The first leg of Rally di Roma Capitale, round seven of the 2017 FIA European Rally Championship, has come to an end. Kajetan Kajetanowicz and Jarek Baran fight for their third consecutive title in Italy. They moved into second position overall over the course of today’s final loop. The LOTOS Rally Team crew kept excellent and consistent pace, driving with confidence and avoiding mistakes. This performance brought them one step closer to their much-desired goal – another triumph!
– We have completed a long day filled with hard but successful work. The whole team performed very well and we can draw plenty of positives from this leg. The final stage was full of tight, unseen corners. We tackled it after dusk, in darkness, and unfortunately I did not have additional side headlamps. They help to illuminate corner exits and without them I was not able to push right to the limit, I regret it a bit. However, we trail the leaders by just seven seconds, so we need to set a plan for tomorrow. A lot of things can happen, especially regarding the weather – it is already raining quite heavily. This is a new rally and there are many new things but it also gives us a boost – commented Kajetan Kajetanowicz just before entering the evening service zone.
Kajto holds second position in overall rally classification, losing just seven seconds to the leader, French driver Bryan Bouffier (Ford Fiesta R5). Top three is completed by Portuguese driver Bruno Magalhães (+25.5 seconds, Skoda Fabia R5). Russia’s Alexey Lukyanuk did not reach the finish line after tearing a wheel off his Ford Fiesta R5. Thanks to his runner-up spot after today’s leg, Kajetanowicz added another six points to his championship tally.
Sunday’s final leg is 106.16-kms long. The drivers will fight on three special stages, with two runs of each. Top European Championship competitors face two runs of the longest test – over 33-kms long Cave-Rocca Santo Stefano test! Heavy rain is forecasted overnight and the opening stage starts at 8:13 CET.
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.fb.com/EmocjeDoPelna, www.fb.com/KajetanKajetanowicz, www.twitter.com/Kajto_pl and www.youtube.com/Kajtopl
Unofficial classification after SS6 of Rally di Roma Capitale:
1. Bryan Bouffier / Xavier Panseri (France, Ford Fiesta R5) 56:41.4
2. Kajetan Kajetanowicz / Jarosław Baran (Poland, Ford Fiesta R5) +7.0 s
3. Bruno Magalhães / Hugo Magalhães (Portugal, Skoda Fabia R5) +25.5 s
4. Grzegorz Grzyb / Jakub Wróbel (Poland, Skoda Fabia R5) +36.9 s
5. Łukasz Habaj / Daniel Dymurski (Poland, Ford Fiesta R5) +1:02.8 s
Complete results available soon on www.fiaerc.com/live-timing/
