The first day of Rally Poland 2024 has come to an end. Oliver Solberg leads the WRC2 class after the days lone stage.
Shakedown
Nikolay Grayzin topped the WRC2 class in the Rally Poland 2024 shakedown stage. Gryazin set a time 0.2 seconds faster than Roope Korhonen to top the shakedown stage. Miko Marczyk finished third fastest on the shakedown stage, 0.6 seconds slower than Gryazin and 0.4 seconds slower than Korhonen at his home event. Georg Linnamäe was fourth fastest on the shakedown stage, 0.2 seconds slower than Marczyk. Josh McErlean rounded out the top five on the shakedown stage, 0.2 seconds slower than Linnamäe.
SS1, Mikolajki Arena 1
Oliver Solberg kicked off Rally Poland 2024 with a stage win after going head-to-head with the Rally1 car of Martins Sesks. Solberg was 1.4 seconds faster than Roberto Diapra to top the stage. Nikolay Grayzin was third fastest on the stage, 1.6 seconds slower than Solberg and 0.2 seconds slower than Diapra. Gus Greensmith and Sami Pajari tied for fifth fastest on the stage, with both drivers finishing 0.1 seconds slower than Gryazin. Miko Marczyk was the fastest of the Polish drivers, finishing 6th, 0.5 seconds slower than Greensmith and Pajari and 0.3 seconds ahead of Koltun and Kajetanwoicz.
Rally Poland 2024 Day Two Rundown
The first full day of action will see drivers contest 113.5 km across 7 stages. Including the 29.4 km Stanczyki stage. As previously mentioned the day will not feature a service until the end of the day. The teams will then get 45 minutes to service the cars. The day does feature a midpoint tire fitting zone. The day will end with another running of the same SuperSpecial stage as day one. Thierry Neuville will be on road sweeping duties. Followed by championship rivals Ott Tänak and Elfyn Evans.
The 2024 World Rally Championship season continues this weekend with round 7 Orlen 80th Rally Poland.
Championship Rundown
Yohan Rossel holds the WRC2 championship lead heading into the midpoint of the season. Rossel won’t be in attendance this weekend, so his 23-point lead over Jan Solans will likely be much smaller by the end of the weekend. Although not because of Solans who is also absent this weekend. Championship hopeful, Oliver Solberg will look to take advantage of both the returning event and Rossel and Solans absences. As Solberg sits just 5 points behind Solans and 28 points behind Rossel, with one round in hand. Sami Pajari sits tied with Solberg for third, and will likely look to take the same advantage as Solberg. Nikolay Gryazin, who has only scored at two rounds this season sits fifth, three points behind Solberg and Pajari.
First Time Since 2017
Rally Poland will make its return to the WRC for the first time since 2017 this weekend. The reigning event winner at the WRC level is Thierry Neuville. Other previous winners of the historic event include Andreas Mikkelsen and Sebastien Ogier. Both Mikkelsen and Ogier will be in attendance this weekend. Mikkelsen will be making his gravel debut in the Rally1 car. While Ogier will be looking for his third win at the event or yet another podium finish.
Day Breakdowns
Day One
The first day of Rally Poland kicks off with a lone SuperSpecial stage. The stage is 2.5 km in distance. Not much time should be gained or lost during the stage. However, crews will have to be careful as there is no service until the end of the second day of the event.
Day Two
The first full day of action will see drivers contest 113.5 km across 7 stages. Including the 29.4 km Stanczyki stage. As previously mentioned the day will not feature a service until the end of the day. The teams will then get 45 minutes to service the cars. The day does feature a midpoint tire fitting zone. The day will end with another running of the same SuperSpecial stage as day one.
Day Three
The third day of Rally Poland will see drivers contest 124.1 km across 7 more stages. Including the 22.4 km Czarne stage. The day will feature two service points, including one 40-minute at the day’s midpoint and one after the day has been completed.
Day Four
The fourth and final day of Rally Poland will see teams contest 63.06 km across 4 stages. Including the 20.8 km Gmina Mragowo stage. The 10.73 km Mikolajki stage will serve as the Wolf Powerstage. There is no midpoint service or tire fitting zone on the day. Meaning drivers will have to both preserve the car and tires as much as possible on Super Sunday.
Reigning Junior World Rally Champion William Creighton has made the move up to the WRC2 category, but how has he done so far this season?
