4th April 2012 – Skoda Ireland today announced that it is to sponsor talented rally driver Robert Barrable and his team Robert Barrable Rally Team as he prepares to take part in this weekend’s Circuit of Ireland rally. A native of Swords, Barrable is a former Billy Coleman Award winner and 2010 British and Irish Citroen Racing Trophy Champion. The rolling sponsorship agreement will see Skoda Ireland support the Robert Barrable Rally Team with additional team infrastructure including the provision of branded merchandise, marketing, pr support and a team hospitality unit as well as investment towards event costs.

Robert is this season competing in the latest specification ex-works Skoda Fabia S2000 rally car and is due to compete in this weekend’s Circuit of Ireland rally based in Armagh. This year the famous Circuit of Ireland Rally will form the third round of the global Intercontinental Rally Challenge (IRC). The second oldest rally in the world. Steeped in history, many epic battles can be recounted after almost 80 years of rallying on the Emerald Isle. Skoda has previously tasted success at the event with Eugene Donnelly and Paddy Toner winning in 2009 with a Skoda Fabia WRC.

Speaking at the announcement, Dubliner Barrable said “I’m delighted to have such a great brand like Skoda supporting the team, the Skoda Fabia S2000 is a fantastic rally car, with the added support from Skoda Ireland will hopefully lead to further success this season, starting this weekend in Northern Ireland.”

Commenting on the sponsorship, Raymond Leddy, Marketing Manager, stated, “Skoda Ireland is very pleased to be able to support rising Irish Sports stars like Robert and we hope this sponsorship can help him further his career. We can see the potential in Robert and are delighted to be involved.”

Robert has already tasted success in the Skoda Fabia S2000 and this season will build on the experience he has had in the car last year, highlights of which include winning the West Cork Rally and taking out right win on the Sligo Rally a counting round of the Irish National Rally Championship. Robert also took part in several rounds of last season’s IRC and scored two championship points finishing ninth overall in the GEKO Ypres Rally a specialist tarmac round of the championship.

Skoda has a big presence at this weekend’s Circuit of Ireland Rally and has made a very good start to this year's IRC by scoring two “doubles” in the Azores and the Canary Islands, and its ambition is to continue its success story in the upcoming rally in Ireland that is this year's first event to see ŠKODA's factory team ŠKODA Motorsport at full strength (Kopecký & Dresler and Hänninen & Markkula). The list of drivers to appear in Ireland also includes the reigning IRC champion and leader of the current IRC standings Andreas Mikkelsen of ŠKODA UK Motorsport.

Robert Barrable 2010 winner of the Motorsport Ireland Billy Coleman award returns to competitive stages this weekend on the first round of the 2012 Dunlop National Rally Championship the Birr District Motor Clubs stages rally. The event with headquarters at the Manor Hotel in Abbeyleix will see Robert take to the wheel of his Skoda backed Fabia S2000 for the first time competitively since last season with the young Dubliner using the event as preparation for the forth coming Circuit of Ireland, which this year is a counting round of the IRC. Dermot O'Gorman will take up the co-driver’s seat in the Fabia alongside Robert; Dermot who formally called the notes for Robert's father Michael brings with him a wealth of experience and will work closely with Robert as he prepares for the IRC event in April this year.In preparation for this Sunday's rally Robert and Dermot completed a day’s testing earlier this week, where they focused on car setup and tyre options for tarmac events. "We completed over 120km of testing on Tuesday and I made some changes to the car setup which I am really happy with and feel should make a bit of a difference this weekend and for the season ahead. I am looking forward to getting back on the competitive stages IRC Scotland was my last real outing in the car and that was a gravel rally so it will be good to get back on tarmac and see how competitive we can be against the WRC machines" commented Robert.

Robert in Action in the Skoda Fabia Last Season

 The format for the rally will see Robert and Dermot compete on over 150km of stages in a traditional loop of three stages completed three times with centralised servicing based in the outlet centre in Rathdowney. The Skoda Fabia S2000 will be run this season by the CA1 Motorsport team owned and run by ex M-Sport mechanic and engineer Martin Wilkinson who is based in the UK. "Martin has a lot of experience working with Skoda's having run John Stones Fabia in the UK Asphalt championship for a couple of seasons, I am looking forward to working with him and seeing what setup advice he can give me"  mentioned Robert following the test.  Following the Birr Stages Robert will continue his preparations for the Circuit of Ireland, and possibly an outing on the Kerry Stages rally in March. Follow Roberts’s progress via his website www.robertbarrable.com or get news and updates as they happen by following him on twitter @RBarrableRally.

