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The Stobart VK M-Sport Ford team have had a fantastic finish to Rally Poland, the eighth round of the FIA World Rally Championship, as Henning Solberg secured his second podium finish of the season. With Matthew Wilson and Krzysztof Holowczyc both scoring points, it is a result which sees the Cumbrian team break through the 250 manufacturer points threshold since joining the championship in 2006.
Solberg scored two stage victories on his way to a dramatic third place; the third rally in a row that the team has taken overall stage wins. Meanwhile Matthew Wilson added good points to his championship standing with fifth place and Krzysztof Holowczyc surpassed his best ever WRC performance with sixth. He made history scoring Poland’s first ever points in the WRC drivers’ championship; a feat which earned him the Abu Dhabi Spirit of the Rally award.
In one of the most exciting rallies of the season so far, both the vast crowds of spectators and the crews revelled in the incredibly fast, flowing roads around the Mazurian Lake District in northern Poland. Changeable weather conditions contributed to the challenge for the drivers on the sandy, tree-lined roads with the surface becoming extremely slippery in the wet.
A capacity 10,000 crowd had set the tone for the weekend as they turned out to watch Thursday night’s Super Special stage kick off the rally in Mikolajki. Solberg and co-driver Cato Menkerud began their battle with Petter Solberg which would last throughout the rally, the younger brother snatching the honours. Wilson and co-driver Scott Martin got the better of Russian youngster Evegeny Novikov, while Holowczyc thrilled the fanatical Polish fans finishing just outside the top ten.
After overcoming set-up problems on the early stages of day one, Solberg posted some scorching times on the second pass of the three-stage loop along the coast of Sniardwy Lake, taking fifth place and homing in on his brother one place ahead. Wilson also had a strong day, moving up to seventh and staying in touch with fast-charging Sebastien Ogier one place ahead. Holowczyc and co-driver Lukasz Kurzeja, on a rare outing in a WRC car, found their rhythm as the day went on, ending the day in ninth and just outside the points.
Day two took the 47 starting crews east and north of Rally HQ in Mikolajki for the longest day of the rally, 149.44kms over two passes of a three-stage loop. With further changes made to his car overnight, Solberg lifted his game again to hunt down his sibling’s Citroën Xsara, aiming to maintain familial advantage in the drivers’ championship.
It turned out to be an epic battle, with Ogier also vying for fourth place, and the initiative changed hands constantly throughout the day with Solberg eventually pushed down to sixth at the end of the day, but with just 10 seconds separating all three drivers.
Wilson posted consistently strong times to maintain his place in the points but had to have one eye on the car behind him as Holowczyc moved into eighth place, using all of his local knowledge to try and claim his first WRC points finish. But, not for the first time this season, Solberg saved his best for last as he moved up the field again on Sunday morning.
On the first stage of the morning he moved back up to fifth and continued his excellent run taking victory on the next two stages, closing the gap on Ogier and then taking fourth place as the Frenchman suffered engine problems. The Norwegian gained a further place in dramatic fashion as BP Ford Abu Dhabi’s Jari-Matti Latvala crashed out from second place on the closing Super Special Stage. That incident elevated Wilson to fifth, a reward for another weekend of mature and consistent driving.
After a steady morning, which had seen team mate Holowczyc cut his advantage, he turned up the pace this afternoon to stay ahead and score more good points for the team. Holowczyc’s sixth capped off a fabulous weekend for the team.
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