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30 years of competing. 30 years of being a united team.
We are, of course, talking about one of the oldest Slovakian rally teams
in which the main part since the beginning has been played
by the Koči brothers, Peter and Michal.
After years when the team was represented by drivers of different names
a turn of events has arrived.
The name Koči has once again occured
in the Styllex motorsport team.
If we take the significant life anniversary of the team principal,
there was nothing standing in the way
of creating a DVD about the youngest team member
of the famous rally crew from Košice, Martin Koči.
The beginnings of Martin’s riding career go back to the year 1999.
As a six year old he was trying the Buggy Havel at that time.
He also experienced his first rollover accident in it.
Later on he drove the bigger Buggy Havel with a 100cc
kart engine around a field outside of Pereš where he lives
with his parents and his sister Monika.
However, this was all a part of a period without any
participation at motoring events.
Gradually, as he grew, he went through several motorsports
disciplines at domestinc and foreing championships.
The first discipline aside from the earlier mentioned
riding at home were mini karts.
When it comes to this sport we are talking about
a motoring sports discipline, however this racing
implement does not have an engine.
What it has is a steering wheel, 4 wheels and most
importantly dual circuit brakes that teach the driver
how to perceive tha racing line, as well as the speed itself.
And, precisely by the book, not to hit the brakes
when it is not neccessary.
Martin enjoyed his first start with a mini kart as a nine year old
in 2003. Thanks to this late entrance to the motoring sports scene,
only three years later he had the chance to try out racing with
an engine in the autocross discipline.
This includes racing on an unpaved, gravel surface.
Looking at the achieved success the audience could state
one thing only; that he is doing significantly better
with a motor drive.
Namely since it didn’t take him long at all to earn
recognition in autocross. A year after starting with
a junior buggy with a 600 cc Yamaha engine
he reached the champion of Slovakia title within the D3
junior buggy division. Simultaneuosly he won
the second place within the Central Europe zone.
It is never a long way from autocross to road cars.
After two years in autocross Martin switched to his first road car
and the circuit race discipline. The reason was
for him to become aquainted with mastering the race car
on an asphalt surface, to improve his racing line and his
recognition of braking points. Circuit races are perfect for that.
During this season he also participated in his first hill climb
auto race on the famous hill called Dobšinský kopec with the same
vehicle he raced in on the circuits.
When it comes to circuit races he participaded in races
in different countries. In Hungary it was the well known Hungaroring.
In Czech Republic it was the circuit in Brno. He also
participated in Polan and Croatia
and even the last competition on the circuit in Piešťany which
was later on, for safety reasons, replaced by the first proper
circuit in the south of Slovakia called Slovakiaring.
Martin has already competed on this circuit as well,
however it was in a different motoring sports discipline.
During his circuit career he drove a vehicle with a 1,4 L engine.
It was rented from Marián Pilárik, a former rival of his uncle Peter
and father Michal at the beginning of their carreer.
And the vehicle was Škoda again, just like many years
before in the Styllex team.
In Martin’s case it was Škoda Fabia 1,4.
In his debut season he finished third withing the Slovakian Championship
and second withing the international Czech Championship.
Of course all of this was in the E1 up to 1400 class.
By the end of the season in 2008 Martin managed
to participate in a test for a formula school called
Formula Academy in Le Mans, France. He passed the test
successfully but for various reasons he did not enroll in the end.
After the experience with the circuit races and with his growing age,
but mostly thanks to the rules concerning the rally sprints
in Czech Republic which enable young drivers who are 16 years
and older to participate in rally sprint events, Martin went
in a direction which was close to his heart since childhood.
Following the footsteps of his father Michal and uncle Peter
this chosen direction was, of course, rally.
The beginnings of his rally career were once again connected
to the vehicle Škoda Fabia 1,4 which was briefly replaced
with Volkswagen Polo with the same engine capacity.
The results arrived immediately.
Martin Koči along with his co-driver Imrich Ferencz
won the junior cup 2009 in Czech Republic.
