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The rally emotions of the past weekend are slowly fading away. The Rallytechnology team between Friday and Sunday (July 24-26) faced special stages of two rallies. While the team reached the best possible result in the Głubczyce Rallye, the beginning of the European Rally Championship turned out to be a real accumulation of bad luck.
When the Volkswagen crews entered the competition on Friday, the first "stage" kilometer brought positive information. Kacper Wróblewski and Jakub Wróbel started from the fourth time in the Open 1 rate, but the leaders of the table were Tomasz Kasperczyk and Damian Syty. A similar situation took place during the June Tarmac Masters round, but this time the rivalry of the two young Polo GTI R5 drivers took a different turn.
In Głubczyce it was the Orlen Team crew that took over the role of attacking the first position. Their task was not made easier by the Tiger Energy Drink Rally Team duo, but this competition brought Rallytechnology another valuable result. Kasperczyk and Syty did not allow to take the top step of the podium, winning 5 out of seven attempts of the rally along the way.The second crew of the rate were Wróblewski and Wróbel, who recorded the remaining two sections on their account. At the finish line of the first round of the Silesian cycle, the crews were 14.6 seconds apart.
The first results and information from the Rally di Roma Capitale were also very positive. Dariusz Poloński and Łukasz Sitek started the second joint season in the Abarth Rally Cup, from the best time of the test stage and the third result of the later qualifying stage, in the entire ERC2 category. They could not have started bettert he rally itself, when after the first attempt (Pico - Greci / 13.40 km) they were leading in ERC2 by over 45 seconds!The Poles have gained an even greater advantage among Abarths and all rear-wheel drive cars.
Unfortunately, the streak did not last long, because on OS 2 there were problems with the turbocharger, and after this attempt it had to return to the service area on the tow truck. The added time loss was large, but the second stage and another 9 special stages were still to be decided. On Sunday morning, the Poles again gave their rivals a strong signal, saving another "stage" victory on their account. When optimism returned to the ranks of the team, something happened that could be boldly cited as an example of deja vu.A new turbo failed in the rally car and the team eventually withdrew from the 8th edition of the Rally di Roma Capitale.
Robert Gabryszewski (Rallytechnology team leader):This weekend we were not only in two different rally worlds, but as it turned out also at two different poles of emotions. On the Polish stages, we recorded another valuable result for the Polo GTI R5, and the last stage of preparations for Rzeszów could not be more optimistic for us. The sight of our two duos at the top of the scoreboard is a source of sporting pride, but from the RSMP 2020 perspective, the times and style of this win are important. The boys rode clean and steadily, and their mutual competition is gaining momentum.
Unfortunately, in the rally where the fight was fought for points, we only had to enjoy the views and the atmosphere. The organizers deserve a lot of applause for the determination with which they fought so that the ERC would not be missing in Rome this year. Healthcare was taken seriously and meticulous precautions were put in place - from masks and disinfectants to repeatedly testing the temperature of competitors and team members.
Breakdowns are part of a sport that puts cars through a massive test of endurance, but such a scenario was hard to predict. The final of the rally hurts all the more because Darek and Łukasz clearly showed that this weekend they could afford to fight for another win in Rome. It remains to cool down, analyze what has happened and mobilize forces before the Rzeszów Rally and the fight for points in Rally Liepaja.
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