Kajetanowicz and Maciej Szczepaniak were less than twenty kilometres short of finishing the second leg of Rally Chile in third place in the WRC2 Challenger standings. Unfortunately, an unlucky damage to the suspension on the final test of the day resulted in a time loss which the Polish crew will be trying to make up for on the remaining four special stages.
The competition on demanding stages in the Chilean Biobío region continued over three special stages. Saturday’s longest leg of the eleventh round of the 2025 season was completed by another runs of Pelún, Lota, and María Las Cruces tests, with almost 70 competitive kilometres.
Kajetanowicz and Szczepaniak were among the leaders in the WRC2 Challenger category right from the start of Rally Chile. Good stage times allowed the ORLEN Rally Team crew to move up into the top three in the standings. The Polish duo held off their rivals and everything went according to plan until the final stage on Saturday. Exiting a corner, they gently leaned their car against a bank. However, a hidden rock bent the left rear suspension. Kajetan and Maciek continued the stage but fearing for the car’s condition, they had to reduce their pace significantly. The loss of precious minutes dropped them from third to sixth position in the WRC2 Challenger classification. However, only 7.5 seconds separate them from top five.
Even during the last stage everything seemed to be going according to plan. Then, in one of the corners, I ran wide and hit a bank. I even thought I would just bounce off it, so I kept the throttle planted, but apparently there was a rock there and it damaged our rear suspension. We finished the stage – but with a loss, dropping from third to sixth position in the WRC2 Challenger standings. We will be fighting tomorrow. The guys will definitely fix the car, which we just drove eighty kilometres of the road sectio. Of course, it wasn’t how we had imagined it but we never give up in situations like these. It’s a good lesson in life. South America, although it welcomed us with a fantastic atmosphere, showed its teeth. Rallying, like life, can be challenging. For sure we are not giving up
– said Kajetan Kajetanowicz, the 2023 WRC2 Challenger champion.
Sunday’s stage of Rally Chile consists of four special stages and almost 55 competitive kilometres. Two runs of Laraquete (18.62 kms) and BioBio (8.78 kms) tests are scheduled. The finish is planned for the evening hours, European time.
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.
Rally Chile 2025 – unofficial WRC2 Challenger standings after SS12:
- Gryazin/Aleksandrov (Škoda Fabia RS Rally2) 2:29:56,8
- Solans/Sanjuan (Toyota GR Yaris Rally2) +59.4
- J. Martínez/García (Škoda Fabia RS Rally2) +3:12.5
- F. Zaldivar/Der Ohannesian (Škoda Fabia RS Rally2) +3:22.7
- G. Rosselot/Brizio (Citroën C3 Rally2) +6:56.9
- Kajetanowicz/Szczepaniak (Toyota GR Yaris Rally2) +7:04.4
- Scuncio/Román (Škoda Fabia Rally2 evo) +10:03.8
- E. Rosselot/Leiva (Citroën C3 Rally2) +11:31.0
- Galanti/Toyotoshi (Toyota GR Yaris Rally2) +13:24.5
- P. Heller/Amestica (Citroën C3 Rally2) +18:59.2
