The ORLEN Rally Team duo proved that their car is ready for battle on official shakedown ahead of Safari Rally Kenya. Kajetanowicz and Szczepaniak start the iconic WRC round tomorrow.
Kajetan Kajetanowicz and Maciej Szczepaniak begin their 2025 campaign with Safari Rally Kenya, based in city of Naivasha. This iconic WRC round is one of the oldest rallies in the championship and the list of its winners features many legends, with the likes of Colin McRae, Richard Burns, Carlos Sainz, Ari Vatanen, Hannu Mikkola and Miki Biasion. The ORLEN Rally Team duo climbs aboard their brand new car – Toyota GR Yaris Rally2, serviced by Rallylab Technology team from Poland. Kajto and Maciek won this rally three times in their category, aiming for another success this time out.
– Safari Rally Kenya starts in a few hours’ time and this year it will be a very, very tough event – we know it after recce. This edition is longer than previous three, in which I took part. The special stages are extremely demanding, especially the new ones – although those which in theory I know, which were used before, look completely different as well. It’s a tough challenge and we found out it during recce – we got stuck with Maciek on one of the stages, driving an off-road car! So it’s very difficult to drive through these stages, not to mention fighting for seconds and avoiding problems. However, we are well prepared. Our car performs very well, we checked it on shakedown. Everything is in place although during Safari Rally, especially when it’s so difficult, you can never be sure of anything. We are ready, we will take up the fight with smiles on our faces
– Kajetan Kajetanowicz, triple European Rally Champion, said after the shakedown.
Not only rough stages through desert but also changeable weather may play its part in this thrilling show, called Safari Rally Kenya. The wet season begins right now and it rains heavily every day – the crews experienced these conditions during recce. The route is over 380-kms long, with 21 special stages to complete. The first one gets underway on Thursday, at 11:05 CET.
Starts of Kajetan Kajetanowicz are supported by title partner of the ORLEN Rally Team – ORLEN S.A., as well as by technical partner Delphi and ORLEN OIL.
