Franceschi fastest on qualifying stage
Mathieu Franceschi scored the best time in the qualifying stage of the Silesian Rally. On the 3.05 km route, the runner-up of the European Championship standings was 1.1 seconds faster than Andrea Mabellini and 1.3 seconds faster than Miko Marczyk. The fourth time belongs to ERC leader Hayden Paddon and Jon Armstrong (+1.6 seconds).
Driving a Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 on Michelin tyres, Franceschi completed the 3.05km test in a table-topping time of 1min 43.10sec, a performance that will put the French championship contender first on the road for leg one.
“I feel really, really nice,” Franceschi said. “I want to enjoy the maximum I can this last race of the year. For sure for the title it will be difficult but I just try to enjoy and have a good pace to finish the year. For the Qualifying Stage it’s nice to open the road because the cuts will be with a lot of mud so this is my strategy.”
Andrea Mabellini was second fastest for Team MRF Tyres in a time of 1min 44.2sec, followed by home hero Miko Marczyk (pictured below), who was 0.2sec behind, and championship leader Hayden Paddon.
Driving a Pirelli-equipped Hyundai i20 N Rally2, Paddon opted for a different strategy to his title rival Franceschi, as he explained: “There are so many anti-cuts on this rally that I don’t think there will be much mud coming out. If you’re a bit further behind [on the road] you can watch what the others are doing.”
The defending ERC champion continued: “It’s a different approach [on this rally]. Wales was all or nothing for us. Here I need to push to keep the rhythm but it’s a no-risk approach. It’s a tricky rally but this stage was not relevant at all to the rally because there was a lot of mud in here, which I don’t think we’ll see so much of tomorrow. It was a nice clean run today.”
Behind Paddon, Jon Armstrong was fifth quickest in his Pirelli-equipped Ford Fiesta Rally2 with Simone Tempestini next up after a brief slide.
Tempestini, who is being co-driven in the ERC for the first time by Francesca Maior, is also starting his first event in a Fabia RS Rally2 equipped with MRF Tyres.
Yoann Bonato was seventh on his return to ERC action from serious injury with Polish championship leader Jarosław Szeja eighth, Jakub Matulka ninth and Jarosław Kołtun 10th.
After going off the road on his first run of Free Practice, Philip Allen also went off on the Qualifying Stage, getting out of shape for a fast left-hander and sliding backwards into a ditch.
Rally Silesia 2024 – Qualifying stage results
1. Franceschi/Malfoy (FRA/FRA, Skoda Fabia RS Rally2) 1:43.989 s
2. Mabellini/Lenzi (ITA/ITA, Skoda Fabia RS Rally2) +0.18 s
3. Marczyk/Gospodarczyk (POL/POL, Skoda Fabia RS Rally2) +0.389 s
4. Paddon/Kennard (NZL/NZL, Hyundai i20N Rally2) +0.664 s
5. Armstrong/Treacy (IRL/IRL, Ford Fiesta Rally2) +0.755 s
6. Tempestini/Maior (ROU/ROU, Skoda Fabia RS Rally2) +0.972 s
7. Bonato/Bolloud (FRA/FRA, Citroen C3 Rally2) +0.972 s
8. Szeja/Szeja (POL/POL, Skoda Fabia Rally2 evo) +1.623 s
9. Matulka/Dymurski (POL/POL, Skoda Fabia Rally2 evo) +1.81 s
10. Kołtun/Pleskot (POL/POL, Skoda Fabia RS Rally2) +2.143 s
11. Gabryś/Syty (POL/POL, Skoda Fabia RS Rally2) +2.575 s
12. Grzyb/Binięda (POL/POL, Skoda Fabia RS Rally2) +2,828 s
13. Byśkiniewicz/Siatkowski (POL/POL, Skoda Fabia Rally2 evo) +3.043 s
14. Evans/Jackson (GBR/GBR, Toyota GR Yaris Rally2) +3.877 s
15. Kwiatkowski/Kozdroń (POL/POL, Skoda Fabia Rally2 evo) +4.62 s
Silesia Rally – information:
The first edition of the Rally Silesia took place in 2017, immediately as a round of the Polish Championship – the most important rally series in our country. In the following years, the event was gradually developed – competitors in historic rally cars joined the participants, the Rally Silesia emerged new Polish champions and a spectacular show was organized – a special stage in the center of Katowice. In 2023, the competition gained international rank, becoming part of the FIA European Rally Trophy. It also gained recognition from the World Automobile Federation (FIA) and the promoter of the European Championship, which resulted in the promotion of the Rally Silesia to the European Rally Championship (FIA ERC) – the second most important series in the world.
The honorary patronage over the competition was assumed by Wojciech Saługa, Marshal of the Silesian Voivodeship.
The main partner of the Rally Silesiais the Silesian Voivodeship.
The strategic partner of the Rally Silesia is the Upper Silesian-Zagłębie Metropolis.
The event’s partners are the city of Katowice and the MOYA brand. The co-organizer of the event is the Silesian Stadium in Chorzów.
The event’s partner is also the Ministry of Sport, and the task was co-financed from the state budget from the part administered by the Minister of Sport and Tourism.
All information about the Rally Silesia can be found on the website www.rallysilesia.com, Facebook @rajdslaska, Instagram @rajd_slaska and Twitter @RajdSlaska.
