Arriving in Drawsko is like coming home for the Rallye Breslau Poland, with all the history of the rallye in the forests here. On the occasion of the 25th edition the Polygon has openend once again. The competitors see the most beautiful parts of it: the gigantic shooting ranges, the lush forests, the sand and the most challenging navigation in European rallyraids.
It is tradition for Daniel Radzio to finish first with his quad, and today he makes a perfect stage. “It was such a great roadbook! Left, right, with difficult navigation, I love it so much to go fast in such conditions!” He is cheering at the finish with his result and the sheer pleasure of racing.
Young but experienced motorbike rider Mirjam Pol is careful and pleased at the same time as she arrives at the finish. “I think I have everything,” she says, “It felt good, I saw my competitors go in all directions! I just went slower to make sure I had every tulip, had to go back several times and finally I am here!”
The competitors feel at home on the Polygon, it never ceases to amaze. The vastness of the forests, the complexity of the surface and the never ending sand tracks make every corner different and challenging. This year it will also be the decisionmaker: with the nightstage starting at 23:00h and tomorrows last stage with close to 200 km of roadbook before the final finish of the new Rallye Breslau Poland!
Arriving at the finish after Tsanko Tsanov and Zornitsa Todorova there is a small party in the Side by side of Yann van Beek and Emanuel Barraux, as they made it to the finish for another day. “We had such fun! It was really difficult today, the roadbook was precise but we had to be oh-so careful. And we enjoyed every minute of it, the stage here is made for our buggy!”
These days we see fast and faster cars at the Breslau, but today Benny and Sander Dille made a fantastic result with their classic Toyota Land Cruiser HZJ73, finishing as 6th vehicle. “My brother here made all the difference,” says Benny. “Perfect navigation from start to finish!” Wearing a classic RECTA compass, the humble Sander Dille doesn’t speak much but smiles like a winner, a fantastic result for the brothers.
You could hear the roaring engine and smell the hot brakes as Tom Heuer arrived with his Tatra 815. He wins the stage today, ahead of his main competitor Robert Striebe who looses time with a navigation mistake. “Robert took the wrong direction at a difficult point, that was our chance to overtake him,” says Tom with a smile. “But we still have two more stages..”
It is only by a margin that Tilo Suptitz arrives at the finishline, loosing air on his KAMAZ. At the finish the air is gone and the brakes are locked: no chance to move a truck in such a state. Former Breslau-winner Leon de Wit assists with a small repair underneath the KAMAZ and Robert Striebe connects an airline from his MAN to Tilo’s truck. Within minutes the KAMAZ is running again and can continue to the bivouac.
Tonight the Polygon will be lit by the many LED bars and lights of the competitors, as of 23:00h the first vehicles start for a tough nightstage. “Compared to last year I made it more difficult and more fun to race,” says Konstantin Panayotov, who is responsible for the roadbooks. “It will a long night, a Breslau night!”
