Rally Portugal will mark the second 2025 start for Kajetan Kajetanowicz and Maciej Szczepaniak. In mid-May the ORLEN Rally Team crew head to gravel stages around Porto and Coimbra, aiming for more WRC2 Challenger points.
Kajetanowicz and Szczepaniak started their eighth consecutive World Rally Championship season in March, competing in the Safari. Aboard their new car, Toyota GR Yaris Rally2, they set great pace on Kenyan stages, leading the WRC2 Challenger and WRC2 overall standings. Their quest for fourth straight win in the African classic ended with a suspension failure on the opening test of third leg. However, the Polish duo did not give up and put all their effort in fixing the car on the stage. They did everything to make up lost ground and heroic chase brought them fourth position in their category, with points which might prove priceless at the end of the season.
Rally Portugal is the second outing for Kajetan and Maciek in this year’s campaign. This event, based in Matosinhos at the outskirts of Porto, is one of the oldest World Rally Championship counter, being a regular fixture of the WRC calendar since the beginning of the championship in 1973, with a few short breaks. This edition boasts 24 special stages with variable characteristics. Proximity of the Atlantic Ocean means that unpredictable weather might join the party. Adverse conditions raised the difficulty level in past seasons.
Kajetanowicz has two Rally Portugal outings under his belt. Together with Szczepaniak, he tackled these stages for the last time in 2022, claiming second place in the WRC2 standings. Twelve months earlier, starting for the first time in very strong field, the ORLEN Rally Team duo won their category.
– Our 2025 campaign gains momentum. In May we will compete in Rally Portugal, where we started twice so far, every time bringing great results back to Poland. I have nice memories from this WRC round. I drove those stages for the last time in 2022 but I am sure that this event has retained its character. Gravel stages have specific surface: there is sand but also hard soil which gets very slippery when it rains. I like this rally and I enjoy competing against fast drivers – the Portuguese event attracts a very strong field every year and many rally fans support the crews along the stages. I hope for a good rally which will bring a lot of satisfaction not only for us but also for the fans
– Kajetan Kajetanowicz, the ORLEN Rally Team driver, said ahead of the rally.
58th Rally Portugal takes place on 15-18 May. The entry list has as many as 95 crews who will compete on 24 gravel special stages, with almost 345 competitive kilometres.
Starts of Kajetan Kajetanowicz are supported by the title partner of the ORLEN Rally Team – ORLEN S.A., as well as technical partner Delphi and ORLEN OIL.
