Kajetan Kajetanowicz and Maciej Szczepaniak completed Thursday’s opening loop of Rally Saudi Arabia in excellent style. The ORLEN Rally Team crew set times among the top WRC2 Challenger competitors and hold the lead of this category at midday.
Following yesterday’s warm-up on the asphalt superspecial in Jeddah, on Thursday morning the field moved to the gravel stages north of the rally base.
The crews tackled three demanding special stages, facing a mix of the most demanding elements of the Saudi World Rally Championship counter, which is making its debut in the calendar. Those challenges included fast but tricky sandy sections, narrow and twisty parts on rocky ledges, and large stones, waiting for potential drivers’ errors.
Kajetanowicz and Szczepaniak started the day as the WRC2 Challenger leaders. The Polish duo cautiously completed the Al Faisaliya test and then gradually increased their pace. After the “lunar” Moon Stage they regained the lead in their category and a very good second-fastest time on the Khulais stage allowed them to finish the loop almost 18 seconds clear of their closest rivals. The ORLEN Rally Team crew also hold second place in the overall WRC2 standings, staying among the top crews in Rally2 cars.
We have already completed the first proper loop of Rally Saudi Arabia. I love and hate this WRC round at the same time – it is very difficult, and it will only get tougher. The second loop will be very demanding on the machines and, of course, on us as well. It will be even hotter in the car. You know the temperatures, we have already discussed them. For sure they do not help with concentration, when more and more rocks appear on the road. They are constantly being pulled out by other cars, so you need to react quickly, and it is not easy with such a high heart rate and in the heat. However, we love such challenges and above all we came here to face them. So we set off for the second loop, let’s say into the unknown, but with smiles on our faces
– Kajetan Kajetanowicz, the WRC2 Challenger leader, said after four special stages.
More challenges and even longer loop await the competitors in the afternoon. The road, already damaged during the opening runs, will not make it easy for the crews on the second pass of the stages. At the end of the day, the crews will duel again on the tarmac superspecial, already completed at the beginning of the rally. Almost 60 kilometres of special stages remain ahead of the crews today.
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 Saudi Arabia 2025 – unofficial WRC2 Challenger classification after SS4:
- Kajetanowicz/Szczepaniak (Toyota GR Yaris Rally2) 41:37.7
- Korhonen/Viinikka (Toyota GR Yaris Rally2) +17.8
- Solans/Sanjuan (Toyota GR Yaris Rally2) +21.0
- Gryazin/Aleksandrov (Škoda Fabia RS Rally2) +34.9
- Domínguez/Peñate (Toyota GR Yaris Rally2) +47.4
- Sarrazin/Roche (Citroën C3 Rally2) +49.7
- Mauro/Pérez (Škoda Fabia RS Rally2) +1:05.7
- Schwarz/Raabe (Toyota GR Yaris Rally2) +1:20.7
- Virves/Viilo (Škoda Fabia RS Rally2) +1:37.8
- Al-Kuwari/Bernacchini (Škoda Fabia RS Rally2) +1:44.2
