Start of the hotly anticipated action will take place on Friday (26th August) with an official “shakedown” test, where competitors can make final adjustments to their cars. Friday evening will then see all competitors battle against the clock at a Superstage event within Szczecin. The results stand for the remaining race days but also determine the starting order for Saturday’s start of the Special Stages (SS).
The action will undoubtedly be a spectacle for the massive crowds, but they will also have another reason to cheer with the welcome return of Polish rally ace Krzysztof Holowczyc, who retired from racing at the end of 2015. Baja Poland will be a one-off event for Holowczyc simply because it is on home ground; an arena where he captured the hearts of many of his fellow countrymen during his former racing career.
Baja Poland has always been a memorable event for Holowczyc. Not only is it his home race, but it is also the Baja he won five times in his illustrious career – his last win in 2015, of course, was at the controls of a MINI ALL4 Racing.
“Baja Poland holds a special place in my heart. To achieve five wins means a lot to me. Hopefully, I will be able to achieve another win but this is not a given because the competition is great. But I have the best car in the shape of a MINI ALL4 Racing and the best back up with X-raid, so I will give it my best.”
Krzysztof Holowczyc will be united in the co-driver seat with compatriot Lukasz Kurzeja and will race the Baja Poland under the service and banner of X-raid Team.
Joining Holowczyc for the Baja Poland is countryman Jakub ‘Kuba’ Przygonski with Tom Colsoul (BEL) in the co-driver seat. The third MINI ALL4 Racing crew is that of Boris Garafulic (CHL) and Filipe Palmeiro (POR). Crew for the fourth MINI ALL4 Racing are Dutchmen Erik van Loon and Wouter Rosegaar. Fresh from the recent Hungarian Baja, they will also be looking for a top three result at the end of the 788 km distance of Baja Poland.
The total amount of experience behind the four competing MINI ALL4 Racing crews is large as well as it is wide and is a valuable resource for test and development of the MINI ALL4 Racing prior to the 2017 Dakar Rally.
Dakar Rally is an event recognised as the greatest challenge in the sport of long-distance rally. It is a race that combines machine durability and performance with the crews’ skills to see them through 1000’s of kilometres and hours spent on some of the world’s glorious but challenging landscapes. It is a race that MINI ALL4 Racing has won four times in succession.
For further information about Baja Poland, please visit: http://www.bajapoland.eu/
2016 Baja Poland : MINI ALL4 Racing line up
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