A spectacular GZM Katowice powered by ORLEN OIL superstage kicked off the action at the 82nd Rally Poland – the fourth round of the FIA European Rally Championship. On the short (2.2 km) yet extremely thrilling test, the fastest time was set by Andrea Mabellini and Virginia Lenzi (Lancia Ypsilon Rally2).
Rally Poland is not only the most important motorsport event in Poland, but also one of the longest-running competitions of its kind in the world: this year marks its 82nd edition, with a history dating all the way back to 1921. It is also the oldest round on this year’s FIA European Rally Championship calendar, with Rally Poland being held under this status for the 55th time. After 20 years on gravel, the event returns to tarmac special stages. The rally base is located at the Superauto.pl Silesian Stadium, with the route laid out across the southern part of the Silesian Voivodeship.
The rally got underway on Friday (July 24) with the ceremonial start on the prestigious Dworcowa Street in Katowice. From there, the competitors headed to the Culture Zone, where a spectacular special stage was held through the city streets. The fastest crew on the 2.2-kilometer-long test were Andrea Mabellini and Virginia Lenzi (Lancia Ypsilon Rally2). The Italians, who triumphed on these same roads during the 2024 Rally Silesia, posted a time of 1:54.4 s. Just 0.1 s slower were the reigning European champions, Mikołaj Marczyk and Szymon Gospodarczyk (Škoda Fabia RS Rally2). The third-fastest time went to Jakub Matulka and Daniel Dymurski (Škoda Fabia RS Rally2), finishing 1.6 s off the winners. Marczyk and Gospodarczyk also lead the KIQ Polish Rally Championship classification after SSS1.
Mikołaj Marczyk/Szymon Gospodarczyk (fot. Maciej Niechwiadowicz)
In the ERC3 classification, the best time went to the Craig Rahill/Conor Smith crew (Ford Fiesta Rally3). Second place, finishing 1.3 seconds behind, went to Michał Chorbiński/Adam Chrzanowski (Renault Clio Rally3). The podium was completed by the French crew Lucas Zielinski/Ewen Leenhardt (Renault Clio Rally3, +1.9 s).
The stage in Katowice also opened the competition in the Millers Oils Historic Polish Rally Championship. Among the drivers competing in classic rally cars, Damian Sawicki and Piotr Sieliło (Subaru Impreza GC8) proved to be the best.
Damian Sawicki/Piotr Sieliło (fot. Kaja Wróblewska)
On Saturday and Sunday, the action shifts to special stages in the southern part of the voivodeship. On Saturday, competitors will tackle two passes each of the stages in Jastrzębie-Zdrój (17.05 km), Ochaby (11.2 km), and the longest test of the rally in the Gmina Jasienica (19 km). To close out this leg, a 1.5-kilometer super special stage will be held around the Superauto.pl Silesian Stadium. Sunday’s action will begin with the classic Przegibek stage (6.5 km), which returns as part of Rally Poland’s route after a over 20 years hiatus. Later, the competition will move to stages in Kiczyce (12.1 km), Hażlach (17.45 km), and SS Silesian Voivodeship (11.9 km). Each of these tests will be run twice. The second pass of the Silesian Voivodeship stage will serve as the Power Stage, offering additional championship points to the top crews on that test.
Results SSS1 GZM Katowice powered by ORLEN OIL (2.2 km):
- Andrea Mabellini/Virginia Lenzi (Lancia Ypsilon Rally2) 1:54,4
- Miko Marczyk/Szymon Gospodarczyk (Škoda Fabia RS Rally2) +0,1 s
- Jakub Matulka/Daniel Dymurski (Škoda Fabia RS Rally2) +1,6 s
- Dominik Stříteský/Ondřej Krajča (Škoda Fabia RS Rally2) +1,7 s
- Marco Bulacia/Jose Murado (Škoda Fabia RS Rally2) +1,8 s
- Teemu Suninen/Antti Haapala (Škoda Fabia RS Rally2) +2,7 s
- Łukasz Byśkiniewicz/Łukasz Jastrzębski (Škoda Fabia RS Rally2) +2,8 s
- William Creighton/Liam Regan (Citroën C3 Rally2) +3,5 s
- Jarosław Szeja/Marcin Szeja (Škoda Fabia RS Rally2) +3,7 s
- Jaroslaw Koltun/Ireneusz Pleskot (Škoda Fabia RS Rally2) +3,8 s
ERC SCHEDULE
Saturday, 25 July 2026
SS 2/5 Jastrzębie-Zdrój – 09:01 and 15:01
SS 3/6 Ochaby – 10:01 and 16:01
SS 4/7 Gmina Jasienica – 11:01 and 17:01
Rally Fan Park – starts at 12:00
Service (Superauto.pl Silesian Stadium) – 13:05
SSS 8 Superauto.pl Silesian Stadium – 19:25
Sunday, 26 July 2026
SS 9 Przegibek – 08:22
SS 10/13 Kiczyce – 09:52 and 14:02
SS 11/14 Hażlach – 10:45 and 14:55
Tyre Fitting Area (Carbonarium Moszczenica) – 12:40
SS 12/15 Silesian Voivodeship – 13:05 and 17:05 (Power Stage)
PODIUM (Superauto.pl Stadion Śląski) – 19:30
Partners and Sponsors of the 82nd Rally Poland:
Main Partner – Silesian Voivodeship, Superauto.pl Silesian Stadium
Co-host of the event – City of Katowice
Strategic Partner – Metropolis GZM
Strategic Sponsor – ORLEN OIL
Event Partner – Ministry of Sport and Tourism
Technical Partner – Diverse Extreme
The 82nd Rally Poland was co-financed by state budget funds from the allocation administered by the Minister of Sport and Tourism.