The World Rally Championship season begins. Čech Cais will be at the start, and the race will also take place in Prague
The new season of the World Rally Championship starts in Monte Carlo on Thursday. The year 2023 will also be extraordinary for Czech motorsport, as part of the series is also the October Central European Rally with a start in Prague and the first stage in the south-west of the Czech Republic. There will also be one Czech driver at the start, the premiere with the Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 car awaits Erik Cais.
Twenty-three-year-old Erik Cais belongs to the generational talents of Czech motorsport. During this year’s World Championship, the place among the absolute world elite of motorsport can get a little closer.
“I realize that this season is very important. I have to not put too much pressure on myself, but I know what it’s all about. I’m just concentrating on my work and we’ll see at the end of the year,” says the Czech representative.
The driver of the Czech Orsák Rallysport team will compete in seven world championships and five European championships this year. “I would like to fight for the top ranks in Europe. I want to get used to the new car as soon as possible in the World Championship races. And I would also like it if the Czech flag could be seen as much as possible,” continues Cais.
Cais has tried out the novelty of the car manufacturer from Mladá Boleslav only during four test days. “Two on snow and two on asphalt in France. It’s not much, but the car works great. In addition, it is quite intuitive for the pilot, so it is easy to get used to it. It will take a little more time to fine-tune the details, but I think it will work,” explains the driver, who only started racing at the age of eighteen.
Thursday’s race in Monte-Carlo will be one of seven in which Cais will try to score points. “For drivers from WRC2, it works in such a way that they have to report in advance in which race they will compete for the body. You can’t go back,” he explains, adding that some of his competitors will therefore start the season later in Sweden.
And what does a young driver say about a demanding program during which he will additionally test a new car in the free weeks? “The calendar is quite busy, so it will be challenging physically and mentally. But I think I’m well prepared, so I believe it will be good,” concludes Cais before this year’s premiere.
Rally Monte-Carlo, where Cais finished second overall in the WRC2 category last year, begins on Thursday evening with two stages. Part of this WC series is also the Central European Rally, which will start in October in Prague, and the Czech part will take place on tracks in the south-west of the country. The center of the rally will be Passau, Germany.