Finding Pace
William Creighton has contested four of his seven WRC2 scoring rounds. However, he has only managed to take home points in one of those events. That event was the Croatia Rally where he finished 10th in class. This isn’t much of a concern for the young Irishman. As the WRC2 championship is arguably the most difficult championship in the WRC. As a large entry list of drivers is at every European event. Which makes it hard to get into a scoring position, especially for a young driver with little experience in a WRC2 car. Creighton’s main priority this season is getting comfortable in the WRC2 car. Next season he can begin to focus more on the results. It is worth mentioning that Creighton does have a handful of top-five stage times under his belt already.
What To Expect From Creighton
The 26-year-old Irishman as previously mentioned shouldn’t be overly concerned with results at this point in time. His top priority should be getting comfortable in the car and finding pace based on that. No driver has jumped into a WRC2 car and put up great results instantly. Next season will be the bigger question for Creighton. As it will be his sophomore year in the car and results will be expected after a certain point. The M-Sport team behind Creighton knows not to push the youngster too far this early on. They may start pushing him a bit around the end of the season, but it wouldn’t be a large push. Just something like setting a slightly higher expectation. Overall there’s nothing to be concerned about at this point with Creighton, he is still the same driver who won the Junior World Rally Championship.
Sami Pajari will make his top-class debut during the eighth round of the 2024 WRC season, Rally Latvia.
Stepping Up
Sami Pajari has been a star for the last two seasons in the WRC2 category. Spending last season in a Toksport run Škoda, Pajari took home his first WRC2 win at his home event in Finland. He also managed to take home podiums in Sweden, Estonia and Chile to finish seventh in the championship. This season Pajari moved to a Printsport run Toyota Yaris Rally2. The 22-year-old has finished on the podium at every event he’s scored points at. Finishing second in Sweden and taking home the win in Sardinia earlier this month. For Rally Latvia Pajari will step into a fourth Toyota Yaris Rally1. Pajari will join Elfyn Evans, Takamoto Katsuta and one of Kalle Rovanperä or Sébastien Ogier for the event.
Not The Only One
Pajari won’t be the only one making his top-class debut in Latvia. As Martins Sesks will also be making his debut that weekend. However, Sesks will be driving a hybrid-less M-Sport Ford Puma. Pajari will be driving a full-spec Toyota Yaris Rally1. Pajari and Sesks have a bit of history with one another. As both drivers battled one another in the Junior WRC Championship years ago. I’m 2020 Sesks finished second in the championship, just three points ahead of Pajari. The next year Pajari won the championship while Sesks finished third.
What To Expect From Pajari
Much like Sesks, don’t expect much from Pajari over the course of the weekend. As he will have to learn a brand new car throughout the weekend. That being said I wouldn’t be surprised if the 22-year-old put up some top-five stage times throughout the weekend. If I had to guess an overall finishing position for Pajari it would be somewhere between 5th and 7th out of the 10 rally1 cars attending the event. Looking at past statistics Pajari hasn’t done bad on fast gravel rallies, which is what Latvia is. Once he learns the car he shouldn’t have a difficult time keeping up with some of the regulars like Takamoto Katsuta. Plus that prediction also keeps in mind others may have issues throughout the weekend.
The second day of Rally Italia Sardegna 2024 has come to a close. Sami Pajari retained the event lead after the day.
SS5, Tempio Pausania 1
Yohan Rossel kicked off the second day with a stage win. Setting a time 4.6 seconds faster than Sami Pajari to top the stage. Emil Lindholm rounded out the top three times on the stage, finishing 3.9 seconds slower than Pajari.
SS6, Tula-Erula 1
Yohan Rossel also took the stage win on the sixth stage of Rally Italia Sardegna 2024. With a time 17.3 seconds faster than Sami Pajari to top the stage. Teemu Suninen finished third fastest on the stage, 0.7 seconds slower than Pajari.
SS7, Tempio Pausania 2
Yohan Rossel also took the stage win on the third stage of the day. Finishing with a time 8.7 seconds faster than Sami Pajari. Pierre-Louis Loubet was third fastest on the stage, 0.1 seconds slower than Pajari.
SS8, Tula-Erula 2
Yohan Rossel also took the stage win on the eighth stage of Rally Italia Sardegna 2024. As Rossel set a time 13.9 seconds faster than Sami Pajari to complete a sweep of the morning loop. Jan Solans rounded out the top five on the stage, 1.5 seconds slower than Pajari.
SS9, Monte Lerno 1
Yohan Rossel kicked off the afternoon loop with yet another stage win. Finishing 8.8 seconds faster than Josh McErlean to take his fifth stage win of the day. Sami Pajari finished third fastest on the stage, 2.1 seconds slower than McErlean.
