota’s Sami Pajari and M-Sport Ford’s Grégoire Munster took their Rally1 cars for a spin through the streets of Prague, entertaining the large crowd that had gathered. Joining the parade were also local drivers Jan Černý and Filip Mareš, as well as Germany’s Philip Geipel.
The six-car convoy crossed, among other places, the Charles Bridge – and even treated spectators to a few doughnuts on the city streets. Along the route, the cars passed some of Prague’s most famous landmarks, including the Dancing House, the Charles Bridge, Prague Castle and the National Theatre.
Rally drivers were also greeted by Czech President Petr Pavel, who chatted with the competitors.
“For any country to host an event that has an impact on the whole region, the whole world – it is not only an honour but an opportunity to be visible and viewed as a good host, but to also offer our own population the opportunity to enjoy a world-class event,” President Pavel stated on the WRC website.
After the event, Hyundai driver Adrien Fourmaux said that President Pavel had shown particular interest in the technology of the rally cars.
“It’s amazing to be able to bring the WRC to the centre of a city like Prague and to drive by the amazing sites like Charles Bridge and Prague Castle and it was especially great to have President Pavel come out and really engage with us, asking a lot about the cars,” Fourmaux said.
The Central European Rally takes place across three different countries, with stages not only in the Czech Republic but also in Austria and Germany. The rally’s base is located in the city of Passau, near the Austrian border in the south-eastern corner of Germany.
The event begins on Thursday morning with the shakedown stage. The main competition features a total of 18 special stages, covering just over 300 kilometres.
