Kajetan Kajetanowicz and Maciej Szczepaniak have enjoyed a great first outing in their new rally car, in Rally Italia Sardegna – round six of the World Rally Championship. The ORLEN Rally Team crew won the WRC2 Challenger classification, scoring third position in the WRC2 standings – finishing behind two factory cars!
Kajetanowicz and Szczepaniak fight for another top three finish in the World Rally Championship this year. This was their second outing in 2023, after Rally México in March – when they also won the WRC2 Challenger category and claimed fourth position in the WRC2 standings. Now the ORLEN Rally Team crew drove a new Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 for the first time, getting to know this car step by step, in difficult and unpredictable conditions. Thanks to fast and consistent pace, they scored another victory in the WRC2 Challenger field and claimed a podium finish in the WRC2 classification!
– We have reached the finish of this difficult rally, in very tough weather conditions. I think that our first event in a new car was very positive. I felt better and better behind the steering wheel, even in those unpredictable conditions. We won the WRC2 Challenger standings, for privateers, and we took third position in the overall WRC2 classification – in one of the strongest fields this season. Another top three finish among around 40 crews – it’s a fantastic result! Many thanks to the whole ORLEN Rally Team, everybody put a lot of effort, so that we could focus and do our job in the best possible way. Nevertheless, there is still plenty of work to do
– Kajetan Kajetanowicz, triple European Rally Champion, summed up the rally.
Kajetanowicz takes the lead in the WRC2 Challenger standings, even on points with Nikolay Gryazin. His next chance to score will come in Rally Safari Kenya, on 21-25 June. The ORLEN Rally Team driver has great memories from this extremely difficult African round: last year he won the WRC2 classification there, scoring ninth position in the overall standings.
Starts of Kajetan Kajetanowicz are supported by titular partner of the ORLEN Rally Team – PKN ORLEN, as well as technical partner Delphi Technologies, Pirelli, ATC CARGO S.A., PLATINUM ORLEN OIL brand, QUAZAR LOTOS OIL brand and SJS S.A.
Rally Italia Sardegna 2023, unofficial WRC2 standings:
- Mikkelsen/Eriksen (Škoda Fabia RS Rally2) 3:49:34.7
- Suninen/Markkula (Hyundai i20 N Rally2) +2:15.6 s
- Kajetanowicz/Szczepaniak (Škoda Fabia RS Rally2) +3:12.8 s
- Rossel/Dunand (Citroën C3 Rally2) +3:20.2 s
- Marczyk/Gospodarczyk (Škoda Fabia RS Rally2) +6:00.5 s
- Cais/Těšínský (Škoda Fabia RS Rally2) +7:16.1 s
- Munster/Louka (Ford Fiesta Rally2) +7:50.7 s
- Joona/Shemeikka (Škoda Fabia RS Rally2) +8:56.6 s
- Prokop/Ernst (Škoda Fabia RS Rally2) +10:34.2 s
- McErlean/Rowan (Hyundai i20 N Rally2) +11:14.9 s
