The Rally Poland is one of the oldest rally competitions in the world. It was first held in 1921. Poland was also one of the events in the inaugural 1973 WRC season, but it took 36 years for the rally to return to the WRC calendar. During this time, the rally moved its base from the south of the country to the north, and it was also held on tarmac at the European Championship level. The last Polish WRC rally was in 2017, when safety issues demoted the event back to the European Championship.
This rally is known for its narrow, soft, but fast gravel roads. In many ways, their character resembles the roads of the Rally Estonia. The route changes significantly every year, and it has almost nothing in common with the 2017 edition.
Thursday
Thursday’s itinerary (CET): 10:01 Test Special Stage Lubiewo 5.10 km 19:05 SS1 Mikolajki Arena 1 2.50 km
The Lubiewo test stage shares its final section with the 2017 Sadyn test stage.
You can see the shared section in the video from 1:10 – 2:05
The test stage also uses a short section of the same road as the power stage, though in a different direction.
The stage itself is a good shakedown, but it lacks the technical sections found in the actual rally. It starts fast and jumpy, has some tarmac in between, and ends on a high-speed section with no major jumps. There are also a couple of chicanes along the way.
SS1 Mikolajki Arena is a spectator stage for two cars and is remembered from 2009 when Jari-Matti Latvala broke his car on the final stage, spoiling Ford’s double victory.
The stage itself is quite smooth and natural. There are no artificial chicanes or jumps. The main straight is old tarmac, the rest is gravel.
The importance of this stage is increased by the fact that it is run three times during the rally. And that’s not all, the power stage also ends on this track, but in the opposite direction.
Friday
On Friday, 113 kilometres of special stages are run east of Mikolajki. There is no midday service, only a tyre change in the town of Olecko between loops.
Friday’s itinerary (CET):
08:45 SS2 Stańczyki 1 29.40 km
10:20 SS3 Wieliczki 1 12.90 km
11:10 SS4 Olecko 1 13.20 km
12:40 Tyre fitting
zone Olecko
14:05 SS5 Stańczyki 2 29.40 km
15:40 SS6 Wieliczki 2 12.90 km
16:30 SS7 Olecko 2 13.20 km
19:00 SS8 Mikolajki Arena 2 2.50 km
=113.50 km
SS2+5 Stańczyki is the longest stage of the rally at 29.4 kilometres. It was run in 2015 and 2016 but in a very different form. Only the latter part of this year’s stage was run in the same direction in 2016.
This long stage features various types of roads, but there are many long fast sections interspersed with short technical segments. Overall, it is a high-speed special stage.
The stage immediately showcases the trademarks of the Rally Poland: a start on tarmac, soft small roads, jumps in the countryside, and an tarmac junction. Technical sections can be found at 5.8 km, 15 km, and 18 km, as well as just before the finish line on tarmac. Apart from these, the stage is mostly fast on narrow roads. At 27 km, there is a spectacular jump.
SS3+6 Wieliczki is new to the WRC level but has been run in the European Championship for the past three years. However, the start and end are new. This is a very straightforward fast stage, with most of the corners being either flat out or ninety-degree turns.
The new start is very fast, with only a few corners in the first 3.5 kilometres, most of which are on tarmac. The high speed continues onto the European Championship route until 7.2 km, where a cobblestone section and a wooden bridge add to the challenges. A short tarmac section leads to another fast gravel road with a jump.
The next forest section is more technical, but the end is fast again. Before the finish, there is another turn onto tarmac.
SS4+7 Olecko is partly familiar from previous years under the name Swietjano, but it is run in the opposite direction. Additionally, the start and end are new. This is more technical than the previous two stages but not particularly slow either!
Olecko starts on small roads with jumps and some technicality. The pace is interrupted by two tarmac sections and a more technical forest section at 4.2 km. At 8.1 km, the road narrows, but the speed remains. A short cobblestone section leads to a more angular finish on tarmac again.
The day ends with another run of SS8 Mikolajki Arena.
Saturday
Saturday is the longest day of the rally. Three stages, each run twice, are just over or under 20 km long, making a total of 124 kilometres. The stages are run in the same direction as on Friday, but this time there is a service break in Mikolajki in the middle.
