The 2024 FIA World Rally Championship continued with Round 07, Rally Poland, taking place from June 27-30, 2024. This leg of the championship featured seven stages covering a total distance of 124km. On the second full day of rallying, the crews faced various challenges. The first stage had to be temporarily halted due to unruly spectators, but it eventually resumed after a 15-minute break.
During the first stage, Fourmaux initially set the fastest time. However, Rovanpera quickly caught up and surpassed the Frenchman by a margin of 3.5 seconds. Evans followed closely behind, trailing by only 0.9 seconds. Mikkelsen also performed well, finishing just 1.3 seconds behind Rovanpera. As a result, Mikkelsen took the lead by a slim half-second margin. Evans maintained his position in third, only 1.1 seconds behind the leader. Fourmaux secured fourth place and started to establish a comfortable lead over Sesks. Meanwhile, Neuville, in seventh place, put pressure on Munster, while Katsuta remained stuck in eighth.
Tanak made a comeback and achieved the fifth fastest stage time. However, he was ranked 14th overall. The tenth stage proved to be crucial as Mikkelsen lost 5.1 seconds to Rovanpera, dropping to third place overall. Evans closely followed the double champion’s every move. Neuville, who aimed to reach fifth place overall, overtook Munster and secured sixth place before the final stage of the morning loop.
Stage 11 also faced delays due to spectator control issues. Similar problems occurred when the WRC last visited Poland in 2017, resulting in the event being removed from the calendar. This year’s return of the Polish rally is a one-time occurrence, and considering the stage cancellations and delays, it is unlikely to be included in future championships.
Once the stage started, the intense three-way battle for the lead continued. Rovanpera, despite not being satisfied with his pace, managed to maintain his lead by a mere one tenth of a second over teammate Evans. Mikkelsen won the stage, narrowing the gap between the top three to only 2.2 seconds. Fourmaux displayed impressive performance, securing fourth place and further extending his lead over Sesks. Neuville managed to shave off 0.1 seconds from Sesks’ time in his pursuit of fifth place.
During the 18.7km mark of the stage, Kajetan Kajetanowicz encountered trouble as his car tilted onto two wheels and veered off track, causing significant damage to his Skoda’s front left suspension. In the WRC2 category, Pajari held a comfortable lead of half a minute over Robert Virves in a Skoda.
No significant changes occurred during the SuperSpecial stage before the service break. However, Tanak decided to retire from the rally due to engine issues. With no Saturday points available, he chose to return to the service area to refresh his i20 N ahead of Super Sunday.
Unfortunate events unfolded during stage 13, as Evans suffered a delaminated tire, costing him 8.9 seconds and dropping him to third place overall, 6.5 seconds behind Mikkelsen. In the WRC2 category, Oliver Solberg, who struggled on the first day, made significant progress, finishing seventh and closing the gap to Virves to just 2.5 seconds.
In the second-to-last stage of the day, Rovanpera extended his lead to 5.2 seconds. Evans, who had exhausted his spare tire, had to manage the situation and fell 13.3 seconds behind the leader and 8.1 seconds behind his Hyundai rival. Fourmaux maintained a secure fourth place, with a comfortable lead of approximately 20 seconds over Sesks, who faced immense pressure from Neuville, trailing by a mere 2.4 seconds. In the WRC2 category, Solberg continued to narrow the gap to Virves.
During the final stage of the day, Neuville gave his all but made a small mistake, which he believes cost him a second. However, that second was crucial, as Sesks also pushed himself to the limit and managed to retain fifth place by a mere 0.1 second. Rovanpera delivered an outstanding performance, finishing the final stage 6.5 seconds faster than any other competitor. Evans surpassed Mikkelsen but settled for third place in terms of Saturday points. Fourmaux claimed fourth place, followed by Sesks, Neuville, Munster, and Katsuta.
In the WRC2 category, Sami Pajari maintained full control, while Solberg, who had pushed his car to its limits throughout the day, climbed to second place, trailing the flying Toyota pair by 26 seconds.