After a previous outing on Tarmac, Adrian Rzeźnik (19) will drive the Skoda Fabia RS Rally2 on a loose surface for the first time at Arctic Rally Finland.
Part of the Finnish championship, the Arctic Lapland Rally has been touted as a candidate for the European Rally Championship calendar. This year’s edition has over 220 kilometres of special stages – divided into 12 stages, which will be held among snow banks and rows of trees, some of them also after dark. Crews in Rally2 cars, equipped with special studded tyres, achieved average speeds of over 130 km/h on these stages.
For 19-year-old Adrian Rzeźnik, who forms a crew with Kamil Kozdroń, this will be his first start in a Skoda Fabia RS Rally2 – in the colours of BERG Inwestycje, RacingSimulator, PRO-FAMILIA Specialist Hospital, Nivette Fleet Management and Laurelle – on loose surfaces and in typical winter conditions. In previous seasons, young driver competed mainly on gravel – his favourite surface – in Estonia, Sweden, Lithuania and finally in his home Rally Poland.
Rzeźnik: ‘My first Fabia RS Rally2 start on loose surface’
“Starting in Rally2, which is a category higher than usual – it’s hard to imagine a better start to the season, so I’m very excited. This is my first rally in a Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 on loose surface, in this case snow, and also my first start in Finland, so we have a very interesting experience ahead of us.
“There are as many as 220 kilometres of special stages, so the Arctic Rally could easily be one of the rounds of the European Rally Championship. The stages are quite long, one is as long as 32 kilometres – it’s a real challenge, but Kamil, the team and I are optimistic.
“We will work hard to prepare properly for the season with the help of a good team. Starting with such a car in January is definitely a big handicap,” said Adrian Rzeźnik.
“We are starting racing exceptionally early this year. That’s great, because there’s no time to wait and we have to work through the winter. At Barbórka, Santa Claus didn’t give us the result we expected, so now we’re going to get our revenge on his turf – all the way to Rovaniemi in Finland.
“The field looks extremely strong, and among the competitors we will see names such as Grönholm, Hirvonen and… Rzeźnik – descendants of drivers who were successful years ago. We have a great adventure ahead of us, our hats are already packed,” added Kamil Kozdroń.
Photo: PR Rzeźnik