Saturdays's itinerary:
08.30 SS9 Świętajno 1 18.50 km
09.45 SS10 Gołdap 1 19.90 km
10.35 SS11 Czarne 1 22.40 km
13.25 SS12 Mikołajki Arena 3 2.50 km
15.00 Service Mikolajki
16.00 SS13 Świętajno 2 18.50 km
17.15 SS14 Gołdap 2 19.90 km
18.05 SS15 Czarne 2 22.40 km
=124.10 km
SS9+13 Świętajno is the first complete stage where old pace notes might be useful, as it has been run in the European Championship for the past two years in exactly the same form. It only briefly appeared in the WRC in 2015 as part of the Mazury stage.
Świętajno is mostly run on small roads, but there are several asphalt or cobblestone sections that interrupt the flow. Rhythm and surface changes don’t always occur at junctions, but there are 15 junctions on this stage!
The stage starts relatively wide and fast but becomes narrower and more technical in the forest. The first cobblestone section comes at 4 km, with tarmac sections at 6 and 9.7 km. After the latter, the stage becomes faster. Two small road sections and a turn onto tarmac lead to a wider, faster road towards the finish.
SS10+14 Gołdap is another stage where old notes might be useful. It was run in the same way in the 2018 European Championship and hasn’t been run since. It was part of the WRC in 2015-2017 in the opposite direction.
This stage is similar to the previous one, with plenty of rhythm changes and asphalt sections. However, it is the faster of the two.
The beginning and end of the stage repeat a pattern of short technical sections followed by longer fast sections, and then an asphalt link. At 8.4 km, the second tarmac section is wide but has curbs. After this, the rhythm changes in an unusual way: first, a narrow fast road, then a wider, more twisty section before another tarmac section.
SS11+15 Czarne is the longest stage of the day at 22.4 kilometres. Nominally it is new, but it was run in the WRC in 2015 and 2016 under the name Babki. This year’s Czarne is practically the 2016 Babki in the opposite direction, while in 2015 the initial part was in the same direction, but the end was different.
This stage is faster than the previous two. Most of the roads are high-speed, but there are sudden rhythm changes to slow and technical sections.
The high-speed start is initially narrow, then wider. At 3.9 km, there is a brake into a junction, followed by a slightly technical section.
At 7.7 km, there is a more angular section with some tarmac and cobblestones. At 10 km, the speed picks up for three kilometres until a technical forest section, followed by jumps in open fields and then an asphalt junction – like a miniature of the entire Rally Poland!
After this, the route turns onto a section not run in 2016. It is narrow and angular, with a twisty tarmac section. The end of the stage is fast again, although there is a technical section at 19.8 km.
This time, the spectator stage SS12 Mikolajki Arena is run before the service break. It is the third run of the stage.
Sunday
On Sunday, the rally heads west of Mikolajki, although the power stage ends practically in the service park. The Sunday points are contested over a 64-kilometre route.
Sunday's itinerary (CET):
08:00 SS16 Gmina Mrągowo 1 20.80 km
09:05 SS17 Mikołajki 1 10.73 km
11:20 SS18 Gmina Mrągowo 2 20.80 km
13:15 SS19 Mikołajki 2 (Power Stage) 10.73 km
=63.06 km
SS16+18 Gmina Mrągowo is a staple of the Rally Poland, although it has also been run under the names Baranowo and Uzanki. Most often, the driving direction has been reversed, but in 2017 a small section was run in the same direction.
This stage is angular, with rhythm changes from very fast to very technical. It also features some of the narrowest roads of the rally and only a few jumps. In many places, the road edges have high banks instead of ditches.
The start is again on tarmac, followed by a narrow, somewhat technical road. At 4.5 km, the route goes through a village, circling a rough-looking building on a concrete base.
The next section is very fast except for a few tight corners and one asphalt junction. At 14 km, a chicane at a three-way junction leads to a very narrow cart track. After this, rhythm changes become more frequent, with a short cobblestone section at 18.1 km.
SS17+19 Mikołajki functions as the power stage on its second run and ends on the Mikolajki Arena spectator stage track. It is essentially a combination of the 2023 and 2018 European Championship stages. In the WRC, this road has been used only partially as test stages and on the 2014 Baranowo stage.
Apart from the spectator circuit at the end and numerous chicanes, this is a high-speed stage. Most of the main roads are wide and well-surfaced, except for a few short small-road sections. The final road towards Mikolajki Arena is narrow but fast tarmac, although it is also curbed by two chicanes.
The spectator loop is run differently from the main spectator stage. This time, the track is run in the opposite direction initially, then a hairpin turn at the end of the main straight leads to a final sprint in the correct direction.
