V905 EEN

 V905 EEN was the very first one of the Gr.A kit/Dealer Team Specification cars, prepared by Ralliart, CoOrdsport and Mellors Elliot Motorsport, and (initially) run by the help of LoCar team. This car went to the Madit Slovnaft Team in Slovakia, for driver Michal Gargulák.

Their first event was the Česky Krumlov. On the first event, they weren't really a match for the other top cars, and finished in 5th place, even though at the end, they improved the stage times a lot.

Rallye Česky Krumlov 2000 (Jan Marek - ewrc.cz)

Up next was the Rally Kosice, part of the ERC with a coefficient of 3 (that was pretty low, the higher coefficient events attaracted the most crews). None the less, they ended up with the victory - the perfect preparation for the next event, also ERC round Rally Bohemia!

Rally Košice 2000 (Szabosi Tibor / autosportfoto.sk)

Next was Rally Bohemia, This time with tougher opposition (Kresta with Octavia WRC, Hrdinka with Subaru, etc). Unfortunately, they had to retire from 4th place due to propshaft problems - interestingly, Agini in Italy was also suffering transmission problems on more than one occasion.

Rally Bohemia 2000 (Petr Fitz / ewrc.cz)

To round out this mini ERC campaign, next they tackled the Barum Rally. They had very good speed and ended up 4th, with setting quite a few top3 stage times.

Barum Rally 2000 (Jíri Jermakov / ewrc.cz)

Up next was a return to Slovakia, with the inaugural Mikona Rally, based in Bratislava. They faced an increasingly difficult opposition, with Janusz Kulig in a Corolla, Tomás Hrdinka in an Impreza, and also Szeleczky in an Escort WRC. In the end, they ended up 4th, missing out on the podium by only 1s.

Mikona Rally 2000 (Jíri Jermakov / ewrc.cz)

The next stop of the Slovakian championship was the Rally Tatry. Although the entry wasn't as strong as in the Mikona Rally, the new opponent was Stanislav Chovanec with an Octavia WRC. They had a big fight, but in the end, Chovanec won by 1.6 seconds.

Rally Tatry 2000 (www.kovovemodely.cz)

The final round of the championship was the Rally Rožnava. Unfortunately, they had to retire there, but they finished 2nd in the championship behind Chovanec. Although the performance was better by the end of the year, it was clear that the Gr.A kit Lancer wasn't a world beater...

2001

In 2001, the team focused on competing in the Czech Championship. The first round was also part of the ERC, with a coefficient of 2. The entry was very strong, with names like Pech, Kresta, Trojan, Sibera. They were in for a good result, but lost 4 minutes on SS7. After that, they finished in 8th place overall.

Rally Sumava Mogul 2001 (Jan Marek / ewrc.cz)

Next up was another iconic event, the Valašská Rally. They were doing OK, but had a great run-in, and jumped from 5th to 3rd on the last 2 stages, finishing 3rd behind Kresta and Pech, albeit by almost 2 minutes.

Valašská Rally 2001 (Jíri Jermakov / ewrc.cz)

Their next event was the 2001 Rajd Polski, a 20-coefficient ERC round with the biggest polish names on the entry list: Holowczyc, Kulig, Kuzaj, Kuchar, and also Stolfa with the 306 Maxi and Austin MacHale as well. It is safe to say that they weren't the speed setters in the Lancer, but in the end finished 4th, albeit a long way away from the "real" WRCs of Kuzaj, Kuchar and Sztuka.

Rajd Polski 2001 (Petr Fitz / ewrc.cz)

Up next was the Rallye Bohemia, a 5-coefficient ERC round, and home rally of Skoda Motorsport. So it was no coincidence that no less than 4 Octavia WRCs were present, along with a couple of other WRCs: Impreza, Focus, Corolla. In this competitive field, it was no surprise that the Slovnaft team managed only 4th overall, with a best stage result of 3rd.

Rallye Bohemia 2001 (Jan Marek / ewrc.cz)

Although not the best, but the Bohemia rally was a preparation for the Barum Rally, this year a 10-coefficient ERC round. However, the rally didn't last long for them, as they had to retire on SS6 due to differential damage.

Barum Rally 2001 (Ludvik Kurečka / ewrc.cz)

Their last rally in the 2001 season was the Mikona Rally in Slovakia. Unfortunately, they couldn't end the season well, as they had to retire due to an overheated engine.

Mikona Rally 2001 (Jíři Jermakov / ewrc.cz)

In the end, they finished 7th in the Czech Championship with one podium finish.

2002

By 2002, it was evident that the car was not that competitive anymore against the newer and newer WRCs that were filtering into the national championship level. To gain some performance, the team formed and alliance with HKS, a very well known engine tuner. However, things didn't go well, as they had to withdraw from the first rally of the season, the Šumava Rally, exactly because of an engine failure. Also, after a couple of years, they changed the livery of the car as well.

Hopes were high for the second round, the Valašská Rally, but the bad luck continued: another engine failure just before the rally, and a last-minute replacement engine was sourced to start. However, they only lasted through the half of the first stage, with another engine problem. Later, the HKS technician recovered a short circuit that had cost the team very dearly.

Valašská Rally 2002 (Petr Fryba / rallylife.cz)

Next up was the Česky Krumlov, and an opportunity to set things right. The car performed well, but they had a 30s penalty for touching a chicane. Not long after, they had an accident and lost a wheel.

Rally Česky Krumlov 2002 (Jan Marek / ewrc.cz)

The next event was one of the biggest in Czechia, the Škoda Rally Bohemia. Usually many extra drivers are present here, so it is one of the biggest challenges in the season. Also, as it was an ERC round, it made the entry even much stronger. They did well with the car, setting times consistently in the top 7. In the end, they finished 6th, behind factory and much newer WRCs.

Škoda Rally Bohemia 2002 (Jíři Jermakov / ewrc.cz)

Then came the RallySprint Kopná, the home event of Gargulák. Finally, they seemed able to find a good setup for the car, but they were again unlucky: a turbo hose fell off, and lost enough time not to be in contention for the win. Still they finished 3rd, on what it turned out to be their last rally together.

Rallysprint Kopná 2002 (Petr Fryba / rallylife.cz)

Whereabouts

After 2002, the car vanished from the stages. There are rumors that it returned as a hillclimb car, but so far, I wasn't able to find any info about it. If you have any info, please get in touch!

Also, Michal didn't have too fond memories of the car, recalling that they spent 3 seasons to dial the car in: http://www.autosport.cz/clanek.php?cl=18573

Track record:

Wins: 1

• Rallye Košice 2000

Podiums: 3

• Rally Tatry 2000
• Valašská Rally 2001
• Rallysprint Kopná 2002

Retirements: 

• Rally Bohemia 2000 - propshaft
  
• Rally Rožnava 2000 - ?
  
• Barum Rally 2001 - differential
  
• Mikona Rally 2001 - overheating
• Valašská Rally 2002 - engine
• Rally Česky Krumlov - lost wheel