Wet, terribly quick and bumpy special stages of the first loop of Circuit of Ireland Rally were run in extremely tricky, unpredictable conditions. Mud thrown on the road and standing water in many places are just two examples of pitfalls awaiting LOTOS Rally Team crew, driving here for the first time. Only one thing was certain over opening 42 kilometres of ferocious fight in round three of FIA ERC: the grip was unbelievably changeable. Moreover, today’s stages are exactly the same as last year, so the crews with experience on these roads enjoy significant advantage.

The competition began with 14.54-kms Bucks Head stage, on which Kajetanowicz and Baran set fifth quickest time, the best among drivers who start for the first time in Northern Ireland. On the next stage, legendary and extremely difficult Hamilton’s Folly test, Kajto and Jarek launched a successful attack. Standing water and mud did not stop LOTOS Rally Team crew from setting amazing second fastest result on the longest stage of Day 1. On the third test the Polish crew was surprised by oil patch at the beginning of the stage. There was no chance to keep the car on the right track in tight corner. They had to reverse after spin and significant time loss resulted in loosing excellent third position in overall standings, held by Kajetan and Jarek after second special stage.

Thanks to consistent and assured drive during first loop of Circuit of Ireland Rally, Kajetanowicz and Baran occupy top spot among debutants in this event and hold sixth position in overall standings. Today the crews still face five special stages with total length of 45.05 kms.

Kajetan Kajetanowicz: – This loop was fantastic, full of unbelievable emotions. Inside the car we have a lot of work to do in such conditions, when the grip changes virtually with every meter and there are so many pitfalls on the road. It is very slippery: all stages were wet, there was a lot of standing water, so there were many more surprises than during recce. We do not know these stages, so we do not know where we should expect these surprises. Second stage was probably the best tarmac test I have driven in my life, although there were many surprising places – and those jumps, literally amazing! On stage three we had a moment – the rear just stepped out. Later we found out that there was oil patch on the road. We are here for the first time, so this loop was an intensive course of driving on these jaw-dropping stages. I am happy that there are so many fans from Poland and also those who live on the island.

Starts of Kajetan Kajetanowicz and Jarek Baran are supported by strategic partner of LOTOS Rally Team - LOTOS Group - as well as CUBE.ITG and Driving Experience. More info about Kajetan Kajetanowicz and the team available at: www.lotosrallyteam.pl, www.kajto.pl, www.facebook.com/EmocjeDoPelna, www.facebook.com/KajetanKajetanowicz and www.twitter.com/Kajto_pl