2024 FIA World Rally Championship
Stage 05, Rally Poland
June 27 – 30, 2024
Andreas Mikkelsen and Torstein Eriksen, driving the Hyundai i20 N Rally1 Hybrid, took the lead in Rally Poland on the first stage of Friday morning. They gradually built a 7.4-second advantage over Martins Sesks, who was making his Rally1 debut in a non-hybrid M-Sport Ford Puma. Sesks was left speechless when he discovered he had set the second fastest time in SS2. Elfyn Evans and Scott Martin also had a strong performance, occupying third place, just a few seconds behind Sesks.
Kalle Rovanperä and Jonne Halttunen, who were called in at the last minute to replace Sebastian Ogier, had an exceptional performance in fourth place, despite having little preparation time. Rovanperä managed to take the lead from Mikkelsen by 0.2 seconds after the tire change zone, with Sesks close behind, 1.1 seconds back, and Evans another 1.1 seconds behind.
After stages six and seven, Rovanperä was in third place, just 2.1 seconds behind the leader. He then overtook Evans to secure second place, finishing the day 1.8 seconds behind Mikkelsen. Rovanperä reflected on the challenging day, stating that the lack of preparation made it difficult to create accurate pace notes for the high speeds. However, he was pleased with his performance and hoped to be stronger on the first pass of the following day.
Mikkelsen, the leading Hyundai driver, expressed his satisfaction with the day’s results and his desire to challenge the main competitors on the next day. He admitted to being overly cautious in one of the stages, but saw it as a learning opportunity for future rallies. He anticipated a fierce battle the next day, with no road sweeping and the top drivers starting ahead of him.
The competition was intense in the high-speed stages, with Adrien Fourmaux and Alex Coria from M-Sport Ford delivering an impressive performance. Fourmaux won stage seven, but the stage was canceled due to spectators on the track. Despite this setback, Fourmaux managed to secure fourth place, beating Sesks by just 0.2 seconds. Both Ford drivers are eager to continue their fight in the remaining stages.
Grégoire Munster occupied sixth place, while Thierry Neuville, the championship leader, struggled as the first car on the road. Ott Tänak and Martin Järveoja were unlucky to retire in the second stage after colliding with a deer that suddenly crossed their path. Tänak described it as a stroke of bad luck, with no time to react and avoid the collision.
In the WRC2 category, Sami Pajari had an 8.9-second advantage over local hero Kajetan Kajetanowicz in a battle between Toyota and Skoda.
