Veiby dropped by Skoda, switches to Citroen for Rally GB
Skoda has dropped its Norwegian driver Ole Christian Veiby, leaving the 22-year-old to switch his Wales Rally GB entry to a Citroen C3 R5.
Veiby had been part of the Skoda factory team since the start of last season. He finished second to MRF teammate Gaurav Gill in the Asia Pacific Rally Championship, but has been shown the door after failing to demonstrate the same WRC2 performance as fellow Skoda drivers Esapekka Lappi and Pontus Tidemand.
There had been speculation Veiby was dismissed for posting commercially sensitive images on social media, but neither Skoda or his management could confirmthat.
Veiby hasn’t won a WRC2 round this year and Skoda team principal Michal Hrabanek said Veiby’s departure was part of a bigger picture.
“We will modify our motorsport strategy for 2019,” Hrabanek said. “Based on this, Ole Christian Veiby and [co-driver] Stig Rune Skjaermoen will leave the team.”
Only Kalle Rovanpera is understood to have a contract to drive a Fabia R5 next season, with Jan Kopecky and Tidemand unsure of their future with the Czech team. Veiby will test a C3 R5 for two days before Wales.
“It’s a positive thing for me to get experience behind the wheel in another car,” he said.
Welshman Tomcave has also confirmed his WRC2 entry to Wales Rally GB. As expected, he will drive a Hyundai i20 R5.