ERC
King Kajto back home in ERC
Kajetan Kajetanowicz, the only driver in history to win the FIA European Rally Championship three years running, will return to the series that made him a star on his home round next month.
The ERC legend is preparing to contest 82nd Rally Poland from 24 - 26 July for what will mark the Polish hero’s first competitive appearance in the all-action championship since he secured his title hat-trick 2017.
Kajetanowicz, who turned 47 in March, will drive a Toyota GR Yaris Rally2 run by Spanish outfit RaceSeven and co-driven by countryman Maciej Szczepaniak.
Kajetanowicz is a three-time European champion
© Kajto.pl
“Announcing my plans for this season, I said there would be more opportunities to meet Polish fans,” said Kajetanowicz, whose Rally Poland victory tally stands at three. “I am very happy that this will happen in such exceptional circumstances – during Rally Poland, in which we will compete this year. It is the most important motorsport event in our country, with a beautiful, rich history, in which, together with my team, we have written several modest chapters, including of course those memorable three victories.”
It is the most important motorsport event in our country, with a beautiful, rich history
Kajetanowicz is contesting Rally Poland for the 11th time this season as the event relocates from the gravel of Mikołajki to the Tarmac of Katowice.
“I am sure that the demanding stages of the Silesian Voivodeship will provide an incredible arena for competition, watched by crowds of fans,” Kajetanowicz said. “It is also a sentimental journey for me; I learned my rally skills on some of these roads and achieved my first successes here. The entire ORLEN Rally Team face an intense period of preparation, but I cannot wait to get started. I invite all fans to the 82nd Rally Poland. I am counting on their enthusiastic support and hope to deliver plenty of excitement.”
Grzegorz Wróbel, the chair of the 82nd Rally Poland organising committee said: “We are very pleased that Kajetan Kajetanowicz will join the field of the 82nd Rally Poland. This is excellent news both for the organisers and for the fans, who will be able to watch him competing directly against the leading drivers of the FIA European Rally Championship and the top competitors of the national championship. His start in the rally is especially significant to us because Rally Poland is taking place in his home region. For years, Kajetan has been a local hero and an ambassador for motorsport. His successes have contributed greatly to the popularity of rallying in the Silesian Voivodeship. We believe that in front of his home fans, he will fight for the highest positions and provide spectators with plenty of sporting excitement.”
After taking the ERC by storm, Kajetanowicz stepped up to the FIA World Rally Championship in 2018 and became WRC2 Challenger champion five years later. His impressive career CV also includes four Polish rally crowns and seven ERC event wins.
King Kajto is back in the ERC for his home rally
© Kajto.pl
Why it’s back to where it began for Kajetanowicz
By contesting 82nd Rally Poland, Kajetan Kajetanowicz will return to the scene of his Polish championship debut back in 2003 when he contested Rajd Śląska on a route similar to the one that will test the ERC stars and their cars next month.
“I drive a Peugeot 106 and we won our class, N2, it was an amazing time,” Kajetanowicz said in an interview in 2024. “That was a surprise, not only for us. For this rally we rent this car for 1000 euros, that was a lot of money for me. Of course it was important but it was only one step in my career. It was a gate [opening] to a new season because it was rally by rally then, a difficult time.”
Prior to 82nd Rally Poland, Kajetanowicz and Szczepaniak will carry out course car-driving duties on Rally Małopolska from 2 - 4 July.
