Triumfem Kajetana Kajetanowicza i Macieja Szczepaniaka zakończył się Rajd Akropolu. Załoga OKajetan Kajetanowicz and Maciej Szczepaniak sealed their victory in Acropolis Rally. The ORLEN Rally Team did a great job in Greece, surviving tough battle not only against strong field of rivals but also against extremely challenging conditions.
Round seven of the 2025 season, Acropolis Rally Greece – one of the oldest and best known rallies in the World Rally Championship calendar – marked fourth outing for Kajetanowicz and Szczepaniak in this year’s campaign and third over past six weeks. This rally marathon ended with unquestionable success for the Polish crew.
This year’s edition of this rally confirmed its reputation, gained over many years. Twisty, very technical special stages on destroyed roads with plenty of rocks, thick dust getting in the cockpit and high temperatures, exceeding 40 degrees – all those things meant that during four days of competition the difficulty level reached rarely seen heights and many crews struggled in extreme conditions.
Kajetanowicz and Szczepaniak, just like three weeks ago in Sardegna, proved that they cope very well in difficult circumstances. Despite lack of proper testing session before the rally, they managed to set up their car well, recording top times among all Rally2 crews. After great Friday, when they claimed a substantial lead in the WRC2 Challenger standings, the Polish duo could focus on managing their advantage, car and tyres – virtually “eaten” by rocky surface. Thanks to flawless performance and full concentration during unusually long Sunday leg, Kajetan and Maciek, together with the whole ORLEN Rally Team, could celebrate well-deserved victory which also allowed them to move up into second position in the championship standings. Their ninth position in the overall rally classification is also noteworthy.
It was my eighth Acropolis Rally, as successful as my previous outings here – or even more successful. We won the WRC2 Challenger category. It’s difficult to describe all this experience. First, concern ahead of the rally – we didn’t have a chance to complete a proper testing session due to late arrival of our rally car, caused by strike of workers on ferries. Then punctures, delamination of tyres, extreme heat inside the car. Even the Greeks do not remember such high temperatures. A lot of things happened but we did not give up. We were focused right from the beginning, from recce. Many Polish fans came to support us. They did a great show, some flags even distracted me a bit. I wanted to achieve it also for them. Thanks to the whole ORLEN Rally Team, to everybody who believes in us. It’s a lot better than it used to be. Maybe we lacked some pace in Portugal, I wanted to get better feeling. It was really great in Sardegna and now we won. I am very happy. I won’t return home now, it’s time for “Great Journey of The Toddlers” so I will hold a different steering wheel – of a Fiat 126p. Stay with me
– Kajetan Kajetanowicz, triple European Rally Champion, commented after the rally.
Past two months were extremely intensive for Kajetanowicz, with busy schedule of preparations and rally starts, but he is not going to rest, without steering wheel in his hands. However, he swaps his rally Toyota for a Fiat 126p. Straight from Greece, Kajto heads to Warsaw – starting point of the “Great Journey of The Toddlers”, which sets off on 1 July. The most successful Polish rally driver, co-founder of this initiative and its ambassador, will drive an iconic “Toddler” also this year – not only to raise funds to help the youngest victims of road accidents but also to educate and promote road safety.
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.
Acropolis Rally Greece, unofficial WRC2 Challenger classification:
- Kajetanowicz/Szczepaniak (Toyota GR Yaris Rally2) 4:25:16,8
- Cachón/Rozada (Toyota GR Yaris Rally2) +1:23,2
- Prokop/Ernst (Škoda Fabia RS Rally2) +1:57,8
- Virves/Viilo (Škoda Fabia RS Rally2) +5:19,8
- Rossel/Mercoiret (Citroën C3 Rally2) +9:17,2
- Joona/Vaaleri (Škoda Fabia RS Rally2) +9:36,8
- Daprà/Guglielmetti (Škoda Fabia RS Rally2) +11:16,6
- Al-Kuwari/Gospodarczyk (Citroën C3 Rally2) +17:24,7
- Solans/Sanjuan (Toyota GR Yaris Rally2) +19:10,9
- Soylu/Güray (Škoda Fabia RS Rally2) +27:55,7
