Csomós followed 11-time winner Jan Kopecký home in second position following a fine drive in a replacement Škoda Fabia Rally2 Evo, which his fans helped him to buy after his original was destroyed in a crash on Rally Islas Canarias in May.
The runner-up placing was the result of two years of hard work by Csomós, his family and friends, and brought to an end a run of misfortune dating back to Barum Czech Rally Zlín 12 months ago.
“I am not an emotional man, but I am at loss for words,” said the 30-year-old Hungarian Motorsport Academy driver. “Twelve months ago I crashed out in Barum Rally and I did again this year on Rally Islas Canarias. After my second crash it looked my career was over.
“My team and also my fans made a great effort to give me a second chance to prove myself. Before Rally di Roma Capitale I changed my driving style a little bit. Not my speed, but the style [to be calmer]. It worked in Italy but it worked even better at Barum Czech Rally Zlín.”
Csomós set the fastest time through the 10.86km Kateřinice test on leg one, which was back on the itinerary for the first time since 1994. But it was his performance on the 25.64km of Troják that pleased him the most.
“I expected to be 20–25sec behind the stage winner,” Csomós said. “I was really surprised when we only got 9.4sec and 2.8sec. After the second Troják stage I knew ‘Mixi-style 2.0’ was working well and we could get the results.
“Second place behind Jan Kopecký is a win for me. After my accidents I was in the lowest point of my life. I wanted to come back, but I had to climb an impossibly high mountain. Now I have done it, but I still can’t believe it.
“My father is the heart of our team. Whenever I crashed my car, he was always the first man in our workshop on Monday morning to start rebuilding it. After the finish on Sunday night, he told the team members, ‘Okay, we are going home tomorrow, but after that we’re going to celebrate for three days, everybody take their time’. And so we did.
“I want to thank everyone who believed in me, my team my fans and the ERC. It is a great to have an ERC trophy, I hope to have a few more. See you in Rally Hungary.”
Rally Hungary takes place from 6 - 8 October and forms the eighth and final round of the 2023 FIA European Rally Championship season.
Finland
Italy
Hungary