Mareš wants more than coffee to reward ERC pace

Mareš had the pace to finish in the top five on Rally di Roma Capitale last month, but his challenge was undone by tyre damage on two separate stages.

After finishing a delayed ninth among the ERC contingent, Mareš rewarded himself with a cup of coffee as he waited to drive over the finishing ramp in Fiuggi.

“For sure it’s a disappointed that we had these problems because we could easily have fought for a better position, maybe fourth,” the 31-year-old Czech talent said afterwards. “Anyway, it was a really nice fight with Simone Campedelli, Andrea Mabellini and the local guys, which is a good mark for us that we are able to keep this pace on these stages, definitely. At least there were quite a lot of positives to take away from this weekend.”

Asked whether he will be able to transfer those positives to Barum Czech Rally Zlín, which takes place from 18 - 20 August, Mareš said: “Let’s see. Both events are on Tarmac but they are both completely different in terms of the kinds of stages, the surface, maybe even the weather that can change a lot during the Barum Rally. Let’s see how it will be for us but hopefully we can be competitive there. We are targeting a top three result.”

Mareš will be at the wheel of his Pirelli-equipped Škoda Fabia Rally2 Evo, run by ACCR Entry Engineering, on Barum Czech Rally Zlín. He’s eighth in the provisional ERC standings after seven rounds and finished second overall in Zlín last season with Radovan Bucha co-driving.