The rally was founded in 1971 and takes its name from Barum, a tyre company with historical roots in Zlín. In its earliest years the event served as a round of the Czechoslovakia Rally Championship, building a domestic following before gaining wider recognition through international series. The Mitropa Cup and the Alpe Adria Rally Cup both featured the Zlín rally in the years before it graduated to the European Rally Championship in 1984, a position it has held for the majority of its history since.
The political changes of the early 1990s reshaped the domestic championship context around the event. The dissolution of Czechoslovakia in 1992 saw the national championship rebrand as the Czech-Slovak Rally Championship, before splitting into separate Czech Republic Rally Championship and Slovak Rally Championship competitions in 1994. The Austrian Rally Championship also intermittently included the Zlín event. At various points the rally became part of the short-lived Intercontinental Rally Challenge before the ERC reclaimed its place on the calendar.
The rally is held in forested terrain to the east of Zlín, with stages running toward the Czech-Slovak border. The tarmac surface tends to be narrow and technical, with elevation changes and sequences of medium-speed corners that reward precision and consistent rhythm over raw power. The surrounding countryside provides a scenic backdrop that has helped the event maintain a loyal spectator base across decades.
Stage roads in the region can carry surface debris and varying grip levels, making tyre choice a significant factor in competitive outcomes. The event's location in central Europe gives it a strategic importance as a focal point for Czech, Slovak, and Austrian competitors.
No driver has defined the modern era of the Barum Czech Rally Zlín as thoroughly as Jan Kopecký. The Czech driver has won his home event ten times, a record that reflects both his technical mastery of the local stage roads and the depth of his experience competing on them. Kopecký's dominance has become one of the defining narratives of the rally in its ERC phase, with each appearance raising the question of whether he can extend his remarkable tally further.
Since joining the ERC in 1984, the Barum Czech Rally Zlín has remained one of the anchoring events of the European calendar. Its inclusion through the Intercontinental Rally Challenge era and its subsequent return to the ERC underline the rally's durability as an event capable of attracting top-level competition. The combination of a historic domestic series pedigree, a competitive tarmac format, and a reliable organisational structure has made Zlín a consistent fixture in European rally planning.
More than fifty years after its founding, the Barum Czech Rally Zlín is a landmark event in Central European motorsport. It represents a direct line from the Czechoslovakian rally scene of the early 1970s through to contemporary ERC competition, carrying with it the record of drivers and teams who have shaped rally sport in the region. Jan Kopecký's ten victories stand as the event's signature record, while the rally itself continues to serve as a keystone round for the Czech and Slovak rally communities.