Dramatic second loop of Friday’s leg of Rally Italia Sardegna is completed. Kajetan Kajetanowicz and Maciej Szczepaniak once again proved their excellent abilities in tough conditions. The ORLEN Rally Team duo moved up into the WRC2 Challenger top three!
The Polish crew performed very well on afternoon stages of round six of the 2025 World Rally Championship. Kajetanowicz and Szczepaniak set third, eighth and another third-fastest stage times in the WRC2 Challenger standings. Thanks to their pace and faultless performance, they gained three positions and moved into top three! They also hold excellent fifth position in the overall WRC2 classification.
– We have completed a successful first day of Rally Italia Sardegna. It was challenging but this is just the beginning. More tough days are still ahead of us – long Saturday and sandy Sunday, with two new special stages. Around one-third of the rally is already behind us and our feeling is positive, as we are setting good stage times. We moved into the WRC2 Challenger top three, among over 30 crews in this category, so we are competing against frontrunners and that was our plan. Still there are some things which do not work perfectly but it would be difficult to have everything under control in this rally. I am feeling better and better in the car but to be honest, sometimes I take blind setup decisions and test them on some stages. I enjoy my driving, there is smile on my face because I see fans with Polish flags along the road. It also gives me plenty of motivation. I am happy that everything goes according to our plan and, above all, I avoid major mistakes
– Kajetan Kajetanowicz summed up the day.
The longest leg of Rally Italia Sardegna awaits the competitors on Saturday, with over 121 kilometres of competition. The organisers have scheduled three special stages, each one run twice: SS7/10 Coiluna-Loelle (21.18 kms), SS8/11 Lerno-Su Filigosu (24.34 kms) and SS9/12 Tula-Erula (15.28 kms).
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 Italia Sardegna, unofficial WRC2 Challenger classification after SS6:
- Prokop/Ernst (Škoda Fabia RS Rally2) 1:13:51.4
- Joona/Vaaleri (Škoda Fabia RS Rally2) +1.6
- Kajetanowicz/Szczepaniak (Toyota GR Yaris Rally2) +22.6
- Virves/Viilo (Škoda Fabia RS Rally2) +30.0
- L. Rossel/Mercoiret (Citroën C3 Rally2) +33.2
- Daprà/Guglielmetti (Škoda Fabia RS Rally2) +40.7
- B. Bulacia/Morales (Toyota GR Yaris Rally2) +1:26.7
- M. Bulacia/Vallejo (Toyota GR Yaris Rally2) +1:32.4
- Jürgenson/Oja (Ford Fiesta Rally2) +1:49.4
- Sarrazin/Roche (Citroën C3 Rally2) +1:56.7
