Al-Attiyah maintains the lead

Krzysztof Hołowczyc and Łukasz Kurzeja (MINI ALL4 Racing) won the second passage of the 176-kilometer special stage located on the military area in Drawsko Pomorskie, though it was the Nasser Al-Attiyah/Mathieu Baumel (Toyota Hilux Overdrive) crew, who finished the Saturday leg of Columna Medica Baja Poland in the lead.

Driver from Qatar, who can grab the championship title in FIA World Cup for Cross Country Rallies as soon as tomorrow, lost only 12 seconds to the popular Hołek. His lead over the driver from Olsztyn is now 2 minutes 18 seconds. Hołowczyc, who had a puncture in the first morning special stage had to change his wheel and lost a lot of time. Thanks to a great pace shown during the second test (despite the gearbox failure) he was able to overtake Marek Dąbrowski/Jacek Czachor (Toyota Hilux Overdrive) crew and finished the day on second place. The ORLEN Team lies currently third with a loss of 5 minutes to the leaders.

Mathieu Serradori, who sits behind the wheel of a MCM Original buggy is showing great effort. Despite the 6th position on second Saturday stage, after two days of rivalry he holds the 4th place overall. Fifth is Kuba Przygoński co-driven by Tom Colsoul. They are driving the MINI ALL4 Racing maintained by the German X-raid team managed by Sven Quandt. In the afternoon stage the ORLEN Team driver had a problem with brakes. Erik Van Loon, the veteran of the Polish classic is sixth. The Dutchman is driving the same car. Three minutes behind is a debutant in the FIA World Cup for Cross Country Rallies – Martin Prokop (117 outings in WRC), whose co-driver is equally experienced Ilka Minor (124 WRC events). After three special stages Miroslav Zapletal in Hummer H3 EVO VII holds the 8th spot, overtaking one another driver known from World Rally Championship – Xavier Pons. The top 10 is closed by Jes Munk, whose co-driver is Rafał Marton. After an engine issue in the first test in Drawsko Pomorskie Michał Małuszyński and his wife Julita finished in a solid 15 place overall.

Although Nasser Al-Attiyah’s lead is quite secure, the rivalry in Columna Medica Baja Poland is not finished yet. Tomorrow, on Sunday August 28th, drivers will face four special stages. We will be able to admire the Dobra (30,78 km) and Lubieszyn (17,65 km) trials driven twice. The finish of the competition will be located in the Szczecin’s Łasztownia and is scheduled at 2.30 p.m.

Comments after the second stage:

Nasser Al-Attiyah (Toyota Hilux Overdrive): - We went faster than this morning, because I already know the stage better. The car was faultless, although the stage itself was very challenging. I am satisfied.

Krzysztof Hołowczyc (MINI ALL4 Racing): - For a long period of time we were travelling without the 4th gear. Luckily, the car is powerful enough so it wasn’t as serious as it seems. Nevertheless, it could have been much faster. What else can I say, this is rally.

Marek Dąbrowski (Toyota Hilux Overdrive): - We lost a lot of time, I couldn’t find good rythm. I didn’t make any major mistake.

Erik van Loon (MINI ALL4 Racing): - It was very tough, I had a lot of understeer and this is why we finished with such result.

Miroslav Zapletal (H3 EVO VII): - We have avoided serious problems and finished with pretty much the same time as this morning.

Martin Prokop (Ford F150 Raptor): - At the end of the special stage we were driving behind Mirek Zapletal in a big amount of dust and I didn’t see the road very good. I hit the rock and for the last 15 kilometers we were driving with a flat tyre. I am happy with how the car works once again.

Tomas Ourednicek (H3 EVO I): - This morning we have decided to change the setup of our car and it didn’t work out. A few kilometers before the finish line we had a problem with the car and had to slow down. Unfortunately, chance for a good result is gone, but I am still happy to be here.

Ronan Chabot (Toyota Hilux Overdrive): - We had a puncture and had to change the tyre on the road, so we lost some time there. We were driving faster than this morning, so I am happy about it.

Michał Małuszyński (Toyota Hilux Overdrive): - We enjoyed it a lot. The experience from previous stage tought us to be more gentle for the brakes. It is perfect.

Organizers

Fundacja BAJA POLAND    PZM

Co-Organizers

Szczecin     Dobra Szczecińska     Drawsko Pomorskie

 

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