The 82nd Rally Poland got underway with a spectacular GZM Katowice stage powered by ORLEN OIL. Kajetan Kajetanowicz and Maciej Szczepaniak started the competition with tenth-fastest time in the ERC standings.
The long-awaited competition in the 82nd Rally Poland, both the FIA European Championship and the national championship round, started with a spectacular superspecial in the very heart of the city. The GZM Katowice powered by ORLEN OIL test was just over 2 kilometres long and the crews competed for the best time just next to the Spodek Entertainment and Sports Arena.
Kajetanowicz and Szczepaniak started the first stage of the Polish classic with enthusiasm. They drove aggressively and impressively but midway through the stage they made a small mistake. Too deep cut in one of the corners resulted in a slight contact with plastic barriers. With a cosmetic damage front bumper damage, they finished the stage losing just under five seconds and setting tenth-fastest time in the FIA ERC standings.
We wanted to provide the fans with a fantastic show and plenty of excitement, but maybe not that much. In one of the cuts we hugged the plastic barriers too tightly and took some of them with us. Fortunately, the car suffered only cosmetic damage and after the morning service there will be no evidence of this incident. We start the proper part of the competition on Saturday, with almost one hundred kilometres of special stages. This night will be short, especially since we still have some work to do with recordings from the recce. Keep your fingers crossed and watch the rally safely
– said Kajetan Kajetanowicz, three-time winner of Rally Poland.
Saturday’s schedule consists of seven tests. The crews face two loops of three stages: Jastrzębie Zdrój (17.05 kms), Ochaby (11.20 kms) and Gmina Jasienica (19 kms). At the end of the day the organisers have prepared another superspecial, this time in front of the Silesian Stadium. The competition will resume at 9:01 CET.
Starts of Kajetan Kajetanowicz are supported by title partner of the ORLEN Rally Team – ORLEN S.A., as well as technical partner Delphi and ORLEN OIL.
Rally Poland 2026 – unofficial ERC results after SS1:
- Mabellini/Lenzi (Lancia Ypsilon Rally2) 1:54.4
- Marczyk/Gospodarczyk (Škoda Fabia RS Rally2) +0.1 s
- Matulka/Dymurski (Škoda Fabia RS Rally2) +1.6 s
- Stříteský/Krajča (Škoda Fabia RS Rally2) +1.7 s
- Bulacia/Murado (Škoda Fabia RS Rally2) +1.8 s
- Suninen/Haapala (Škoda Fabia RS Rally2) +2.7 s
- Creighton/Regan (Citroën C3 Rally2) +3.5 s
- Szeja/Szeja (Škoda Fabia RS Rally2) +3.7 s
- Kołtun/Pleskot (Škoda Fabia RS Rally2) +3.8 s
- Kajetanowicz/Szczepaniak (Toyota GR Yaris Rally2) +4.2 s