Robert Barrable Motorsport Ireland Billy Coleman award winner supported by the Irish Sports Council will in his Skoda Fabia S2000 rally car line up alongside the top drivers in the IRC for this weekend’s RACMSA Rally Scotland which takes place in Perth. The rally has a record 38 international entries with crews representing 17 different countries among them the top eight drivers in the current IRC standings. The event will see Robert and co-driver Damien Connolly make a return to gravel after spending the past number of months concentrating on Tarmac rallies with great effect. In preparation for the Scottish event Robert and the Evolution Motorsport team mechanics completed two days of comprehensive testing on gravel followed by a late entry for the Bush Whacker rally where Robert finished sixth overall. Roberts Skoda Fabia S2000 was then converted back to tarmac specification for last weekend’s Cork 20 International rally where Robert showed a blistering pace over the Saturday evening stages matching the pace of the WRC cars on the night stages. Robert commented prior to starting reece for the IRC rally "I am looking forward to getting back on gravel, I have completed some good testing work and the run on the Bush Whacker was really useful in helping with car setup for this event. The recent heavy rain in Scotland will make the stages difficult and with the IRC crews tackling the stages ahead of us it the stages are likely to cut up so it will be about driving a good clean rally and looking after the car."

Robert & Damien on the Bush Whacker Rally (photo courtesy of Emyard Brennan)

Following the Ceremonial Start from Stirling Castle on the Friday, the crews head straight into two competitive timed stages in the dark of Carron Valley on the Stirlingshire-North Lanarkshire border. The cars will depart the service park in Perth just before 9am on Saturday and tackle classic stages in Perthshire such as Craigvinean, Drummond Hill and Errochty all which will run twice with a lunchtime service in Perth City Centre. The Sunday stages see the drivers return to Carron Valley before two more new tests in Stirlingshire, Loch Chon and the hugely challenging 26km High Corrie, each of which will be run twice. They will then head back into Perthshire for the event’s final two stages and Ceremonial Finish in the majestic grounds of Scone Palace. "I enjoy taking part in the IRC rounds, the atmosphere and the support the events get is really great and I am sure with the proximity to Ireland this weekend’s event should see some Irish rally fans make the trip over to lend their support and see the top crews." said Robert. Following the IRC round Robert will tend to various sponsor duties, and possibly an outing on the Fastnet Rally based in Bantry, Co. Cork at the end of October. Follow Roberts’s progress via his website www.robertbarrable.com or get news and updates as they happen by following him on twitter @RBarrableRally

Robert Barrable winner of the Motorsport Ireland Billy Coleman award supported by the Irish Sports Council, in his Skoda Fabia S2000 with co-driver Damien Connolly finished 13^th overall on the Barum Czech Rally Zlin. The rally a counting round of the 2011 Intercontinental Rally Challenge (IRC) was Robert’s second time competing on a round of this year’s IRC in his Skoda Fabia S2000 with the Co. Dublin driver taking to the difficult Czech stages. Robert lined up alongside a top class entry of over 120 competing crews including 22 latest specification S2000 machines. The rally kicked off on Friday night with the drivers blasting through the Zlin special stage around the industrial town and was watched by thousands of enthusiastic spectators; Robert posted a very respectable 13^th fastest time through the stage and returned to the overnight halt ready for the rally start proper on Saturday morning.

Day 1 of the rally consisted of four stage locations to which the crews would visit twice with a service halt between each loop, a total of 124km including the 28km ‘Trojak’ stage lay ahead. Robert and Damien set a string of top twenty stage times through the opening loop of stages and while it was a solid start to the rally Robert felt that the car setup was not right and the crew returned to the midpoint service in 18^th place overall and feeling there was still more to come from the Skoda. The Evolution Motorsport mechanics set to work on the car and the Irish crew returned to the second loop happier with the cars setup. It was clear that the setup changes had made a difference with them setting two top ten stage times on stages six and nine respectively and moving them up the leader board as a result, they finished the opening day in 16^th place overall just 2.9 seconds behind Odlozilik also in a Skoda Fabia. “Today has been a tough day, we were not happy with the cars setup on the opening loop of stages so we made some changes at the service halt and they made a big difference in the afternoon although I struggled to find a rhythm through the day and I also think we may be using to hard a compound tyre. We are going to push for the top ten tomorrow and see how it goes we have nothing to lose” commented Robert at the end of day one.

