The 69th season of European Rally Championship is set to be opened today in Poland. Impressive pack of 102 crews will start high-speed gravel battle in Mikolajki, to finish Polish ERC counter in Warsaw, on Sunday evening (20th of June).
Rally Poland – second oldest in the world – marks its 100th anniversary this year. The first edition was held back in 1921. Six times Rally Poland was run as Polish round of FIA World Rally Championship (1973, 2009, 2014-2017) and record-breaking 51 times as part of FIA ERC calendar. ORLEN 77th Rally Poland is second round of ProfiAuto Polish Rally Championship at the same time.
As many as 102 crews are on event’s entry list. 76 of them are FIA ERC registered competitors, while 46 have the goal of scoring Polish Rally Championship points. 44 crews are going to tackle fast Masurian stages with Rally2 cars (previously known as R5) – the fastest machinery eligible in both European and Polish championship.
Big names on entry list means we have three days serious competition ahead. Three previous winners of Rally Poland need to be considered as top-contenders for the victory in the FIA ERC opener. Aleksey Lukyanuk (Citroen C3 Rally2) won in Poland in 2019, Andreas Mikkelsen (Skoda Fabia Rally2) took the victory in 2016 (WRC round), while Nikolay Griazin (Volkswagen Polo GTI R5) was the fastest in 2018, after thrilling battle with Jari Huttunen, current Polish rally champion. There are many other drivers who have set their sights on the podium finish in Polish ERC counter, including WRC-experienced competitors like Craig Breen (Hyundai i20 R5), Nil Solans or Simone Tempestini (both in Skoda Fabia Rally2). Grégoire Munster – third in previous FIA ERC season (Skoda Fabia Rally2) – also hopes for strong opening of his 2021 campaign.
There are three former Polish rally champions among the local frontrunners: Grzegorz Grzyb (2016, 2018), Wojciech Chuchala (2014) and Mikolaj Marczyk (2019). All three will use the latest evolution of Skoda Fabia Rally2.
ORLEN 77. Rally Poland is not only about battle for victory in overall classification. There are many support categories with many ambitious crews. In 2021 season Rally3 cars make their debut in FIA ERC. Currently only the one Rally3 car available on market comes from… Cracow, Poland. It is Ford Fiesta Rally3 built by team of M-Sport Poland, run by Maciej Woda. Young Rally3 cars drivers compete in FIA ERC Junior series, while crews in FWD Rally4 cars have their separate series – ERC3 and ERC3 Junior respectively.
The itinerary of ORLEN 77th Rally Poland consist of 14 special stages with total length of 202,7 km. 12 of them run through picturesque Masurian Lake District, one is located nearby city of Przasnysz and the final test at famous Karowa street, where every December Polish Race of Champions concludes Barborka Rally.
First crew leaves the service park in Mikolajki, on Friday, 18th of June, at 18:45, heading to City Square where starting ramp is located. 30 minutes later, spectacular head-to-head battle at Mikolajki Arena will open the battle for the victory.
Finish ceremony will be held on the grounds of PGE Narodowy- National Stadium, on Sunday 20th of June, at 7 PM.
Source: rajdpolski.pl