SS10, Coiluna-Loelle 1
Yohan Rossel’s domination continued on the tenth stage of Rally Italia Sardegna 2024. With the Frenchman taking yet another stage win. With a time nine seconds faster than Sami Pajari to win the stage. Josh McErlean had the third fastest time on the stage, four seconds slower than Pajari.
SS11, Monte Lerno 2
If you guessed Yohan Rossel took home the stage win on SS11 you’d be correct. As Rossel finished with a time 5.4 seconds faster than Sami Pajari. Kajetan Kajetanowicz rounded out the top five on the stage, 2.9 seconds slower than Pajari.
SS12, Coiluna-Loelle 2
Yohan Rossel took the stage win on the twelfth stage of Rally Italia Sardegna 2024. With a time 6.6 seconds faster than Jan Solans to win his eighth consecutive stage. Sami Pajari rounded out the top three on the stage, finishing one second slower than Solans.
What To Expect From Rally Italia Sardegna 2024 Day Three
The third and final day of Rally Italia Sardegna 2024 will see drivers contest 39.30 km across four stages.
The first day of Rally Italia Sardegna 2024 has come to an end. Sami Pajari leads the WRC2 class after the day.
SS1, Osilo-Tergu 1
Sami Pajari kicked off the weekend with a stage win. Setting a time 7.5 seconds faster than Pierre-Louis Loubet to top the stage. Marco Bulicia finished third fastest on the stage, 9.7 seconds slower than Pajari and 2.2 seconds slower than Loubet. Josh McErlean posted the fourth fastest time on the stage, 0.5 seconds slower than Bulicia. Yohan Rossel rounded out the top five on the stage, finishing 1.6 seconds slower than McErlean.
SS2, Sedini-Castelsardo 1
Pierre-Louis Loubet took home the stage win on the second stage of Rally Italia Sardegna 2024. With a time 7.3 seconds faster than fellow Frenchman Yohan Rossel. Marco Bulicia was once again third fastest on the stage, this time 7.7 seconds slower than Loubet and 0.4 seconds slower than Rossel. Sami Pajari set the fourth fastest time on the stage, one second slower than Bulicia. Teemu Suninen rounded out the top five on the stage, finishing 0.3 seconds slower than Pajari.
SS3, Osilo-Tergu 2
Georg Linnamäe topped the second running of the Osilo-Tergu stage. Setting a time 0.6 seconds faster than Sami Pajari to top the stage. Jan Solans finished third fastest on the stage 4.8 seconds slower than Linnamäe and 4.2 seconds slower than Pajari. Josh McErlean was fourth fastest on the stage, 5.2 seconds slower than Solans. Robert Virves rounded out the top five on the stage, 0.7 seconds slower than McErlean.
SS4, Sedini-Castelsardo 2
Sami Pajari capped off the first day of Rally Italia Sardegna 2024 with a stage win. As the Finnish driver set a time 3.5 seconds faster than Pierre-Louis Loubet to top the stage. Yohan Rossel finished third fastest on the stage, 3.9 seconds slower than Pajari and 0.4 seconds slower than Loubet. Georg Linnamäe was fourth fastest on the stage, 1.6 seconds slower than Rossel. Fabrizio Zaldivar rounded out the top five on the stage, finishing 0.2 seconds slower than Linnamäe.
What To Expect From Rally Italia Sardegna 2024 Day Two
The second day of Rally Italia Sardegna 2024 will see drivers contest 149 km across eight stages. The day will feature no midday service. Sami Pajari takes an 18.3-second lead over Pierre-Louis Loubet into the second day. Jan Solans sits third overall, 28.6 seconds behind Pajari and 10.3 seconds behind Loubet.
The sixth round of the World Rally Championship season continues this weekend with Rally Italia Sardegna 2024.
Championship Rundown
Yohan Rossel leads the WRC2 championship heading into Rally Italia Sardegna 2024. With a 10-point lead over Oliver Solberg who won’t be competing this weekend. Nikolay Gryazin sits third in the championship three points behind Solberg. Grayzin will be competing this weekend but only for team points. Niclas Ciamin is fourth in the championship heading into round six, 4 points behind Gryazin. A duo of Spanish drivers round out the top five. As both Jan Solans and Pepe López sit fifth in the championship just three points behind Ciamin.
What To Expect From Rally Italia Sardegna 2024
Rally Italia Sardegna 2024 will see the debut of a new test format for the WRC. As the entire event will take place in just three days, including shakedown. Four stages will take place on the first day which will see drivers contest 77.82 km of stages. The second day will see drivers contest 149.00 km across eight stages. Super Sunday will see drivers contest the final 39.30 km across four stages. The shorter event will give drivers less time to recover from mistakes. Naturally, drivers will be pushed to their limits throughout the event.
