Yesterday the crews competing in Rally Estonia had the recce day on special stages of round six of FIA European Rally Championship. They prepared the pace notes at speeds in region of 50-70 kph but on Saturday and Sunday they will tackle the same roads with speeds reaching 180 kph. Today’s Qualifying Stage was a perfect appetiser before great excitement and tremendous pace on Estonian roads. The crews fought for the best times on the 2.95-kms stage and the results determine the order of selection of the road positions for the first leg of the rally.

In difficult, tricky conditions – the stage was full of blind crests and due to yesterday’s and today’s rain the road was damp – the Polish crew confirmed their excellent pace. Kajetanowicz and Baran in their Ford Fiesta R5 defeated not only other FIA ERC frontrunners but also extremely fast crews from Estonia and Russia who have rich experience on these roads. Thanks to this fantastic result, LOTOS Rally Team driver will be the first to choose his starting position.

This evening the best drivers in Europe will have another street fight, on spectacular city stage in Tartu – second biggest city in Estonia. Twisty 1.33-kms asphalt test begins at 19:00 CET. Kajetanowicz and Baran – second-placed crew in FIA ERC standings – will start this stage as second crew.

Kajetan Kajetanowicz: – The Qualifying Stage was very quick, similar to the stages on which we will fight tomorrow and on Sunday, although there were some rust after previous crews. We are happy because our time was very good and this result is a small but very nice surprise: we defeated fast drivers from Estonia who know how to fight here very well. We will do our best to keep good pace and concentration during the rally. These extremely quick stages really turn us on: they are faster than in Rally Poland and legendary Rally Finland. The most important thing in Estonia is the entry speed in quick corners and there are hardly any slow corners here, just a few :-) You have to be very brave but at the same time you need a lot of confidence which you gain with experience or by express learning mode. Our experience on Estonian gravel is very limited so the only thing we can do is learn as quickly as possible :-)

Jarek Baran: – My experience suggests that fast, gravel rallies always hide some secrets. During recce, when we drive at 50-70 kph, it is not easy to imagine what would happen on the same road, in the same corners, but at speeds reaching 180 kph. Many sections of the stages look similar to each other. Crests and blind corners mean that it is extremely important to have confidence in our pace notes, while driving at such high speed. This weekend should be exciting.

2. Martin Kangur (Estonia) +0.01 s

3. Karl Kruuda (Estonia) +0.71 s

4. Alexey Lukyanuk (Belarus) +1.08 s

5. Craig Breen (Ireland) +1.23 s

6. Siim Plangi (Estonia) +1.41 s