General News
21 July 2006

	Copyright © Subaru Poland Rally Team

Polish rally star Leszek Kuzaj has been turning heads for a couple of seasons now, winning in unlikely circumstances and against some seriously strong opposition. On last year's Ardenne Bleue Rally in Belgium, he took on and beat a brace of WR cars for victory in heavy snow. This year, Kuzaj has entered the PCWRC to complement his national championship ambitions. On only his second round in the PCWRC, he scored a remarkable fourth place in Argentina.

His rallying on home soil is making even more headlines: the SUBARU driver has won every event in his national championship so far this year! That's four victories from four rounds, one of which was June's Rally Poland (WRC-candidate gravel rally), a round of the FIA European Rally Championship that attracts competitors from all over the region and beyond.

Regularly an eight-round series, this year's Polish Rally Championship has been reduced to seven events due to the cancellation of Round 2 in April.

The latest feather in Leszek's cap came on the first weekend in July, on the SUBARU Poland Rally. The event itself has been run for many years; though 2006 marks the first time the event has naming rights belonging exclusively to SUBARU.

As with the majority of national-level events, it was basically a two-day affair. There was however, a very well-attended ceremonial start and Superspecial spectator stage the night before the first leg to get the people of the country's second city, Krakow excited about the following two days' rallying.

	Copyright © Subaru Poland Rally Team

The opening leg was in complete contrast to the spectator stages, heavy rain replacing the hot and dry conditions of the previous evening. It would remain wet throughout the two days and 12 special stages of the event. Split evenly into six stages per day, the tarmac roads caught out a good number of competitors in the slick conditions. Sure-footed as ever, Kuzaj made no mistakes and had a commanding lead by the end of the first leg.

His strongest competitor was once again fellow Pole Michal Fonowow, competing in an Evo 9, and a regular rival on the Polish championship. There was also opposition from Michal Bebenek, though his pace was no match for Leszek, who won all the second day's tests.

Leszek Kuzaj:
"I am very happy with this win here on the SUBARU Poland Rally. It was a difficult event because at the start we made a wrong tyre choice, but still we managed to take the win by over two minutes. So I'm very happy overall. This is the fourth rally in a row that we've won, and it feels really great right now! I want to thank the entire team for giving me such a good car, and for preparing everything so perfectly."

It was a jubilant scene after the rally was won when Leszek came back into service and the whole team - all the mechanics and engineers - knelt around him thanking and praising him like a god!

The next event in the championship takes place over the first weekend in August.