The ORLEN Rally Team crew have completed the opening leg of Rally México. Kajetan Kajetanowicz and Maciej Szczepaniak gained one position on the afternoon loop, moving up to fourth place in the WRC2 standings. The Polish duo managed to avoid major problems on Friday, working on pace improvement in order to fight during the following legs. There are still thirteen special stages to go, with total length of almost 190 kilometres!
The final loop on Friday consisted of five special stages: another runs of El Chocolate, Ortega and Las Minas tests, followed by short stages Las Dunas Superspecial and Distrito León Mx. Kajetan Kajetanowicz and Maciej Szczepaniak, with efficient and error-free performance, set top-five times and gained one position in the standings, moving up to fourth place at the end of the day. Ahead of Saturday’s stages, the gap to podium is 36.6 seconds.
– Day one is completed, I think it was good. We stayed among the frontrunners for the whole leg and the second loop went really smoothly. This is my first rally in almost six months. We are fighting against guys who have already competed in two, three or even four events this year. It is not easy but I am pleased. What is important, I enjoyed it very much. Regarding my fitness, I am feeling great. I have to admit that I had some worries, taking into account hot temperatures and thin air at high altitudes, over 3000 metres above sea level. However, everything have worked as it should work. We are in the hunt, ready for the fight tomorrow
– Kajetan Kajetanowicz, triple European Rally Champion, said after Friday.
Now it is time for the longest day of Rally México. There are nine stages to go: two runs of Ibarilla (14,82 kms), El Mosquito (22.56 kms), Derramadero (21.70 kms) and Las Dunas Superspecial (3.53 kms). Saturday ends with a short Rock & Rally Superspecial.
Starts of Kajetan Kajetanowicz are supported by titular partner of the ORLEN Rally Team – PKN ORLEN, as well as technical partner Delphi Technologies, Pirelli, ATC CARGO S.A., PLATINUM ORLEN OIL brand, QUAZAR LOTOS OIL brand and SJS S.A.