Drivers Withdraw
Oliver Solberg and Pepe López have withdrawn from the event. Solberg was not scoring points this weekend but was instead using this weekend for experience. He has withdrawn due to illness. López was withdrawn as a team decision ahead of the event start.
Stacked Entry List Once Again
Rally Italia 2024 will once again feature a stacked list of drivers. Including the likes of Yohan Rossel, Sami Pajari, Teemu Suninen and Pierre-Louis Loubet. Overall there are multiple drivers who could take home the win this weekend. Including Josh McErlean who had a really good event last time out in Portugal.
The fourth and final day of Vodafone Rally De Portugal 2024 has come to an end. Jan Solans held on to take the stage win.
SS19, Cabeceiras de Basto 1
Sami Pajari kicked off the final day with a stage win. As the Finnish driver set a time 0.7 seconds faster than Josh McErlean to top the stage. Jan Solans finished third fastest on the stage, five seconds slower than McErlean. Lauri Joona was fourth fastest on the stage, 3.3 seconds slower than Solans. Yohan Rossel rounded out the top five on the stage, 11.3 seconds slower than Joona.
SS20, Fafe 1
Sami Pajari also took home the stage win on the twentieth stage of Vodafone Rally De Portugal 2024. With a time 1.6 seconds faster than Josh McErlean. Jan Solans finished third fastest on the stage, 3.1 seconds slower than McErlean. Yohan Rossel set the fourth fastest time on the stage, 0.7 seconds slower than Solans. Georg Linnamäe rounded out the top five on the stage, 0.7 seconds slower than Rossel.
SS21, Cabeceiras de Basto 2
Jan Solans took his first stage win of the day on the event’s penultimate stage. Setting a time 6.3 seconds faster than Yohan Rossel. Josh McErlean finished third fastest on the stage, 0.2 seconds slower than Rossel. Lauri Joona was fourth fastest on the stage, five seconds slower than McErlean. Martin Prokop rounded out the top five on the stage, 8.6 seconds slower than Joona.
SS22, Fafe 2 Wolf Powerstage
Georg Linnamäe topped the final stage of Vodafone Rally De Portugal 2024. With a time 2.8 seconds faster than Josh McErlean. Yohan Rossel finished with the third fastest time on the stage, 0.5 seconds slower than McErlean. Jan Solans set the fourth fastest time on the stage, 2.5 seconds slower than Rossel. Fabrizio Zaldivar rounded out the top five on the stage, 0.4 seconds slower than Solans.
Day Three Recap
The third day of Vodafone Rally De Portugal 2024 has come to an end. Jan Solans took the WRC2 class lead after a chaotic day.
SS10, Felgueiras 1
Sami Pajari kicked off the penultimate day with a stage win. As the Finnish driver set a time 1.2 seconds faster than Josh McErlean to top the stage. Oliver Solberg was third fastest on the stage, finishing 0.9 seconds slower than McErlean. Gus Greensmith was fourth fastest on the stage, two seconds slower than Solberg. Yohan Rossel rounded out the top five on the stage, finishing 0.9 seconds slower than Greensmith.
SS11, Montim 1
Kris Meeke took the stage win on the second stage of the day. Finishing with a time 0.2 seconds faster than Sami Pajari. Jan Solans set the third fastest time on the stage, 1.5 seconds slower than Pajari. Yohan Rossel was fourth fastest on the stage, 1.2 seconds slower than Solans. Gus Greensmith rounded out the top five on the stage, finishing 0.8 seconds slower than Rossel.
SS12, Amarante 1
Yohan Rossel topped the twelfth stage of Vodafone Rally De Portugal 2024. With a time 6.9 seconds faster than Gus Greensmith on the stage. Sami Pajari finished third fastest on the stage, 1.1 seconds slower than Greensmith. Josh McErlean set the fourth fastest time on the stage, 2.2 seconds slower than Pajari. Jan Solans rounded out the top five on the stage, 0.7 seconds slower than McErlean.
SS13, Paredes 1
Josh McEarlean capped off the morning loop with his first stage win of the day. Setting a time 0.1 seconds faster than Jan Solans. Georg Linnamäe finished third fastest on the stage, 0.4 seconds slower than Solans. Roope Korhonen posted the fourth fastest time on the stage, one second slower than Linnamäe. Lauri Joona rounded out the top five on the stage, 0.3 seconds slower than Korhonen.
