Kajetan Kajetanowicz and Maciej Szczepaniak prepare for their first tarmac event this season – the Central European Rally. The reigning WRC2 Challenger champion has checked the setup of his car during a test session close to Ustroń, his home town. Kajetanowicz has also agreed to drive a course car with number 0 during this year’s Rally Silesia.
Kajetanowicz and Szczepaniak have completed the gravel part of the 2024 World Rally Championship, with the final round on loose surface taking place at the end of September, in Chile. The ORLEN Rally Team crew have shown great pace in five rallies, scoring three podium finishes in the WRC2 Challenger standings: in Safari Rally, where they claimed their third victory, in Greece and South America. Now Kajto and Maciek face the tarmac part of the season. They have not competed on this kind of surface since last year’s Rally Japan in November, when they sealed their WRC Challenger championship title. During his preparations for the Central European Rally, which starts in a week’s time, Kajetanowicz has tested the setup of his Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 near Ustroń, his home town.
After two days of testing the ORLEN Rally Team crew will appear on special stages of Rally Silesia – the final round of the 2024 European Rally Championship and Polish Rally Championship. Kajetanowicz and Szczepaniak will drive a course car, checking the safety on special stages and clocking more precious kilometres ahead of the tarmac WRC round, held in three countries – the Czech Republic, Austria and Germany. Last year Kajto and Maciek scored a top-three finish in the WRC2 Challenger standings in the Central European Rally – making its debiut in the WRC calendar. Plenty of Polish fans cheered them on along the way and triple European champion counts on their support also this year.
– Right after our return from Chile we started to test ahead of the Central European Rally – our first tarmac event in this year’s World Rally Championship. We change not only the continent but also the surface. We will compete on various special stages in three countries: the Czech Republic, Austria and Germany, almost one year after our previous tarmac event – last season’s Rally Japan. Before competing in the Central European Rally, we head to Rally Silesia, the final round not only of the Polish Rally Championship but also of the European Rally Championship. We play a responsible role, checking the safety level on the stages and gaining more precious kilometres on tarmac. I am happy to come back to the stages where I started to gather my rally experience and achieved my first victories. Nice memories will return and together with the whole ORLEN Rally Team we are looking forward to meeting Polish fans in Silesia and during the Central European Rally
– Kajetan Kajetanowicz, the ORLEN Rally Team driver, says ahead of the rally.
The Central European Rally takes place on 17-20 October. The route is divided into eighteen special stages with total length of 302.51 kilometres – starting in the Czech Republic and this country will also host the official starting ceremony. Just as last year, it will be organised at Hradčany Square, near Prague Castle.
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.
