Kajetan Kajetanowicz and Maciej Szczepaniak return to the World Rally Championship special stages. The ORLEN Rally Team crew will compete in Rally Italia Sardegna, round thirteen of the 2026 WRC season.
After two national events – the prestigious Rally Poland and the increasingly popular, spectacular Poland Rally Legends – Kajetanowicz and Szczepaniak return to the global stage and they will compete in the Italian championship counter. However, unlike April’s Rally Croatia, where they started this year’s campaign, and both Polish events, the competition in Sardinia takes place on gravel roads.
Kajetanowicz will tackle Rally Italia Sardegna for eighth time in his career. Last year, together with Szczepaniak, they fought for victory with their rivals right down to the final metres. The ORLEN Rally Team crew secured an impressive second place, with less than six seconds separating them from sensational wins in both the WRC2 Challenger and overall WRC2 standings. In previous years Kajetanowicz wrapped up a victory in the Challenger category (in 2023) and two runner-up spots in the WRC2 (2019) and in the WRC3 (2020) categories.
Rally Italia Sardegna joined the WRC calendar in 2004 and has been an almost permanent fixture of the championship since that year. Most editions took place either in May or June, virtually guaranteeing stable – albeit hot – weather conditions. However, this year the rally is held in early October (1-4 October), so in addition to demanding special stages and strong competitors, variable weather conditions may add to the challenge.
We are competing in Rally Italia Sardegna. It is time for gravel roads – first time after eleven months’ break for me. I am happy that it is this particular WRC round: the one I know well, even though it is held at an unusual time this season. After many years, Rally Italia Sardegna returns to its autumn slot. I think the weather might surprise us but we will be ready. We are starting our preparations in Poland before heading to Sardegna, where, as always, we want to do our best. We are looking forward to enthusiastic support of the fans. I know many Poles are making the trip to motivate and cheer us on, so for sure there will be plenty of excitement – and, of course, smiles on our faces
– said Kajetan Kajetanowicz, the 2023 WRC2 Challenger champion.
The schedule of Rally Italia Sardegna consists of seventeen special stages, with almost 310 competitive kilometres.
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.
