Intro:

Jan Kopecky of Skoda Motorsport won the Czech Rally, the eighth round of the European Rally Championship at Zlin on Saturday (31 August), Sepp Wiegand was second and Roman Kresta was third.

Script:

The eighth stage of the 43rd Czech Rally took place at Zlin on Saturday.

The race was won by Jan Kopecky of Skoda Motorsport, strengthening his position at the top of the standings.

The second fastest driver at this stage was Germany's Sepp Wiegand, with a loss of three seconds.

The third fastest driver was Roman Kresta, a former triple rally winner.

Kopecky has won all eight stages so far and his lead ahead of his nearest rival Vaclav Pech has increased to more than 30 seconds.

Roman Kresta is third in the standings, followed by Wiegand in fourth and Jaromír Tarabus in fifth.

Esapekka Lappi is now out of of the race due to vehicle damage, after his Skoda hit a tree.