Last Wednesday at noon, a "lady from the old days" reminded us of the "past glories" of car racing in Greece, now that the Acropolis Rally has passed into oblivion. A SKODA 130 RS took the start under the Sacred Rock of the Acropolis, participating in the 22nd Historic Rally Monte Carlo 2019.
Athens, after a "break" of 44 years, was again among the cities hosting the start of the most emblematic rally in the calendar of historic races. And ČK Motorsport, the Czech team that owns the 130 RS, honoring our country and the popularity of SKODA in Greece, chose Athens for the start of their race. Greece, however, was chosen for another reason: The first SKODA to participate in a "regular" Monte Carlo Rally, back in 1936, had again started from Athens! The crew of the 130 RS participating in this year's race are the experienced drivers Karel Mach and Jan Blacha, who are participating in this race for the 7th time.
The superbly maintained '76 SKODA 130 RS arrived in our country on Monday afternoon. It found a hospitable home at the SKODA MAKRIS premises in Nea Ionia. A quick mechanical inspection by the company's engineers was more of a tribute to one of the most characteristic rally silhouettes of a bygone era than an inspection per se, as the car is in immaculate condition.
APOSTLE MAKRIS A.S.-CHIEF CZECHIAN YANN BRODY- ANDREAS HALBES WITH THE SKODA 130 RS
The following morning, the 130 RS was available to journalists, customers and ordinary friends of the brand, to see it in person and remember the many successes SKODA has achieved in motorsport in its 118 years of history. In fact, it was fortuitous that the arrival of the 130 RS coincided with the launch of the new FABIA in Greece and especially the Monte Carlo version. What could be more natural, then, than to place the 130 RS among the FABIA Monte Carlo and the familiar FABIAs participating in the SOVA Single Championship.
THE AMBASSADOR OF CZECHIA, JAN BRONTY WITH MR APOSTOLOS MAKKRIS AND THE FABIA S2000
The event was graced with the presence of His Excellency, Ambassador of the Czech Republic to Greece, Mr. Jan Brody.
The start under the Sacred Rock of the Acropolis was given by the Ambassador of the Czech Republic
Tip: After the Acropolis, the SKODA 130 RS headed towards Patras. Along with the other cars that started from Athens, a 20-hour ferry journey took them to Ancona, Italy, from where they headed to Milan. There, there is a wider reconstruction, with additional historic cars added to the group.
Then, all the cars headed to France, where from Saturday to Wednesday they will participate in 15 special stages (regularity), over a total distance of 1,530 km.The SKODA 130 RS of Mach - Blacha, among 316 entries, received the number 105 from the organizers, which is very honorable since it shows that the over 40-year-old car belongs to those that are expected to achieve a high average hourly speed.
