Tim Novak leads in the Mitropa Cup before the Opatija Rally

On the first and second of May, the third race of this year's Mitropa International Cup will take place in Opatija, Croatia, where our crew Tim Novak-Uroš Ocvirk with the Škoda Fabia R2 is currently the leader! That is why a lot is expected from our young crew.

After two Austrian tours, a rather popular Croatian test is coming for Slovenian racers, which will be a good introduction to the next rally, the most famous Fuchs Saturnus Rally Velenje. But it is still a good month until our most prestigious rally, which is why the crew, together with the Idrija team IK Sport, is already thoroughly preparing for the 357-kilometer rally in the famous seaside resort. "First we will have testing on Wednesday, and then we will go to Croatian Istria, where we will drive almost 111 kilometers of fast and slippery speed tests in bad weather," Novak hinted. He then summed up his view of the great start to the 2015 season: “Behind us are the Rebenland and Lavanttal rallies, where we achieved great results, as evidenced by the lead in Mitropa with a weaker race car. So the result is above expectations and we will do everything to keep this trend going. I had some problems in both races (read: Lavanttal road trip, Rebenland spin), but Uroš and I kept our heads calm and drove the race solidly to the end. "
Where does a 20-year-old mechanical engineering student see the reason he is so competitive this year? "In my opinion, the first results of thorough preparations and education, which I received at this year's selection of the FIA ​​Institute Young Driver Excellence Academy (where he first won the selection of Southwest Europe, and now together with nine other young world talents under the auspices of the FIA educates and perfects racing) as well as our preparations over the winter, with the help of coaches from the Academy. It seems to me that the whole team got extra momentum and motivation, and we also improved our performance before and after the races. We will continue to work hard and I know that in the end this will show in good results. There will be quite strong competition in Opatija again, as there are a lot of registered racers in stronger racing cars, for example Humar, Zanon, Gassner, Vajnhandl, Puskadi, etc. as well as some crews in class R2. But we are not afraid of rivals, but they give us an additional motive for a fierce fight. I already know the route of the Opatija Rally and I hope for another good race, "said the younger of the two brothers - racers.

Current Mitropa Cup results among drivers:
1. Team Novak SLO Škoda Fabia R2 99
2. Hermann Gassner NEM Mitsubishi Lancer EVO X R4 76
3. Viliam Sold HRV Peugeot 208 R2 76
4. Martin Kainz NEM Mitsubishi Lancer EVO VI 66
5. Bernd Zanon ITA Renault Clio S1600 65

photo: Uroš Modlic