(3.04.2024) Although there are still more than two months to go until the ORLEN OIL 81st Rally Poland kicks off, we already know that this event is going to be full of fierce competition. All thanks to the great line-up of this year’s European Championship season. The rally based in Mikołajki will be the fourth round of the 2024 FIA ERC season, but we can expect that the vast majority of the crews that registered for the 42nd Sierra Morena Rally, which inaugurates this year’s season (3-6 April), will compete in Polish ERC counter.
The fight for the European championship titles requires registration with the FIA before the first round in which the team is participating. For the rally based in Córdoba, Spain, there are 64 crews on the entry list that have met this requirement. This number may increase shortly before the Rally Hungary, as it will be the last chance to score points in seven of the eight rounds of the European championship, according to the ERC regulations.
The FIA European Rally Championship (ERC), which is being held for the 73rd time, is the oldest rally series in the world, and the Rally Poland has a record-breaking history. This year, the event will be held as a round of the European Championship for the 54th time, and for the 20th time in Mikołajki.
The Magnificent Thirty
The number that announces an exciting season is ‘30’. Although 29 crews in Rally2 cars, the most advanced and competitive machinery eligible to compete in the FIA ERC, are set to compete on the asphalt roads north of Córdoba, Max McRae will be joining the Rally2 pack of drivers in Hungary. The 20-year-old nephew of the famous Colin and son of Alistair will switch to a Citroen C3 Rally2 this year and will be competing with Cameron Fair.
Almost all of the top drivers in the series have announced their participation in this year’s European Championship. These include the Spanish duo – Efren Llarena/Sara Fernandez (Citroen C3 Rally2), the 2022 European Champions, Simone Tempestini/Sergiu Itu (Skoda Fabia RS Rally2), Jon Armstrong/Shane Byrne (Ford Fiesta Rally2), Yoann Bonato/Benjamin Bolloud (Citroen C3 Rally2), Robert Virves/ Jakko Viilo (Skoda Fabia RS), Mille Johansson/ Johan Gronvall (Skoda Fabia Evo) and Simon Wagner and Hanna Ostlender (Hyundai i20 N Rally2).
Andrea Mabellini and Virginia Lenzi (Skoda Fabia RS Rally2) – winners of the last Rally Silesia, which was the final, decisive round of the 2024 FIA ERC season – are continuing their adventure in the FIA ERC.
There are also competitors returning to the European series among those entered. Nikolay Gryazin and Konstantin Aleksandrov (Skoda Fabia RS Rally2) will be competing with a Bulgarian licence. Last season, they won three WRC2 rounds and finished third in the final standings. They also have a victory in Mikołajki in 2018 under their belt. Former members of the Citroen factory team will also be present: Mads Ostberg (Citroen C3 Rally2), who will team up with Torstein Eriksen this time, and Stephane Lefebvre, co-driven by Andy Malfoy (Hyundai i20 N Rally2).
25-year-old Dominik Stritesky (Skoda Fabia RS Rally2, co-driver: Igor Bacigal), who broke Kopecký and Pech’s hegemony in the 2024 Czech Rally Championship, has also decided to compete in the European Championship.
Polish fans will be watching with bated breath the performances of Miko Marczyk and Szymon Gospodarczyk (Skoda Fabia RS Rally2). After last year’s podium in the FIA ERC, they are aiming for the top step at the end of the season. The ORLEN Team crew have already won 2022 Rally Poland and will also be among the frontrunners during high-speed battle on Masurian gravel stages.
From Formula 1 to the FIA ERC
Jos Verstappen, father of four-time Formula 1 world champion Max Verstappen, will compete in the new ERC Master category. The Dutchman will be driving a Skoda Fabia RS Rally2 together with Renaud Jamoul. 53-year-old Verstappen senior has already won the Belgian championship rounds, so his ambitions are likely to go beyond the senior drivers’ category. With 107 Formula 1 Grand Prix races under his belt, including two podium finishes, Max’s father will certainly be a force to be reckoned with in the tarmac rallies. The former Benetton, Tyrrell, Arrows and Minardi driver also plans to compete on the Masurian gravel.
Poland goes strong in ERC
Fans from Poland will have someone to keep their fingers crossed for. As many as eleven drivers with Polish flags are expected to compete in 2025 FIA ERC season-opener.
In addition to the aforementioned Marczyk and Gospodarczyk, who represent ORLEN Team, the second highest ranked crew on the 42nd Rally Sierra Morena entry list are Jakub Matulka and Damian Syty (Skoda Fabia RS Rally2).
The third Polish duo to use latest Czech Rally2 machinery will be Jarosław Kołtun and Ireneusz Pleskot. Dariusz Biedrzynski and Rafał Fiołek have chosen the Hyundai i20 N Rally2.
The Polish contingent in the ERC3 category, intended for crews in Rally3 cars, will be stronger than last year. Igor Widłak and Daniel Dymurski (Ford Fiesta Rally3) are joined by the current Polish class 3 champions – Hubert Kowalczyk and Jarosław Hryniuk, Błażej Gazda with Michał Jurgała and Sebastian Butyński with Łukasz Jastrzębski. All three duos will drive a Renault Clio Rally3 – the second available car in this category, after the Fiesta.
Adrian Rzeźnik and Kamil Kozdroń, as well as Tymoteusz Abramowski and Jakub Wróbel, have opted for the rally cars (Ford Fiesta Rally3) being built at the M-Sport branch near Krakow.
Hubert Laskowski has made a lot of changes. The Polish champion in class 4 has swapped his Ford Fiesta Rally4 for a Peugeot 208 in the same category. In addition, the 19-year-old will be teaming up with Spanish co-driver Esther Gutiérrez this season.
Interestingly, Poles are the second most represented nationality on the entry list for the first round of the 2025 FIA ERC. As many as 11 crews are travelling from Poland to Spain. Only the home representatives have more.
Which of the aforementioned teams will be at the start of the ORLEN OIL 81st Rally Poland? We will find out on 3 June, when the entry list for this competition will be announced. There will certainly be many more Polish crews in Mikołajki, as the ORLEN OIL 81st Rally Poland is also a round of national championship (RSMP).