Heavy overnight rain had cleared by the time the crew’s left parc ferme for the start of day two of the rally although the roads on the opening stages were damp in places despite the early morning sun and rising temperature. Day two’s stages were faster more flowing than day one, with Robert and Damien tackling six stages totalling 115km, Robert opened his day two account with 8^th fastest time on the ‘Majak’ stage and moved to 13^th overall in the process. Stage 11, Robert’s move up the leader board was temporarily halted when he went off the road and into a ditch losing valuable seconds and slipping back to 15^th place. The Skoda with some front corner damage seemed to have survived the incident and the crew posted 12^th fastest time on the final stage of the loop and returned to service to have the car checked and repaired. For the final loop Roberts sights were firmly focused on finishing the rally and he posted a string of top fifteen stages times through the final loop of stages to bring the Skoda Fabia S2000 home in 13^th place overall. But there was to be a final sting in the tale of a tough weekend’s rallying for the Skoda crew when their time card for the last stage went missing in the midst of a huge crowd of very excited spectators at the last control and the crew were later excluded from the final results. “It has been a tough weekend, the stages on both days have all had their own unique challenges and it took me a while to get used to them. I think for an event like this a local test prior is very important as it is difficult to get a feel for the stages on the shakedown, I have learnt a lot this weekend”, said Robert when he reached the finish of the rally in Zlin.

Robert Barrable winner of the Motorsport Ireland Billy Coleman award supported by the Irish Sports Council, in his Skoda Fabia S2000 with co-driver Damien Connolly alongside head to this weekend’s Barum Rally Zlin hoping to build on their success on the Ypres Rally back in June. Robert and Damien have not competed in the Skoda Fabia S2000 since a broken spark plug forced their early retirement from Robert’s home event the ALMC Stages rally back in July. Although Robert in an effort to maintain his tarmac practice competed on the Stonethrowers rally in his championship winning Citreon C2R2, finishing a credible third overall. The Barum Rally is round seven of the 2011 IRC, based in the industrial city of Zlin in south-east Czech Republic, the event will see Robert and Damien take on a top class field of IRC competitors including no less than 122 crews which includes 29 Super 2000 machines. The rally which has been a counting round of the IRC since 2007 is famous for its tricky stages which are characterised by bumpy and sometimes broken tarmac through narrow woodland areas, the event is not only a test of skill but requires drivers full commitment. “I am looking forward to getting back in the Skoda S2000 after the summer break, the engine and gearbox have been fully rebuilt over the past month and we are sporting a new colour scheme for Skoda’s home event. Barum is a difficult rally and very different from Ypres, a good recce is very important and I am hoping we can adapt to the stages quickly and set some competitive stage times.” commented Robert prior to starting reece for the rally.

The event kicks off on Friday evening with a super special stage through the host city, the tricky stage runs partly on cobble stones providing a real test for competitors particularly if it rains. The rally proper starts on Saturday with a loop of four stages repeated twice, including the longest of the rally covering a competitive distance of 28km, with the crews making three visits to the service park in Otrokovice. The final day’s stages on Sunday will take Robert and his Skoda through a total of six stages, three stages looped twice divided by a service halt with the rally ending early afternoon in the centre of the city. “Tyre choice on the rally will be critical particularly if it rains, we will be trying to make our choice as late as possible to ensure we are on the right tyres for the stage conditions, it would be good to drive well on this Skoda’s home rally” Commented Robert.

Following his outing on Barum Czech Rally Zlin, Robert is hoping to take part in the San Remo IRC in September along with the closing rounds of the 2011 Irish national rally championship. For up to date information and to track Roberts progress on this weekend’s Barum rally log on to www.robertbarrable.com or follow on twitter @RBarrableRally.