The ORLEN Rally Team have completed official shakedown ahead of competition in Rally Italia Sardegna. A special guest joined Kajetan Kajetanowicz in his car on this spectacular test.
Rally Italia Sardegna is actually one of relatively fresh events in the World Rally Championship calendar. The Mediterranean island got its slot in the schedule in 2004 – replacing famous Rallye Sanremo – and it has hosted top rally competitors almost continuously for the past two decades.
This is third event in 2025 for Kajetanowicz and Szczepaniak, second over less than three weeks. The ORLEN Rally Team crew will compete for more points in the WRC2 Challenger category, against no less than thirty crews. Major challenges for the Polish duo include not only numerous competitors but also tough weather conditions. Hot temperatures dominate in sunny Sardegna, with air temperature exceeding 30°C – which means over 60°C inside the rally car. Kajetan and Maciek face a demanding rally, requiring consistent focus on twisty, narrow and tricky special stages.
Official shakedown took place, as usual, on Thursday. It turned out to be a quite extraordinary event for the ORLEN Rally Team. A special guest occupied the co-driver’s seat aboard Toyota GR Yaris Rally2 during a spectacular stage on the outskirts of Olbia. Kajetan drove the test with Anna Waterhouse, screenwriter and film producer, whose portfolio includes “The Aftermath” and “Race”.
– We have completed the official shakedown ahead of Rally Italia Sardegna. This time it was a unique stage for me, as I had a special guest sitting next to me – Anna Waterhouse, Hollywood screenwriter and film producer who is going to create a movie about rallies. I think this experience will be useful – and she confirmed this to me, saying that now she knows what to write and how to describe rallying. Of course Maciek will be back in our car tomorrow and we will try to do our best right from the word go. It will be a demanding rally, we already know that. We are prepared from physical point of view but I am not sure if that’s enough for these hot temperatures. The stages are extremely tricky and slippery. There are plenty of stones and those hidden under repaired surface might be especially dangerous. However, we focus on driving every kilometre as fast as possible. In my opinion the Italian gravel stages belong to the most beautiful and at the same time to the most difficult roads I have ever driven. So it’s going to be a big challenge but I tackle it, as always, with smile on my face
– Kajetan Kajetanowicz commented after the shakedown.
The competition in Rally Italia Sardegna gets underway on Friday morning, at 9:01 CET. The opening leg consists of six special stages, with repeated runs of Arzachena (13.97 kms), Telti-Calangianus-Berchidda (18.43 kms) and the longest test in this year’s schedule, Sa Conchedda (27.95 kms). There are almost 121 competitive kilometres to complete on day one.
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.
