Skoda Motorsport have officially joined the R5 family with the announcement that the International Automobile Federation (FIA) have approved homologation for the new Skoda Fabia. The Czech manufacturer are hoping that the new Fabia R5 can carry on the success enjoyed by it’s predecessor the Fabia S2000.
The new car has been 15 months in development and has been piloted by some of Skoda’s most successful drivers including Esapekka Lappi, Freddy Loix and Jan Kopecky . The car comprises of a 1.6 litre turbo charged engine with a 5 speed sequential gearbox which have been but through their paces over 10,000 kilometres of testing.
A side view of the Skoda Fabia R5 (Credit: Skoda Motorsport)
“We are happy that we now have the homologation from the International Automobile Federation FIA under our belt,” said ŠKODA Motorsport Director Michal Hrabánek.
“The development of our new rally hope was a tiring process and a major challenge for the entire team at ŠKODA Motorsport, to whom I would like to say a big thank you. With the new ŠKODA Fabia R5, we want to follow on from the success we have enjoyed in recent years with speed and reliability on the rally routes of this world. Following the successful homologation, we can now initiate the next phase of the Fabia R5 project.”
The Skoda Fabia R5 has some big shoes to fill after the s2000 model was driven to the drivers and manufacturers title on the FIA Asia-Pacific Rally Championship last season while also finding success in the FIA European Rally Championship also.
Another view of the Skoda Fabia R5 (Credit: Skoda Motorsport)
