Battle in Cyprus gets underway – the LOTOS Rally Team crew is ready for round four of the 2017 FIA European Rally Championship

• LOTOS Rally Team crew completed the Qualifying Stage and is ready for the beginning of Leg One tomorrow;
• Official Starting Ceremony for the 2017 Cyprus Rally, round four of the FIA European Rally Championship, takes place tonight;
• Competitors face fourteen special stages with combined length of almost 220 kilometres;
• Kajetanowicz and Baran currently hold second place in the FIA ERC standings.

Round four of the 2017 FIA European Rally Championship, Cyprus Rally, starts tonight in Larnaca, over two thousand kilometres away from the capital city of Poland. For Kajetan Kajetanowicz and Jarek Baran this exotic event marks another point on their map of the battle for third consecutive championship title. This mixed, gravel and asphalt rally is contested in tough conditions, with temperatures exceeding 40 degrees centigrade, on very demanding, rough and rarely used roads. Here the best pace is not always the most important thing – first and foremost it is essential to avoid car damage on rough sections and huge rocks scattered all over the road.

The shakedown ahead of Cyprus Rally got underway on Friday (16 June) at 6:00 CET. The 4.85-kms test was later run as the Qualifying Stage and its results determined the starting position selection order. Kajetanowicz and Baran recorded tenth fastest time – losing 22 seconds due to tyre puncture in their Ford Fiesta R5. Fortunately according to regulations this stage does not count towards the overall classification.

Tonight the Starting Ceremony takes place in the coast city of Larnaca. The opening stage starts on Saturday morning (17 June), before 7:00 CET. The whole distance of Cyprus Rally exceeds 720 kilometres, including almost 220 competitive kilometres divided into fourteen special stages. The Saturday’s leg consists of eight tests and the longest one (Kalo Chorio) is over 21 kilometres long. Ahead of round four of the 2017 FIA ERC, the LOTOS Rally Team crew holds second position in overall standings.

Kajetan Kajetanowicz:

– Cyprus Rally is a very demanding round, especially for the car. High temperatures, lots of dust, also inside the car – you cannot avoid this. The Qualifying Stage showed that 100% pushing to the maximum will not be the best tactics – in such case the chances of reaching the finish line are quite slim. The stages resemble the famous off road Dakar, but not in all places. It is also difficult because it is tricky to get the right setup, the surface changes a lot. However, we enjoy this rally very much, we are second in the championship and our goal is to maintain this position – at least.

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 results of the Qualifying Stage ahead of the 2017 Acropolis Rally:
1. Gryazin/Fedorov (Russia, Skoda Fabia R5) 3:39.220
2. Al-Attiyah/Baumel (Qatar/France, Ford Fiesta R5) +0.783 s
3. Magalhães/Magalhães (Portugal, Skoda Fabia R5) +6.372 s
4. Bostanci/Vatansever (Turkey, Ford Fiesta R5) +9.044 s
5. Tsouloftas/Elia (Cyprus, Citroen DS3 R5) +10.136 s
6. Tlusťák/Vybíral (Czech Republic, Skoda Fabia R5) +13.109 s
7. Timotheou/Kouzionis (Cyprus, Skoda Fabia R5) +8.010 s
8. Remennik/Rozin (Russia, Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X) +15.720 s
9. Demosthenous/Laos (Cyprus, Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX) +19.673 s
10. Kajetanowicz/Baran (Poland, Ford Fiesta R5) +22.986 s

The 2017 FIA European Rally Championship standings after Acropolis Rally (round 3 of 8):
1. Bruno Magalhães (Portugal) 93 points
2. Kajetan Kajetanowicz (Poland) 72 points
3. Alexey Lukyanuk (Russia) 46 points
4. Marijan Griebel (Germany) 27 points
5. José Maria López (Spain) 27 points
6. Grzegorz Grzyb (Poland) 22 points
7. Josh Moffett (Ireland) 20 points
8. Iván Ares (Spain) 19 points
9. Socratis Tsolakidis (Greece) 19 points
10. Alexandros Tsouloftas (Cyprus) 16 points

The 2017 Cyprus Rally in numbers:

