The crews competing in the Central European Rally moved to Austria and Germany, to fight on Saturday’s leg. They still face very difficult weather conditions: the roads are wet, with plenty of mud. It is important to keep up a good pace and to stay cautious at the same time, as even the tiniest mistake might cause a retirement. Kajetan Kajetanowicz and Maciej Szczepaniak successfully avoid problems, maintaining their position among top WRC2 crews.
The ORLEN Rally Team duo with every stage gets to know their new car, driving it for the first time on tarmac in a WRC round. Tough weather conditions mean that the Polish crew need to gain experience really quick – which is never easy at the World Rally Championship level, fighting for fractions of seconds. However, Kajetanowicz and Szczepaniak perform very well, staying close to top three positions in the WRC2 and WRC2 Challenger standings. After eleven special stages they hold fifth and fourth position respectively.
– The opening loop on Saturday was very demanding – although the rain eased off, the conditions are still difficult. Now it’s time for the second loop and I think that tyre choice might prove to be crucial now. It has been clear until now but it gets less obvious. My feeling in the car gets better, I am playing a bit with our setup. I am getting to know our machine, we are improving step by step
– says Kajetan Kajetanowicz, the ORLEN Rally Team driver.
In the afternoon the crews tackle the same set of three stages: SS12 Schärdinger Innviertel (15.72 kms, starts at 15:15), SS13 Mühltal (27.15 kms, at 17:01) and SS14 Knaus Tabbert Bayerischer Wald (11.88 kms, at 18:05). The final stage of the day will be run after dusk.
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., PLATINUM ORLEN OIL brand, QUAZAR LOTOS OIL brand and SJS S.A.
Central European Rally 2023, unofficial WRC2 standings after SS11:
- Lindholm/Hämäläinen (Hyundai i20 N Rally2) 1:53:09.6
- Ciamin/Roche (Škoda Fabia RS Rally2) +16.3
- Cais/Trunkát (Škoda Fabia RS Rally2) +17.6
- Gryazin/Aleksandrov (Škoda Fabia RS Rally2) +42.2
- Kajetanowicz/Szczepaniak (Škoda Fabia RS Rally2) +1:08.8
- Marczyk/Dymurski (Škoda Fabia RS Rally2) +1:37.5
- Greensmith/Andersson (Škoda Fabia RS Rally2) +2:24.0
- Březík/Krajča (Škoda Fabia RS Rally2) +3:34.8
- Wagner/Winter (Škoda Fabia RS Rally2) +3:43.9
- Linnamäe/Morgan (Hyundai i20 N Rally2) +4:20.1
