Škoda Classic Tour through employees’ eyes

Škoda Classic Tour Through the Eyes of Employees

As part of this year’s precision-timed rally, which the carmaker organises for its employees and their families, we asked several participants to share their experiences.

Changeable weather

A total of 237 historic cars (veterans and youngtimers) lined up at the start of the 12th annual Škoda Classic Tour employee vintage car rally on 6 September. All Škoda employees showed their love for cars despite the rain that accompanied the start of the rally. For lovers of historic cars who care for and pamper their cars as much as they can, rain is usually unpleasant, especially for owners of open-top cars. “We set off early, before it started raining, then the car stood with the roof covered, and then we were able to drive without the roof. The end of the race was traditionally sunny,” said Miroslav Vlasák (Head of BN – Procurement New Product Launches), who drove in the race with his adult son and daughter in a beautiful red 1961 Škoda Felicia convertible.

Unusual drive through FabLab

As always, this year’s race started from the car park between the Customer Centre and the Škoda Museum in Mladá Boleslav, and the first instructions guided the crews straight onto the course. This is already a traditional and almost “mandatory” part of the rally. “This year, we managed to impress the crews with a tour of FabLab, featuring an exhibition of student cars, a demonstration of predictive maintenance technologies, a drive across the new Laurin & Klement bridge over the D10 motorway and a visit to the LZO Logistics Centre,” said Marek Jancák (Head of PF – Car Production), describing the opening part of the rally. 

The crews were served by a robot 

This opening part already brought some pleasant surprises for the participants. “I’ve been working at Škoda Auto for 12 years, but we entered the race through a gate I didn’t even know existed,” said Michal Daněk (EEB/4 – Wiring Harness Class A, B), who raced in a Škoda Favorit. He also added another detail: “The organisers always come up with something unusual; this time, for example, a robot served us drinks.” 

First timed test on the new bridge

At the Laurin & Klement Bridge, the crews faced the first of a total of five timed trials, in which they had to drive through a given section as accurately as possible within a defined time period. “Given that I was driving a Velorex 16/350, which is not exactly known for its acceleration, my results in the trials varied greatly, from 24th to 174th place,” said Bohuslav Brejša (GQD-2/1 – Purchased Parts – Series Care MB).

Have you taken a selfie with Laurin yet?

The rally route led from Mladá Boleslav north to the Liberec region. One stop was the village of Kamení near Pěnčín, the birthplace of one of the company’s founders, Václav Laurin. There, actors dressed as Laurin and his wife welcomed participants, accompanied by a beautiful Laurin & Klement 110.

When math comes in handy

The trick question in the first secret trial was the time recording. The racers were tasked with completing a given route in 1.1 minutes. However, many teams made mistakes there. “Maybe we didn‘t focus on it enough, but we hesitated whether it should be 1.1 minutes or one minute and 10 seconds,” said Róbert Schmögner (Head of GQK-2 – QM Body & Paint Shop, Assembly KV), describing the dilemma faced not only by him and his 12-year-old nephew as navigator but also by numerous other teams. A four-second difference is really significant in such a race, even though the participants are more interested in having fun than racing. “This trial got the better of us, too, since 1.1 minutes had to be converted to one minute and six seconds; however, we took it as one minute and 10 seconds. It probably cost us a better position because otherwise, we had deviations of less than half a second in the trials. On the other hand, 64th place is our best result so far, so overall, it’s a great success,” admits M. Daněk, who raced with a friend.

The basis of every crew

During the first stage, which ended at the castle in Svijany, the crews underwent further hundredths-of-a-second accuracy trials. This included one secret trial, which caused some racers a bit of trouble. “We know it’s coming, it’s indicated in the roadbook, but we don’t know what it will specifically involve. We have to find out directly on the track and adapt to it almost immediately,” said R. Schmögner, who raced in a Škoda 1000 MB, describing the essence of the secret trial. 

Can Škoda employees drive in reverse?

From Svijany, the tour returned in a loop to its destination, which as usual was the Metoděj Vlach Aviation Museum. During this route, the crews had to complete a guessing quiz and, just before that, another accuracy trial – this time in reversing. The task was to reverse as close as possible to a narrow board (which disappears from the exterior mirrors as you approach) without touching it. “You have to turn around and look through the rear window and have a knack for it, so to speak. I ended up reversing to a distance of 59 centimetres from the board,” said M. Daněk. However, the winner of this discipline got as close as four centimetres.

Good mood at the finish line

The racers evaluated the current year and looked back on previous ones. “I praise the organising team above all for not repeating the sections and tasks,” said R. Schmögner when evaluating the race. And the last surprise? M. Vlasák returned to the race track on Sunday – as a motorcyclist, he was intrigued by the S-bends near the village of Šimonovice, which were part of the route.

Info

This year’s rally winner was Roman Havelka with his Tatra 57. However, the race is not about the brand; the condition for participation is that the car must have been manufactured in 1994 or earlier. “We think that whatever the results, everyone is in it for a great experience,” as participants told us.

This event attracted my children to cars, especially my son who got a taste of what old cars are all about and now sometimes helps me repair our Felicia model.

Miroslav Vlasák

Škoda Felicia (1961)

The organisers always come up with something unusual; this time, for example, a robot served us drinks.

Michal Daněk

Škoda Favorit (1989)

I only missed the first three years of the Škoda Classic Tour, and I have to say that the route selection is always really great.

Bohuslav Brejša

Velorex 16/350 (1970)

I’ve watched the event grow from its original smaller format to its current size with hundreds of participants, but it still has an excellent atmosphere.

Róbert Schmögner

Škoda 1000 MB (1964)