Martin, following his fathers footsteps, also experienced
being a co-driver during the last event of the season
with Škoda Octavia WRC.
With the end of the season approaching Martin also participated
in a selection of young and talente drivers called Formula Star
where the Czech team Křenek motorsport was looking for talented
drivers to include in formula races.
Once again he succeeded by getting into the top 10 drivers.
However, his heart and mind were set on rally.
During the 2010 season he participated in the Czech Championship
rally sprint events again.
This year even the domestic fans had the opportunity to see him
during selected events in Slovakia.
In both countries he won the junior cup for Czech Republic
and in Slovakia he won the junior rally cup at Rally Prešov.
It was the first time this event was open to drivers
from 16 years, Czech Republic being the example in this matter.
The 2011 season brought one significant change in particular.
Martin reached an age in which he could, according to the rally
regulations, switch for a more powerful vehicle.
Therefore a transfer to Citroën C2 R2 MAX occured, and with it
the participation at Citroën Racing Trophy in Czech Republic as well.
He did fairly well in this competition and, while facing
significantly more experienced and older colleagues,
by the end of the season the third place was his to claim.
However, by then the year 2012 was knocking on the door
and with it another pile of changes and news.
By this day we can say that Martin handled these changes
splendidly and that the 2012 season enlisted in his life
as one of the best in his career so far.
However, let’s take it one step at a time.
The first change was that Martin had to learn to listen
to a different voice than he had been used to until then.
A new member of the Styllex motorsport team joined him in the car
as a co-driver. It was a young but experienced Lukáš Zámečník.
Another change occured in the programme of the crew,
which consisted not only of events in Czech Republic,
but mainly of those connected to the World Rally Championship.
Styllex motorsport participated in these events with one goal only,
for Martin and Lukáš to gather as many experiences as possible.
It all started with a competition in Greece, the famous Rally Acropolis.
The young crew of Styllex motorsport competed
with Citroën C2 R2 MAX from the MT3 Project team
lead by Tomáš Čabla. This team proved to be perfectly
prepared and thanks to this fact Martin and Lukáš
successfully finished the race even despite the complications
caused by the high level of difficulty of this competition.
Their position was more than good.
They became the unofficial winners of the 2WD category
and finished at the 23rd place in total ranking.
After their first WRC experience the young duo from
Styllex participated in Rally Finland as well.
However, due to an unfortunate crash they did not finish.
In the 2012 season they also participated in Rallye
Deutschland within the world series WRC Academy intended
for young drivers. They competed with Ford Fiesta R2.
Despite the damaged rear left wheel suspension, as well
as problems with the engine electronics at the beginning
of the second racing day, they have successfully finished the race.
Since the Citroën was damaged to an extent that it was impossible
to compete with it after Rally Finland, Styllex motorsport
used this moment to try out the strong 4WD vehicle
Mitsubishi Lancer EVO IX.
As it turned out right after the first even with this vehicle,
it was a step taken in the right direction and Martin
had no problem getting used to a 4WD.
We also have to mention the success at an event included
in the IRC series, Barum Rally Zlín, where the Styllex motorsport
crew ended 17th in total ranking an 5th in class 3.
And Rally Příbram as well, where Martin and Lukáš ended 4th
in the total ranking and 2nd in their class.
After that Rally Vsetín followed, where the crew won within
their class after a hard fight with the domestic competition.
In addition, at the last event of the season which was the Slovakiaring
Autoshow the young duo from Styllex introduced itself in Škoda S2000.
They ended up 6th in total ranking even despite the fairly strong
competition of teams from Czech Republic, Poland and Hungary.
In conclusion it is safe to say that Martin is growing from one event to another.
In the season 2013 Martin, along with the Styllex motorsport team,
should participate in events connected to the Slovakian Championship
as well as in selected events of the Junior World Rally Championship.
A special thanks for all the success up to this day belongs not only
to his father Michal who, as a former active co-driver, led him to this sport,
but to his uncle Peter as well for gathering the finances necessary
for the functioning of Styllex motorsport as its principal...