Blog The MOTOR JIKOV crew shined with a touch of silver at the exhibition grounds

Just two tenths of a second separated the crew of the MOTOR JIKOV CNG racing team from their first victory in a stage at the New Energies Rallye. In the seventh edition of the event for alternative propulsion vehicles, the crew of Jan Kocourek and Marek Prášil ultimately finished 11th overall out of 33 starters in the Czech Trophy at the ECO rally. Among CNG and LPG cars, the team driving a Škoda Octavia G-Tec secured the bronze position.
"Compared to last year, the level of competition has risen significantly. We had some trouble finding our rhythm, and once we did, slow-moving tractors or stuck vans kept getting in our way. But that's also the beauty of this rally, which takes place almost entirely in traffic, making it full of unexpected situations," assessed driver Jan Kocourek, who is the CNG sales manager at MOTOR JIKOV Strojírenská a.s.

Forty crews from six countries registered for the international 7th Czech New Energies Rallye, part of the 46th Český Krumlov Rally, featuring 29 pure electric vehicles, two hybrids, and two plug-in hybrids. The starting field was reinforced by seven vehicles with alternative propulsion systems using CNG or LPG.
Following an initial star ride ending in Český Krumlov, the following two days hosted the rally's regularity section, comprising twelve tests over more than half of the total 360 km race route. Participants faced a total of 191 km of timed sections and 74 control points in this two-day regularity rally.

For each test, the crew received a detailed route map with intersection sketches, along with an average speed they needed to maintain, usually around 47 km/h. "Between villages in open countryside, it’s essentially very slow driving—almost like enjoying the beautiful nature. But the very first results showed that maintaining an exact average speed is quite an art," explained Jan Kocourek. The crew began the day ranked 12th and, after the first three tests, held the overall ninth position. The next test was on a closed circuit at the Českobudějovický Výstaviště. "We nailed that one, had a bit of a race, because between narrow passes, nearly fifty kilometers per hour is quite brisk, and at the finish, we were only four-tenths of a second off the correct time, just two-tenths behind the team ahead," emphasized Jan Kocourek.
The first day concluded with the MOTOR JIKOV team in ninth place overall. "On the second day, we particularly excelled in the penultimate test, where we placed fifth, and it looked like we might still fight for the top ten. Ultimately, our plan was spoiled by a single mistake in map reading over the two days. The entire competition is very professional, after all, it is part of the international rally series for vehicles with alternative propulsion," added Jan Kocourek.