Kohn, from Czech Republic, banked his third ERC Fiesta Rally3 Trophy win of the season on last month’s Rally di Roma Capitale to take a lead of 20 points over Turkey’s Kerem Kazaz.
If he remains in front, Kohn will land a fully-funded ride in an M-Sport Poland-run, Pirelli-equipped Ford Fiesta Rally3 on the Central European Rally, which takes place from 17 - 20 October on asphalt-only stages in Austria, Czech Republic and Germany.
“It’s good to be at the finish,” Kohn said ahead of the Rally di Roma Capitale podium. “First place is what we wanted, we had no big moments or anything and could take it steady for the win and we are leading the championship again. Now we just need to manage the Barum Rally and take the win of the ERC Fiesta Rally3 Trophy.”
Kazaz started the final day of Rally di Roma Capitale 1.7sec behind Igor Widłak in the battle for second place. But when Widłak unfortunately crashed out, Kazaz was able to secure the runner-up spot, a resulted he credited, in part, to his meticulous pre-stage preparations.
“At the regroup before the last stage I watched the video six times non-stop,” Kazaz said. “I think I could do better but the slow corners it was almost impossible to turn the car in. I don’t know where I could have finished if Igor didn’t crash out but I gave it all, which is really good. It’s another podium and good points for the championship.”
Martin Ravenščak came back from his accident on day one to complete the ERC Fiesta Rally3 Trophy podium for the second time.
“I’m happy with the pace we had,” the Croatian driver said. “I saw Igor went out on the last stage, my focus just went down and I just wanted to finish the stage, which is what I did. It was pretty hard in this heat but we are here at the finish. I’m just really sorry for Igor.”
ERC Fiesta Rally3 Trophy: How it works
Partnering with Pirelli and Gulf Race Fuels in establishing the ERC Fiesta Rally3 Trophy, M-Sport Poland has identified the European championship as the perfect arena to showcase the performance, reliability and accessibility of its four-wheel-drive challenger.
To ensure, competitors get access to the best technical assistance available, M-Sport Poland will attend all events with a fully stocked spares vehicle, while its engineers will be available to provide technical support when required.
All drivers will use the same specification Pirelli tyre and Gulf’s MSR EVO2 fuel, which will be available on site at every Fiesta Rally3 Trophy event at a discounted price of €2.00 a litre.
The eventual ERC Fiesta Rally3 Trophy winner is handed a fully funded drive package for October’s Central European Rally, round 12 of the 2024 FIA World Rally Championship.
Pirelli is generously offering a 15 per cent discount on event tyre packages to all participants. The winner of each Fiesta Rally3 Trophy event will secure 12 new tyres for use on the next event, the runner-up will receive six new tyres with two new tyres going to the third-place finisher.
Gulf Race Fuels will reward the winner of each round with 300 litres of Gulf MSR EVO2 fuel. The drivers finishing second and third will receive 150 and 50 litres respectively.
The Barum Czech Rally Zlín ERC Fiesta Rally Trophy finale takes place from 16 - 18 August.
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