• 2nd position of Kajetan and Jarek in the overall FIA ERC standings ahead of Cyprus Rally;
• 4th round of eight in the 2017 FIA European Rally Championship;
• 21 points – the gap between Kajetanowicz and current FIA ERC leader;
• 112 – the number of stages won by Kajto in the FIA ERC;
• 20% (43.9 kms) of special stages is on asphalt, the remaining 80% (175.8 kms) on rocky gravel roads;
• 2140 kms is the straight-line distance from Warsaw, capital city of Poland, to rally base in Nicosia;
• 3rd outing of Kajetanowicz in this rally;
• 2 podium finishes for LOTOS Rally Team, including one FIA ERC victory;
• 23.43 kms – the longest special stage of the rally, Cytanet Avdelero;
• 12 special stages won by Kajetanowicz and Baran in their previous outings in this event;
• Four wins in Cyprus Rally by its record holder, nine-time World Rally Champion Sébastien Loeb;
• 14 special stages (219.74 kms) to cover in this year’s Cyprus Rally;
• 72 points scored by the LOTOS Rally Team crew in the opening three rallies of this season;
• 8 times this event was a part of the World Rally Championship calendar;
• 24,000 euro – the prize fund for the best crews on Love Cyprus Golden Stage;
• 59 crews in 4WD cars on the entry list of Cyprus Rally;
• 47 drivers in R5 cars took part in three previous rounds of the 2017 FIA ERC;
• 2 – Dakar Rally victories for Nasser Al-Attiyah who will also take part in the Cypriot event;
• 46th edition of this event takes place this year;
• In their 19 previous FIA ERC outings Kajto and Jarek scored points.

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

Friday 16 June:

06:00 – Free Practice
09:03 – Qualifying Stage (4.85 kms)
12:30 – Selection of start positions (Nicosia)
13:30 – Press conference (Nicosia)
18:00 – Starting ceremony (Larnaca)

Saturday 17 June:

06:43 – SS 1 – Kalo Chorio 1 (21.66 kms; 75% gravel, 25% asphalt)
07:36 – SS 2 – Giorgos Kyprianou Lefkara 1 (18.48 kms; 79% gravel, 21% asphalt)
08:24 – SS 3 – Cytanet Analiontas 1 (14.41 kms; 100% gravel)
10:27 – SS 4 – CNP Asfalistiki Super Special Stage 1 (4.15 kms; 27% gravel, 73% asphalt)
11:02 – Service A – 30 mins (Nicosia)

12:15 – SS 5 – Kalo Chorio 2 (21.66 kms; 75% gravel, 25% asphalt)
13:08 – SS 6 – Giorgos Kyprianou Lefkara 2 (18.48 kms; 79% gravel, 21% asphalt)
13:56 – SS 7 – Cytanet Analiontas 2 (14.41 kms; 100% gravel)
15:59 – SS 8 – CNP Asfalistiki Super Special Stage 2 (4.15 kms; 27% gravel, 73% asphalt)
Flexi Service B – 45 mins (Nicosia)

Length of special stages, Leg 1: 117.40 kms

Sunday 18 June:

07:32 – Service C – 15 mins (Nicosia)
08:10 – SS 9 – Psaltis Eneos Yeri 1 (22.00 kms; 81% gravel, 19% asphalt)
09:08 – SS 10 – Cytanet Avdelero 1 (23.43 kms; 82% gravel, 18% asphalt)
10:23 – Service D – 30 mins (Nicosia)

11:16 – SS 11 – Psaltis Eneos Yeri 2 (22.00 kms; 81% gravel, 19% asphalt)
12:14 – SS 12 – Cytanet Avdelero 2 (23.43 kms; 82% gravel, 18% asphalt)
13:29 – Service E – 30 mins (Nicosia)

14:57 – SS 13 – Love Cyprus Golden Stage 1 (5.31 kms; 100% gravel)
15:30 – SS 14 – Love Cyprus Golden Stage 2 (6.17 kms; 74% gravel, 26% asphalt)
16:03 – Service F – 10 mins (Nicosia)
17:00 – Ceremonial Finish (Nicosia)

Length of special stages, Leg 2: 102.34 kms
Length of special stages, Cyprus Rally: 219.74 kms