Exciting day two of ORLEN 80th Rally Poland has come to an end. The ORLEN Rally Team crew of Kajetan Kajetanowicz and Maciej Szczepaniak performed extremely well on gravel special stages, finishing all tests run on Friday in top five, claiming two stage wins in the WRC2 and WRC2 Challenger categories!
During the morning loop just two of three scheduled stages were run according to plan. Kajto and Maciek set fourth-fastest on the first one and won the next test. The crews returned to action after regrouping and refuelling and the ORLEN Rally Team duo started the afternoon loop with runners-up spot on SS5 Stańczyki 2 (29,4 kms). On the following test (SS6 Wieliczki 2, 12.9 kms) the Polish crew set fastest time among all Rally2 cars. Kajetanowicz and Szczepaniak finish the first leg in second position in the WRC2 standings, just behind Pajari/Mälkönen.
– It’s very good, it was a successful day. We showed fast pace on the special stages, winning two tests. I am happy because I’ve been waiting for a long time to compete in front of Polish spectators and to drive quickly again on Masurian roads. It’s great to see so many flags along the stages. Unfortunately, sometimes the fans stand a bit too close to the road and the stages are cancelled. I understand that they want to experience unique thrill but a compromise has to be found. I urge the fans to think about their own safety first. It’s also harder for us to drive fast if people stay too close to the road. But of course we appreciate their support
– says Kajetan Kajetanowicz, the reigning WRC2 Challenger champion.
Saturday is the longest day of ORLEN 80th Rally Poland, with 124 competitive kilometres and seven special stages. The first test starts at 8:30 CET.
Starts of Kajetan Kajetanowicz are supported by the title partner of the ORLEN Rally Team – ORLEN S.A., as well as technical partner Delphi, Pirelli, ORLEN OIL, ATC CARGO S.A. and SJS S.A.
ORLEN 80th Rally Poland, unofficial results after SS8 (WRC2 Challenger):
- Pajari/Mälkönen (Toyota GR Yaris Rally2) 1:01:59.3
- Kajetanowicz/Szczepaniak (Škoda Fabia RS Rally2) +8.9
- McErlean/Fulton (Škoda Fabia RS Rally2) +22.2
- Virves/Lesk (Škoda Fabia RS Rally2) +23.9
- Gryazin/Aleksandrov (Citroën C3 Rally2) +27.3
- Joona/Hussi (Škoda Fabia RS Rally2) +41.8
- Marczyk/Gospodarczyk (Škoda Fabia RS Rally2) +41.8
- Linnamäe/Morgan (Toyota GR Yaris Rally2) +46.2
- Korhonen/Viinikka (Toyota GR Yaris Rally2) +55.8
- Prokop/Ernst (Škoda Fabia Rally2 evo) +1:32.8