SS14, Felgueiras 2
Sami Pajari kicked off the afternoon loop in the same fashion as the morning loop, with a stage win. As Pajari set a time 1.6 seconds faster than Yohan Rossel to take the stage win. Georg Linnamäe finished third fastest on the stage, 1.7 seconds slower than Rossel. Josh McErlean was fourth fastest on the stage, 0.2 seconds slower than Linnamäe. Kris Meeke rounded out the top five on the stage, finishing 2.6 seconds slower than McErlean.
SS15, Montim 2
Sami Pajari also took home the stage win on the fifteenth stage of Vodafone Rally De Portugal 2024. With a time 0.8 seconds faster than Yohan Rossel. Josh McErlean finished third fastest on the stage, 1.3 seconds slower than Rossel. Kris Meeke set the fourth fastest on the stage, 0.3 seconds slower than McErlean. Jan Solans rounded out the top five on the stage, finishing 0.6 seconds slower than Meeke.
SS16, Amarante 2
Sami Pajari took his third consecutive stage win on SS16. Setting a time 0.5 seconds faster than Jan Solans to take the stage win. Kris Meeke finished third fastest on the stage, 2.3 seconds slower than Solans. Yohan Rossel posted the fourth fastest time on the stage, 4.8 seconds slower than Meeke. Josh McErlean rounded out the top five on the stage, finishing 0.9 seconds slower than Rossel.
SS17, Paredes 2
Yohan Rossel took home the stage win on the penultimate stage of the day. With a time seven seconds faster than Jan Solans. Sami Pajari and Georg Linnamäe tied for third fastest on the stage, with both drivers setting a time 2.3 seconds slower than Solans. Roope Korhenon rounded out the top five times on the stage, finishing 1.2 seconds slower than Pajari and Linnamäe.
SS18, Lousada
Yohan Rossel also took home the stage win on the final stage of the third day of Vodafone Rally De Portugal 2024. Setting a time 0.6 seconds faster than Sami Pajari. Georg Linnamäe finished third fastest on the stage, 0.3 seconds slower than Pajari. Jan Solans was fourth fastest on the stage, 0.8 seconds slower than Linnamäe. Martin Prokop rounded out the top five on the stage, finishing 0.3 seconds slower than Solans.
What To Expect From Day Four
The fourth and final day of Vodafone Rally De Portugal will see drivers contest 62.18 km across 4 stages. The longest of these stages is the 19.91 km Cabeceiras de Basto stage. While the shortest is the famed 11.18 Fafe stage, which will serve as the Wolf Powerstage.
Day Two Recap
Kalle Rovanperä and Oliver Solberg have retired from Vodafone Rally De Portugal on day three. Find out more about the retirements below.
Rolling Rovanperä
Kalle Rovanperä entered the penultimate day of Vodafone Rally De Portugal 2024 with a one-second lead over Sebastien Ogier. On the day’s opening stage, Rovanperä expanded his lead to 6.7 seconds over Ogier. Rovanperä’s expanded lead was short-lived, however. As I’m SS11 the two-time Rally Portugal winner rolled his Toyota Yaris Rally1 onto its side up against a tree. This left Rovanperä with no option but to retire as he couldn’t roll the car back over on his own to continue day three.
Will Rovanperä Return?
Chances are yes Rovanperä will return for Super Sunday tomorrow. However, this isn’t confirmed as at this moment it’s unknown what damage his car has, if any. All we know at this time is he’s out for the day. It’s an unfortunate end for Rovanperä who was looking to win his third consecutive Rally Portugal this weekend. Joining the likes of Hannu Mikkola and Miki Biasion with three wins at the legendary event. That hope will have to wait for another year. Sebastien Ogier now holds a 3.4-second lead over Ott Tänak.
Solberg Also Rolls
If you had told me before the start of day three that both the event leader and the WRC2 leader would roll a couple of hundred meters from each other I probably would’ve laughed. However, that is exactly what happened. As Oliver Solberg rolled his Škoda Fabia a couple of corners after where Rovanperä rolled. Solberg started the third day of Vodafone Rally De Portugal with a 7.3-second lead over Yohan Rossel who he co-leads the WRC2 championship with. After finishing third in the WRC2 category on the day’s opening stage, Solberg expanded his lead over Rossel to 10.2 seconds. Much like Rovanperä that expanded lead was short-lived.
Will Solberg Return?
Unlike Rovanperä, Solberg rolled his car multiple times after launching off a berm on the inside of a corner. Solberg rolled three or four times before landing. From the looks of it, his Škoda had suspension damage as the driver-side front wheel was down. It won’t be a quick fix and the Swede is definitely done for the day. Whether or not he returns for the final day tomorrow is up to his team’s mechanics. Yohan Rossel now holds a 5.9-second lead over Gus Greensmith.