Second place in WRC2 Challenger and sixth in WRC2 – this are the final results of Kajetan Kajetanowicz and Maciej Szczepaniak in Acropolis Rally! The ORLEN Rally Team duo finished as runners-up among privateer crews, taking the fight against factory drivers. Despite problems during previous legs, the Poles remained close to the forefront and scored important points in Greece, which will help them in their battle for top positions in the championship.
Kajetanowicz and Szczepaniak have started the crucial stage of their 2023 campaign. The WRC2 competitors can score points in seven rallies and up to now the Polish crew have taken part in four rounds – including Acropolis Rally. The ORLEN Rally Team duo finished Rally México in fourth position and claimed the final podium spot in Rally Italia Sardegna. Afterwards Kajto and Maciek tackled the legendary Safari Rally Kenya, winning this event and scoring an excellent, eighth position in the overall standings. Only crews in the most powerful Rally1 cars finished ahead.
The Greek WRC counter is one of the most challenging rounds, especially for the cars. Stones, ruts and changeable grip levels have great influence on the rally cars – suspension or tyres can easily get damaged. Kajetanowicz and Szczepaniak were perfectly prepared for the rally and when everything went smoothly, they were able to take up the fight against factory crews. Unfortunately, two punctures and intercom malfunction caused significant time losses and resulted in sixth position at the finish. The Polish duo took a respectable second place among non-factory competitors.
– Acropolis Rally has come to an end. We are in sixth position there was a chance to take third place but unfortunately we experienced some struggles. Two punctures pushed as way down the order. The pace was quite reasonable on most of the stages. I am happy although I’d love to score more points here. However, the points we have are very important and I hope they will be useful at the end of the season. We are in second position among non-factory crews and in sixth in WRC2. The whole ORLEN Rally Team should be proud of this effort. I thinks it bodes well ahead of Rally Chile. We have good pace and set-up which needs some improvements for a new type of surface but we think positive
– Kajetan Kajetanowicz, the ORLEN Rally Team driver, commented after Acropolis Rally.
Exotic round eleven of the 2023 World Rally Championship takes place in Chile, on 28 September-1 October. Nineteen WRC2 crews have entered the event – including Kajetanowicz and Szczepaniak, who travel to South America as seventh crew in the WRC2 championship and the WRC2 Challenger leaders.
Starts of Kajetan Kajetanowicz are supported by the title partner of the ORLEN Rally Team – PKN ORLEN, as well as technical partner Delphi Technologies, Pirelli, ATC CARGO S.A., ORLEN OIL – manufacturer of PLATINUM and QUAZAR Dynamic oils, and SJS S.A.
Acropolis Rally 2023, unofficial WRC2 classification:
- Mikkelsen/Eriksen (Norway, Škoda Fabia RS Rally2) 3:09:57.7
- Greensmith/Andersson (Great Britain/Sweden, Škoda Fabia RS Rally2) +10.3
- Rossel/Dunand (France, Citroën C3 Rally2) +1:26.0
- Fourmaux/Coria (France, Ford Fiesta Rally2) +2:16.1
- Munster/Louka (Luxembourg/Belgium, Ford Fiesta Rally2) +2:34.7
- Kajetanowicz/Szczepaniak (Poland, Škoda Fabia RS Rally2) +2:54.8
- Joona/Shemeikka (Finland, Škoda Fabia RS Rally2) +3:07.4
- Prokop/Ernst (Czech Republic, Ford Fiesta Rally2) +7:19.9
- Marczyk/Gospodarczyk (Poland, Škoda Fabia RS Rally2) +13:03.3
- Cachón/Jandrín (Spain, Citroën C3 Rally2) +16:36.8
