After the long marathon stage from Zagan to Drawsko, leg 4 of Breslau Rally 2024 offered another tough challenge to the competitors. First, both Crosss-Country and Extreme categories faced 180 kilometers in the surroundings, and after that, in the evening they started again on the famous Night stage. Despite it was only 65 kilometers long, the track wasn’t so easy, accompanied by the darkness.
Bartolomiej Tabin (KTM) won the daily stage in the bike class, with 2 minutes advance to Ties Hellegers (Husqvarna) from the Netherlands. Hellegers was overall leader before the night stage, but he was unable to start it, so the Dutch crashed in the general standings and it seems that Tabin is now on command.
Adam Krysiak was the fastest quad rider in the day’s stage, overpassing his compatriot and team-mate from Polaris Polska Marcin Wilkolek with tiny 16 second. In the evening it was an opposite situation as Wilkolek claimed the night stage win, with 8 minutes advance to Krysiak. Thus, Marcin Wilkolek is still leading the group in the ATV class.
Bert Mourik (Bowler) from the Netherlands took the stage win in the car CC open class in the first part of the day. He managed to steal 15 seconds from Mindaugas Povilaitis (Toyota). But it was the Lithuanian who triumphed in “the dark side” of the race, with 2 minutes advance to the Dutch pilot Lucas Van Geest (Mitsubishi). Povilaitis is still leader in the overall, 2 days before the end of the race. In the limited car class Radoslaw Kotulski (Mitsubishi, POL) was fastest in the day and Robbert Van Lutterveld (Mitsubishi, NLD) during the night stage.
Jacek Zak (Polaris) was the fastest SSV pilot in the morning, but with only 9 seconds advance to Arunas Simanavicius (Can Am). In the night stage, won by Janus Van Casteren (Arcane, NLD), Simanavicius was second and Zak 5th, but it wasn’t enough for the Lithuanian to detronate his Polish rival from the leadership in the general standings.
In the truck CC class William Van Groningen (Iveco) was the fastest, beating his German rivals Benjamin Kittler (Ginaf) and Tom Heuer (Tatra) with some 2 – 3 minutes during the morning stage. The night stage was won by Heuer, who claimed some 41 seconds from Van Groningen. The Dutchman, however, continues to lead the class, with a solid advance.
In the Extreme car class, Hardo Mere continues to be an undisputed leader. The driver from Estonia won both day and night stages, beating his compatriot Rainer Ruutli in the morning and the British legend Jim Marsden in the evening.
Urmas Uffert (C22) from Estonia was the fastest in the small turck class during the morning, but in the night stage was overpassed by Steffen Braun (Unimog). Kay Messner (MAN KAT) triumphed in the first part, but in the evening was far, far away and Oliver Leyh (MAN KAT) secured his overall lead.
Day 5 of Breslau Rally 2024 will offer another portion of battles on the territory of the military area near Drawsko. Both CC and EX classes will face 180-kilometer-long special stages.
Source: RBI / Breslau Rally
Photo: Irina Petrichei
Disclaimer:
As a service to the sport we all love and follow, Rally-Raid Network posts numerous media releases from a wide variety of sources on our website. Due to the large number, and some times short time available, it is nearly impossible to review each public release. These articles are written by reporters or press officers who work for various organizers, teams, drivers, riders, and other parties, and they do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Rally-Raid Network.