Tue 16 May 2023
Tom Kristensson is back on gravel in the FIA European Rally Championship this week – and back in the country where he became king.
Kristensson will start ORLEN 79th Rally Poland on Friday as the country’s reigning rally champion.
While his ERC campaign in a Pirelli-equipped Citroën C3 Rally2 means there will be no Polish title defence in 2023, he can’t wait to return to the scene of two notable triumphs.
Kristensson made his debut on the Mikołajki-based event in 2018 and promptly topped the Junior ERC classification. On his second appearance in 2022 he claimed his first outright ERC podium (pictured bottom).
“I like Poland, the stages can be rough but it’s also a very nice rally so let’s see, we will enjoy it, that’s for sure,” said the 32-year-old Swede.
Kristensson starts round three of the ERC season on the back of scoring points on the opening two events of the campaign, including Rally Islas Canarias earlier this month.
After finishing 12th among the ERC drivers, Kristensson described the event as “tough but educational”. He added: “All the seat time in the car is good for sure, even if it’s Tarmac or gravel. It was better to be [on Rally Islas Canarias] and drive and I can take quite much stuff from here and go forward. Canarias was a tough moment but I’m always positive.”
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