General News
7 October 2006

	Copyright © Kuzaj Sport

The seventh and final round of the 2006 Polish Rally Championship saw Leszek Kuzaj and co-driver Maciej Szczepaniak once again take the laurels from the competition in their third successive title on home soil.

It had been obvious since the previous round, mid-September's Rally Nikon, that Kuzaj was on for another title. Even after the disappointment of that event's final scrutineering where his car was excluded, the favourite for the title was never in doubt.

Kuzaj started his 2006 campaign with no fewer than four wins in a row, locking out virtually any chance for other drivers to challenge his position. The sole hiccup was on Round 5, where a rare mechanical failure sidelined Leszek.

Going into the final round, Kuzaj was as determined as ever to reach the top step of the podium. However, problems with the car occurred on the Superspecial, and lasted until the end of the rally. This, despite all possible attempts by the team to get the car to run as desired.

Rally Warszawski started with a 2-kilometre Superspecial in Warsaw, the capital of Poland, on Friday, September 29th. It was held at the Bemowo airport on a mixture of tarmac and gravel surfaces with a spectacular jump in the middle.

Unfortunately for Leszek, the Superspecial spectator stage was not a lucky place for himself and his co-driver. Problems with power and an incorrectly-functioning fuel gauge meant he would finish only 10th.

The rally proper got underway the following morning in sunny weather accompanied by a light breeze and temperatures of around 20ºC. The 12-stage event was run on gravel and featured a mix of very high-speed stages and low speed technical tests. The total competitive distance was 169.72 kilometres, 216.11 kms including road sections.

Copyright © Kuzaj Sport

Leszek encountered the same power loss problems from the previous day, and was further delayed when a brush with the scenery heavily damaged the right side of the car. He ended the first day in seventh place overall.

The following day's six stages were an enormous battle as Leszek pushed to make up positions. It proved very exciting for spectators and competitors alike as Leszek powered his way towards the sharp end of the timesheets. Kuzaj maintained his pace to the end, finishing in third place behind race winner Bebenek and second-place man Maciej Lubiak.

Although Leszek's objective is always to finish in first place only, he was very happy to take third this time out. With the woes of the first night and the following day, nobody expected him to end up on the podium. The result was just desserts for an unfailing effort all weekend.

1st:	L.KUZAJ/M.SZCZEPANIAK	46p
2nd:	M.SOLOWOW/M.BARAN	38p
3rd:	M.BEBENEK/G.BEBENEK	34p
4th:	T.KUCHAR/J.GERBER	33p
5th:	M.LUBIAK/M.WISLAWSKI	32p
6th:	T.CZOPIK/L.WRONSKI	24p