Croatia Rally 2022: extremely tough conditions, Kajetanowicz among the frontrunners

Rain, mud and mist accompany the competitors during round three of the World Rally Championship, Croatia Rally. Kajetan Kajetanowicz and Maciej Szczepaniak show good performance in these difficult conditions, finishing the opening loop in fifth position in the WRC2 standings, around fifteen seconds behind top-three position. The LOTOS Rally Team crew fight for victory in their first WRC outing this year, supported by Polish fans who despite adverse weather conditions showed up in large numbers on the stages.

The opening loop of Croatia Rally 2022 consisted of four special stages, with combined length of over 60 kilometres. Kajetanowicz and Szczepaniak did their best job on second test, recording fourth-fastest time on the longest stage of the day. They finished other stages with small gaps to the top crews, holding fifth position ahead of the second loop. Rossel and Sarreaut lead the standings, with top three completed by Ingram/Drew and Gryazin/Aleksandrov.

– I gain more speed and confidence with every kilometre. This is very important in these conditions, in addition to slippery tarmac and rain we also have plenty of mud on the road. For me the last rally with such conditions was at Monza in 2020, basically one and a half year ago. We have completed a solid first loop, I am happy. I enjoy our fights against these very fast drivers and I hope that the second part of the day will also go according to the plan

– says Kajetan Kajetanowicz, the LOTOS Rally Team driver.

On the second loop the crews will complete another runs of the same four stages: Mali Lipovec-Grdanjci (19.20 kms, at 15:05 CET), Stojdraga-Gornja Vas (20.77 kms, at 15:58 CET), Krašić-Vrškovac (11.11 kms, at 16:51 CET) and Pećurkovo Brdo-Mrežnički Novaki (9.11 kms, at 18:04 CET).

Starts of Kajetan Kajetanowicz are supported by strategic partner of the LOTOS Rally Team – Grupa LOTOS, technical partner Delphi Technologies, as well as Pirelli, SJS Driving Experience and Grupa Sikora.

Croatia Rally 2022, unofficial WRC2 standings after SS4:

1. Rossel/Sarreaud (France, Citroën C3 Rally2) 40:18.9
2. Ingram/Drew (Great Britain, Škoda Fabia Rally2 evo) +16.6
3. Gryazin/Aleksandrov (Russia, Škoda Fabia Rally2 evo) +29.7
4. Lefebvre/Malfoy (France, Citroën C3 Rally2) +34.5
5. Kajetanowicz/Szczepaniak (Poland, Škoda Fabia Rally2 evo) +44.6
6. Camilli/de la Haye (France, Citroën C3 Rally2) +45.7
7. Huttunen/Lukka (Finland, Ford Fiesta Rally2) +1:03.4
8. Lindholm/Hämäläinen (Finland, Škoda Fabia Rally2 evo) +1:09.1
9. Munster/Louka (Luxembourg/Belgium, Hyundai i20 N Rally2) +1:22.1
10. Cais/Těšínský (Czech Republic, Ford Fiesta Rally2) +2:07.8