(May 11, 2023) The FIA has approved the entry lists of ORLEN 79th Rally Poland. Mikolajki will host 83 crews from 25 countries, who will compete for the final triumph in the third round of the European Championship (ERC) and in the second one of Polish Rally Championship (RSMP). 62 crews are to fight in the first cycle, including 14 from Poland. 32 cars at the start line are top-class Rally2 machines (R5 in the past).
As expected, an array of great drivers will compete on the gravel roads of Warmia and Mazury. Hayden Paddon from New Zealand, the leader of the ERC standings after two rounds will stick a plate with the number “1” on his car.
Efrén Llarena from Spain, 2022 ERC champion will start with the “two”, and Mads Ostberg, four-time Norwegian champion, who starts with the Swedish licence will compete with number “three”. Miko Marczyk and Szymon Gospodarczyk, the first of the Polish crews at the list and last year’s winners of Polish classic, received number “6”.
Tom Kristensson, Polish champion from Sweden, Italian Andrea Mabellini, French gravel rallies champion Mathieu Franceschi, Latvian Martin Sesks, another Italian Andrea Nucita and Finnish champion Mikko Heikkilä are also included at the top ten of the entries.
British champion Osian Pryce, Italian champion in asphalt rallies Simone Campedelli, Romanian champion Simone Tempestini, titled Swede Pontus Tidemand, as well as two very fast Czechs: Eric Cais and Filip Mareš will also fight for ERC trophies.
18-year-old Max McRae, nephew of the famous Colin McRae, will drive Opel Corsa Rally4 with the number 37.
Valuable points in Polish Championships can be also scored at the Masurian gravel roads. 35 crews will compete in the second round of national championship. 14 of them are also entered in the ERC, including Grzegorz Grzyb, Sylwester Plachytka, Adrian Chwietczuk, Łukasz Byśkiniewicz, Maciej Lubiak, Jarosław Kołtun, Rafał Kwiatkowski and Jarosław Szeja (all in Rally2 class cars).
Maciej Wisławski (Andrzej Kalitowicz’s co-driver), a veteran of rally stages, European champion and vice-champion, as well as two-time Polish champion, who will start in Rally Poland for the 29th time, will appear at the start in Mikołajki with number 90.
ORLEN 79th Rally Poland entry lists:
European Rally Championship (ERC)
Polish Rally Championship (RSMP)