Fourteen - that's how many editions of Baja Poland have been organized so far. Eight, including this year's, ended with Krzysztof Holowczyc's triumph. Piloted by Lukasz Kurzeja, the driver dominated the competition in Columna Medica Baja Poland 2022 - the Polish round of the FIA World Cup in Baja off-road rallies. The Olsztyn driver was the fastest on all five special stages and checked in at the finish line with a massive lead of nearly 18 minutes over the next crew. In Szczecin, the cups for second place were collected by the Portuguese - Joao Ferreira and David Monteiro. The lowest step of the podium was won by Michał and Julita Małuszynski, who were separated from the winners by more than 18 minutes. All three leading Columna Medica Baja Poland 2022 crews used MINI John Cooper Works Rally cars.
Baja Poland is a showcase of Polish off-road rallies and an event that has become a permanent fixture on the calendars of the most important cycles in the discipline. What's more, many competitors can't imagine a season without competing in the demanding wilderness in Szczecin, the Dobra municipality and the Drawsko Pomorskie training ground.
For the 2022 season, this toughest and longest off-road rally in Poland was held on September 1-4. For the eleventh time, Baja Poland was a round of the FIA World Cup for Baja off-road rallies. Competitors fighting for points in the Baja European Off-Road Cup and the Central European Zone (FIA CEZ) championship also showed up in Szczecin. In addition to them, the Columna Medica Baja Poland route saw participants in the Polish Championship, the Czech Championship, the Dacia Duster Motrio Cup and the Polish Cup, as well as the Baja Poland Series - a series for unlicensed crews.
Columna Medica Baja Poland 2022 took place in a proven format that has been refined over the years. On Friday morning, crews were able to "warm up" on the test section. In the afternoon, the struggle opened with the fan-favorite qualifying section in Szczecin (5.83 km). The key part of the rally, i.e. two runs of the Drawsko training ground test (210.84 km), is scheduled for Saturday. In turn, the final Sunday stage consisted of two clashes on the Szczecin section (30.7 km), the route of which also ran through the Dobra municipality.
The total length of the route prepared by the organizers was 742.22 km, of which as much as 488.91 km were special sections. 78 crews joined the competition in Columna Medica Baja Poland 2022.
Dry as pepper
In the two previous editions of Baja Poland, the conditions of competition were dictated by rain. This time the competitors had to compete on a completely dry route, which, although there were no more muddy traps or deep fords, but navigation was hampered by dust and sand carried by the rally cars, additionally blown away by the wind.
Among the most serious candidates for victory, in addition to Holowczyc and Kurzei, were mentioned two crews in the latest evolution of the Toyota Hilux classified in the new T1+ category. Such rally cars were at the disposal of World Cup points leaders - the Saudi-British duo Yazeed Al-Rajhi (Toyota Hilux T1+) and the Lithuanian-Estonian crew Benediktas Vanagas/Kuldar Sikk.
Holowczyc imposed the pace of the competition already in the qualifying section. High form was also signaled by Vanagas, who took second place, with a minimal (+1.4 s) loss to the Pole. Al-Rajhi (+7.7 s) also placed in the top three.
Domination of "Holow" and dramas at the Drawskom military training ground
On Saturday morning, Holowczyc and Kurzeja took the first big step toward victory. They built up a lead of more than two minutes over Al-Rajhi and Orr on the more than 210-kilometer test in Drawsko Pomorskie. The third time was recorded by Michał and Julita Małuszyński, who are in a direct duel for the Baja European Off-Road Cup with the Ferreira/Monteiro duo in a twin MINI. Making their debut in Baja Poland, the Portuguese took fourth place, losing a mere nine seconds to the Poles. Vanagas and Sikk dropped out of the competition. On OS 2, their car suffered a transmission failure.
The second run of the oesse at the Drawsko training ground was full of drama. Runner-up Al-Rajhi and Orr had to withdraw from the competition after their car burned to the ground. Fortunately, nothing serious happened to the crew. Due to the incident, OS 3 was shortened, but still posed a serious challenge.
After the bad luck of the Saudi-British crew, Joao Ferreira and David Monteiro jumped into second position, leapfrogging over the Maluszynskis. The test was won by Holowczyc and Kurzeja, consolidating their lead in the rally. Before the final stage of the competition, the Jucha/Marton (Can-Am Maverick X3) and Goczał/Janda (BRP Can-Am Maverick) crews were still in the top five of the classification.
A perfect rally by Holowczyc and Kurzeja
On Sunday, Holowczyc and Kurzeja did not slow down. They won both of the day's scheduled stages and took the victory in the Columna Medica Baja Poland 2022, the eighth triumph of "Holowczyc's" career in the event. Second place fell to the duo Ferreira/Monteiro. The Portuguese were 54.9 seconds ahead of Michał and Julita Małuszynski. With this result, Ferreira won the FIA European Cup in Baja off-road rallies. Małuszynski finished the event in second place. The final stage did not change the situation in the next two positions in the rally classification. Fourth place was the result of Karol Jucha and Rafał Marton (Can-Am Maverick X3). Finishing in position number five were Marek Goczal and Artur Janda (BRP Can-Am Maverick).
Goczał and Janda, who are preparing for the next Dakar, proved to be the best in the overall FIA World Cup Baja off-road rally standings, keeping the titled Czech crew Miroslav Zapletal/Marek Sykora in a Hummer H3 Evo behind them. Goczal and Janda, were also the fastest crew of the T4 group in the World Cup round. On the other hand, in T3, the fastest route of the rally was taken by Spaniard Fernando Alvarez Castellano (Can-Am Maverick), piloted by Xavier Panseri, a multiple Polish rally champion.
Fierce competition within the national series
The national championship classification saw three crews on the podium: Holowczyc/Kurzeja, Małuszyński/Małuszyńska, and Karol Jucha and Rafał Marton (Can-Am Maverick X3), the fastest in the T4 class.
Cups for victory in the Dacia Duster Motrio Cup classification were collected by Bartłomiej Wajzer and Patryk Sudoł. This duo built up a big lead in the second run of the Drawsko Pomorskie circuit, so they didn't have to push the pace in the final stage of the competition, but still won both Sunday tests.
The competition in the T2 group (production cars) was dominated by Piotr Borys and Michal Goleniewski in a Mitsubishi Pajero. Crew number 609 was nearly 30 minutes faster than Wajzer and Sudol in a Dacia Duster, next in the T2 classification.
In the T3 group, the lone Portuguese Filipe Nascimento/ Joaao Serôdio (DRB Can-Am Maverick X3) reached the finish line in first place.
The Czech trio Valtr/Kilian/Kaplanek in an IVECO Powerstar Torpedo 6400 emerged victorious from the competition of crews in trucks (T5 group). The struggle in this group was an internal affair of the Valtr family. This time the winner was the son, who beat his father. The Valtr/Sikora/Miskolci crew (Tatra Phoenix) took second place.
The most points in the TH group were taken by Slawomir Jablonski and Rafal Jedrys (MSRTEAM Crossover T1).
The competition in the Polish Off-Road Car Cup was decided in their favor by Karol Lenkiewicz and Tomasz Janik (Can-Am Maverick X3).
Columna Medica Baja Poland ended the season of the FIA European Cup for Off-Road Baja rallies. The next round of competition in the FIA World Cup for Baja off-road rallies will be the Baja Portalegre 500 in Portugal (October 27-29). In turn, the battle for titles in the Polish championship is to be concluded with a round in Drawsko Pomorskie, the date of which is to be confirmed soon.
Source Baja Poland / Automatic translation from the original Polish Version
