Is it possible to beat the local drivers, including national champion, in your first outing in the fastest round of the oldest rally series in the world? With their outstanding performance in Rally Estonia, the Polish duo Kajetanowicz/Baran proved that such results are possible. After 127 kilometres of breathtaking and unbelievably tight battle LOTOS Rally Team crew finished Day 1 of round six of FIA European Rally Championship in excellent second place in overall standings. Over the whole first leg Kajto and Jarek did not give rally leaders and Estonian champions – Alexey Lukyanuk and Alexey Arnautov – any breathing space. On Saturday the Polish crew impressed with their consistency, recording seven top-three finishes on nine stages, winning the fastest test Urvaste 2 with unbelievable average speed of 141.55 kph.

After ten special stages just 2.4s separates Kajetanowicz and Baran from the lead. Thanks to excellent performance on the roads around Otepää Kajto scored 49 points in FIA ERC Gravel Masters classification. Big points haul means that the Polish driver overtook Craig Breen, the previous leader in the gravel standings.

Small gaps mean that the fight for victory in Rally Estonia will basically start from scratch tomorrow. On Sunday the best European and local crews will fight on six special stages with total length of 63.8 kms. The battle in round six of FIA ERC will finish around 15:00 CET.

Kajetan Kajetanowicz: – It was a very successful day for us. We drove virtually without mistakes. I think that rally leader Alexey Lukyanuk is extremely fast and it will be really difficult to catch him, especially given his very good knowledge of these stages. We are doing our best and we are learning rapidly. Our results and position in the standings surprise us in a pleasant way. We are happy that here – on the quickest stages in Europe – we can keep the pace of drivers who have been competing here for many seasons. Average speeds are unbelievable, even crazy – and underline the enormous challenge of this rally. It is impossible to compare these feelings of driving flat out through corners, jumps and forest to anything else. Sometimes I feel that I have no control of the situation because I am so close to the grip limit. This is why the adrenaline is boiling in my veins. This rally is undoubtedly one of those challenges which separate boys from men.

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