Kajetan Kajetanowicz and Jarek Baran dominated the first loop of Jännerrallye, winning three opening stages of FIA European Rally Championship curtain raiser. After topping yesterday’s Qualifying Stage, today LOTOS Rally Team crew did excellent job in extremely tough conditions on snowy and icy roads. At the end of the first loop their advantage over second-placed Robert Consani exceeded 30 seconds.

Opening stage of Austrian FIA ERC counter, Pierbach 1, was a real test of competitors’ abilities. Kajto and Jarek won this test with 6.4s advantage, avoiding mistakes which halted their rivals’ progress. On the next two stages – Liebenau and St. Oswald – LOTOS Rally Team crew consistently stuck to their plan, increasing the lead in overall standings by 10.1s and 12.1s. Today the competitors face another seven special stages, with final loop run in the dark.

Kajetan Kajetanowicz: – It was a very good loop for us. We maintain great pace, I have good feeling and I keep perfect line so we are happy. These special stages are fantastic. Sometimes we slide a lot while driving at high speed, reaching even 180 kph. We go sideways, putting the car between snow poles which mark the road edges. It is incredible and at the finish line I realise how well I feel in the cockpit and how much fun I have. The conditions are perfect, we rarely have a chance to drive in similar way in Poland and we did not practised too much on such surface. I want to stay focused and calm because we fight against very fast opponents and our experience in these conditions is not great. The rally is long so we want to withstand the pressure until the finish.