(12.06.2025) Since 2007, Mikołajki Arena has served as the rally’s signature superspecial – a head-to-head showcase for fans. The first winners at the venue were brothers Paweł and Tomasz Dytko (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX), though their victories came on a shorter, 1.68 km version of the track.
The first drivers to conquer the full 2.5 km circuit were Tomasz Kuchar and Daniel Dymurski in 2008, piloting a Subaru Impreza STi N14. Kuchar won both runs that year, claiming early dominance at the Mikolajki Arena.
He was dethroned in 2009 by none other than Petter Solberg and Phil Mills (Citroën Xsara WRC), who also swept both passes during Rally Poland’s return to the WRC calendar. Solberg’s blistering 1:48.3 lap stood until 2014, when reigning world champions Sébastien Ogier and Julien Ingrassia (Volkswagen Polo R WRC) set a new benchmark of 1:46.9.
Ogier shaved even more time off in 2015, posting a record of 1:43.9 – a time that stood through the advent of the more powerful 2017-spec WRC cars. It wasn’t until Rally1 machinery, with its hybrid boost, that the mark was finally eclipsed in 2024.
Ott Tänak and Martin Järveoja (Hyundai i20 N Rally1) clocked a new Arena record of 1:42.5, only to be bettered the very next day by Kalle Rovanperä and Jonne Halttunen (Toyota GR Yaris Rally1) with a stunning 1:40.8.
The fastest Polish crew? Robert Kubica and Maciej Szczepaniak. In 2014, they stormed the Arena in their Ford Fiesta RS WRC with a time of 1:44.4.
Among the Rally2 crews – the fastest category eligible for the European and Polish championships – the Mikołajki Arena benchmark now belongs to a home duo. In 2024 Mikołaj Marczyk and Szymon Gospodarczyk (Škoda Fabia RS Rally2), two-time Polish champions and winners of the 2022 edition of Rally Poland, set a new fastest time at the venue: 1:44.6. Their performance was just 0.2 seconds shy of the overall best by a Polish crew (Robert Kubica and Maciej Szczepaniak – 1:44.4) and enough to dethrone Finland’s Jari Huttunen and Mikko Lukka (Hyundai i20 R5), who previously held the R5/Rally2 record with a time of 1:46.0, set in 2019.