Acropolis Rally: Kajetanowicz fights for the lead in the 2017 FIA European Rally Championship

• FIA European Rally Championship returns to extremely tough and rocky gravel roads;
• The LOTOS Rally Team crew will fight for another victory in Greece and for the lead in the 2017 FIA ERC standings;
• 12 crews in R5 cars on the provisional entry list, including Nasser Al-Attiyah – double Dakar Rally winner;
• Almost 230 competitive kilometres over 12 special stages, including the longest one – almost 34-kms Elatia-Karya test;
• Punishing characteristics of the Greek roads – a lot will depend on good car preparation and perfect pace notes.

The LOTOS Rally Team crew is ready for fight in the legendary Acropolis Rally: the Greek location on the map depicting the fierce “war” for the European Rally Championship title. If one wants to win it, he has to perform perfectly and faultlessly in all eight battles scattered all around Europe. Round number three is the 63rd running of this extremely difficult rally, where Kajetan Kajetanowicz and Jarek Baran have already discovered a winning formula. The Ford Fiesta R5 crew scored two podium finishes here and won two years ago, sealing the first of two Championship titles.

Seajets Acropolis Rally is run over almost 230 competitive kilometres divided into twelve special stages which take huge toll on rally cars. Among them there is the longest test of the whole Championship: Elatia-Karya stage, with almost 34 kilometres of fight with never-ending corners, on narrow and rocky roads, right on the limit of grip. This unique challenge will be taken twice during the final leg on Sunday.

Huge demands which crews have to face during this rally are not limited merely to dust and temperatures exceeding 50 degrees centigrade inside rally cars. Ability to stay focused, self-confidence and stamina play crucial roles. Strong international field of R5 cars means that the competition is extremely fierce. Here the speed counts: Kajto and Jarek proved it last year, winning eight out of twelve special stages and recording further three runner-up times.

There are 28 crews on the entry list, including 12 in R5 cars. Top spot belongs to Bruno Magalhães from Portugal, who currently leads the FIA ERC standings. Kajetan Kajetanowicz will fight for the lead with starting number two. Nasser Al-Attiyah , double Dakar Rally winner, the 2006 Production World Rally Champion, double WRC-2 champion (in 2014 and 2015) and three-time winner of the FIA Cross Country Cup (2008, 2015 and 2016), joins the field for the first time this season. The Qatari driver got starting number three.

The base of the rally, run on 2-4 June, is located in Lamia, sister city of Rzeszów: host of the Polish round of the 2017 FIA European Rally Championship. The archeological traces on the castle hill above the city date back to the Bronze Age. In this area King Leonidas of Sparta led the Greeks to victory over the Persian army almost 2.5 thousand years ago.

Kajetan Kajetanowicz: – Acropolis Rally is a good character lesson and the previous edition proved that you must never give up in rallies. Unpredictable situations and plenty of crucial details underline the beauty of this sport and this is why I am absolutely focused on my preparations, in order to foresee as many variables as possible. After exceptionally difficult rounds in the Azores and Canary Islands the whole LOTOS Rally Team face a busy month: just two weeks after Greece we will be fighting in Cyprus. I believe in every single member of our team because I know their potential and I know that we share a common goal.

Starts of Kajetan Kajetanowicz and Jarek Baran are supported by strategic partner of LOTOS Rally Team – LOTOS Group – as well as CUBE.ITG, Delphi and Driving Experience. More info about Kajetan Kajetanowicz and the team available at: www.lotosrallyteam.pl, www.kajto.pl, www.facebook.com/EmocjeDoPelna, www.facebook.com/KajetanKajetanowicz and www.twitter.com/Kajto_pl

The 2017 Acropolis Rally in numbers:

• 3rd round of eight in the 2017 FIA European Rally Championship;
• 3rd position of Kajetan and Jarek in the overall FIA ERC standings ahead of Acropolis Rally;
• 11 out of 12 (92%) top three finishes by Kajto and Jarek on last year’s special stages, including 8 stage wins (66.6%);
• 2 podium finishes for LOTOS Rally Team in overall classification of the Greek round, including one victory;
• 12 R5 cars on the entry list of Acropolis Rally;
• 229.74 competitive kilometres – total length of 12 special stages;
• 4th outing of Kajetanowicz in this rally;
• 1488 kms is the straight-line distance from Warsaw, capital city of Poland, to rally base in Lamia;
• 33.86 kms – the longest special stage of the rally, Elatia/Karya test run on Sunday;
• 2 – Dakar Rally victories for Nasser Al-Attiyah who will also take part in the Greek event;
• 35 points scored by the LOTOS Rally Team crew in the opening two rallies of this season;
• On 13 out of 28 special stages run in this year’s FIA ERC Kajetanowicz and Baran recorded top-three times in the overall classification;
• 63rd edition of this event takes place this year;
• 105 – the number of stages won in the FIA ERC by the LOTOS Rally Team driver;
• Five wins in Acropolis Rally by its record holder Colin McRae, the 1995 World Rally Champion;
• 38 times this event was a part of the World Rally Championship calendar;
• In 1973 Acropolis Rally was a round of the World Rally Championship for the first time and since 2014 it has been a European Rally Championship event;
• In their 18 previous FIA ERC outings Kajto and Jarek scored points.

Schedule of the 2017 Acropolis Rally (all times are CET):

Friday 2 June:

07:30 – Free Practice
10:23 – Qualifying Stage (3.70 kms)
13:00 – Selection of start positions (Lamia)
14:10 – Press conference (Lamia)
17:30 – Starting ceremony (Lamia)

Saturday 3 June (6 special stages, 103.06 competitive kilometres):

09:08 – SS 1 – Gravia 1 (24.81 kms)
10:01 – SS 2 – Amfissa 1 (14.29 kms)
11:04 – SS 3 – Paleohori 1 (12.43 kms)
12:09 – Service A – 30 mins (Lamia)

13:47 – SS 4 – Gravia 2 (24.81 kms)
14:40 – SS 5 – Amfissa 2 (14.29 kms)
15:43 – SS 6 – Paleohori 2 (12.43 kms)
Flexi Service B – 45 mins (Lamia)

Sunday 4 June (6 special stages, 126.68 competitive kilometres):

07:00 – Service C – 15 mins (Lamia)
07:55 – SS 7 – Eleftherohori 1 (25.20 kms)
08:48 – SS 8 – Rengini 1 (15.01 kms)
09:16 – SS 9 – Elatia/Karya 1 (14.50 kms)
10:56 – Service D – 30 mins (Lamia)

12:06 – SS 10 – Eleftherohori 2 (25.20 kms)
12:59 – SS 11 – Rengini 2 (15.01 kms)
13:27 – SS 12 – Elatia/Karya 2 (14.50 kms)
14:50 – Service E – 10 mins (Lamia)
15:04 – Ceremonial Finish (Lamia)

The 2017 FIA European Rally Championship standings ahead of Acropolis Rally:

1. Bruno Magalhães (Portugal) 63 points
2. Alexey Lukyanuk (Russia) 46 points
3. Kajetan Kajetanowicz (Poland) 35 points
4. Marijan Griebel (Germany) 27 points
5. José Maria López (Spain) 27 points
6. Josh Moffett (Ireland) 20 points
7. Iván Ares (Spain) 19 points
8. Nikolay Gryazin (Russia) 15 points
9. Luis Monzón Artilles (Spain) 15 points
10. Pedro Meireles (Portugal) 9 points