August 6, 2015 – Nasser Al Attiyah and Matthieu Baumel will contest the upcoming WRC event, ADAC Rallye Deutschland, in a new Skoda Fabia R5 after competing onboard a Ford Fiesta RRC in previous rounds.
The duo will be competing in an R5 car for the first time after collecting 60 points in four rounds to date, putting them within 10 points of main rival Esapekka Lappi.
“I’ve been thinking about trying an R5 car in the World Rally Championship for some time, and I’m really looking forward to driving the Skoda Fabia in Germany,” said Al Attiyah.
“The car showed from its first few events that it has speed and reliability. R5 cars seem to be faster on smooth gravel roads as well on proper tarmac, the combination that we have on many European rallies.
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“They also have some advantages in FIA regulations over RRCs and look to be the future in WRC2, so we needed to try one as soon as possible.
“I’m looking to move forward so I’m not afraid of changing the car. We showed last year in clinching the WRC2 crown that we’re very fast, and now we’re ready to adapt quickly to the Skoda Fabia.
“As we’re 10 points behind the championship leader we decided it’s a good time to switch to R5.
“We’ll see what the future will bring. Maybe by choosing the Skoda Fabia we can attract the attention of the manufacturer. First, we need to start the rally and show from the beginning that we can win in this car.”
