Breslau Poland – DAY 7: The best stage of the week

Gepubliceerd op: 06-07-2018 21:11

The day before the last day.. there is a special tension in the bivouac as the mechanics prepares the vehicles for the last time, the drivers and co-drivers recover from the day and weigh their chances for the stage tomorrow.. Today was the seventh stage of the Rallye Breslau Poland, an almost perfect day in the forest north of Miastko, with a fast and exciting roadbook and two seperate stages, around Dretyn and Bobolice.

”Today was the best stage ever this week, wow!” says Jim Marsden. ”It made me think of the nicest races I’ve done in my life, with a fantastic mix of fast tracks, technical sections and the odd swamp to cross. Even though we did not win today, I was impressed.’ Tomorrow he will try to win the Rallye Breslau Poland, but Romain Porchere is a tough competitor. ”He is such a determined guy, fantastic. We went up and down this week, but he has produced straight and stable results. It would be a deserved win, but I am definitely trying to keep him away from that spot on the podium!”

”When Grzegorz called me to navigate in the Dacia here, he said he wanted to go for the win”, says Grzegorz Kamar, the co-pilot of the white Dacia. ”I laughed at him, I though he was aiming too high. But we decided to go for it and the results so far have been beyond my expectation. We are breaking the system with our Dacia! It was not easy to get here, we had our share of issues. One day we lost the rear differential and we drove 150km on front wheel drive.. it was tough, we had to think ahead about every step. And now we need one more thing, and that is to finish tomorrow evening!”

Nikke Harkjaer tried to make an end to his participation in the Breslau today, crashing his quad in a low speed corner along a steep hill. ‘I was surprised by a ditch, and before I knew it the quad rolled down the hill. Somehow I have lost my low speed skills, I don’t know what happened. But MArcin was there in no-time and together we managed to get it back on the track. Now it’s just plastic, a steering rod and some small things. Tomorrow we are racing for the last time, I look forward to it!’

Racing a Jeep Grand Cherokee, Frank Amsallem and Amelie Perrin put their trial-experience to work in the Polish forests. ”Today everyone overtook us in the swamp”, says Amelie. ”The pneumatic switch of the winch did not work and we got stuck until I found out it was just a simple problem. But we are here to drive each day and finish.” After three years of building the car, it performs above expectation. ”We did not have any big problems, and we are really pleased to be here with all these experienced teams!”

Breaking the steering arm of his Scania for the second time this rally, Hans van Geest created a nice situation for the recovery crew of Achim Lust. Putting the 8×8 truck to work, they drove a truck-trial section with the Scania on tow. It was a fantastic piece of work and a confidence booster for Truck Team Holten who expected to stay in the forest overnight while fixing the Scania on the track. ‘The recovery team did an awesome job, and even though we are sad to loose our first place in the ranking it was quite an adventure!”

Tomorrow is the last day, and the Breslau has always been decided, lost or won on the last stage. We expect fireworks this year with a magnificent route around the Miastko forestry. No loops or circles but 145 km of pure rally-raid through the unique landscape of Pomerania in Northern Poland. Small tracks, fire roads, logging tracks, forests, fields and villages are the backdrop of today’s stage, a fantastic chase across the Polish countryside and a true ‘finale’ of the Rallye Breslau Poland 2018!

Link to live results

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Breslau Poland – DAY 6: Racing towards the sunset

Leaving Drawsko Pomorski the teams say goodbye to this fantastic region. The Rallye Breslau Poland moves to the north-west, to the second stage of today and the last bivouac in Gwda Wielka. Starting in the afternoon in Drawsko, it took until 17:30 before the first competitor started in the superfast and sandy second stage on the Czarne polygon. Here the evening light created a magic feeling for the competitors, as they were racing towards the sunset.. Remy Kusy opened the track today, chasing the fastest overall time set by Nikke Harkjaer. In the Cross Country ranking the quads take the lead, with fantastic speed and sportmanship. Marcin Talaga joins their battle after the first stage, showing excellent speed on the Czarne Polygon, making a place for himself in between the two front runners. Remy Kusy had the disadvantage of opening the stage, finishing as third rider in Gwda Mala.  Tomasz Wojtyra in his Can AM and Jaroslaw Andrzejewski in the fast Toyota are chasing each other for the fastest time on four wheels. Both have experience in the sand and with the navigation, and the battle between these two Polish teams racing on their own soil is fantastic. Even though Tomasz wins the stage, Jaroslaw is smiling from ear to ear after the stage. It was a fast and succesful day for him with almost 15 minutes lead over the next competitor in Car Cross Country. The evening light over the Czarne Polygon is beautiful, showing the colors of the moorland, the flowers and the forest. Not all racers will recognize this, but part of the Rallye Breslau Poland is the adventure, the driving pleasure and the ability to see beautiful places otherwise closed for the general public. Drawsko Pomorski has this flair, just as the Czarne area. These places have seen all sides of the recent history, and the Rallye Breslau Poland fills them with international competition and friendship. In the Extreme Class Romain Porchere leads the stage all the way from Drawsko to Czarne, flying with his white-blue proto. All the front runners from yesterday had issues – Franck Daurelle’s engine took water in the ‘Ladoga’ swamp, Jim Marsden had to help his assistance on the route and the Hertwig brothers lost almost 1:30h in Drawsko – today shows that in the Breslau anything can happen! It was fantastic!” Marzena Kaczmarek is cheering at the finishline, ‘We had such a great day! After yesterdays problems, now we took our revenge!” The little yellow trophy car is piloted by Marzena and navigated by her fiancé, Bartosz Kulpinski. ”We race together because it brings us together. To be in the mud, to be sweaty and dirty and to achieve goals together. And on a day like this, it is perfect!” Kay Messner wins the Extreme Truck class today, ahead of Patrick Toepfer (Unimog) and Thomas Pohle (IFA). the trucks fly across the stage today, with only a few special extreme points and mostly fast flowing sand and forest tracks. ‘It was a fast day, very nice driving with the truck!’ according to a cheerful Kay at the finishline. His MAN KAT is far from standard, but still a basic and tough army truck and accessible for everyone who knows to handle a pair of spanners. Tomorrow, the competitors drive two stages around the villages of Dretyn and Bobolice. Heading north they go deep into the forests, on old and sinuous tracks that offer a fantastic riding experience before reaching modern wood production areas with their remarkable logging tracks. In the second half of the stage the landscape changes, with fast long straights, open spaces and speed before reaching the finish line near Kawcze. Link to live results
 
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