12 October 2024

Rally Silesia: Paddon and Kennard in the lead after Saturday’s leg

Hayden Paddon and John Kennard covered almost 18,000 km to compete in Rally Silesia – the final round of 2024 FIA ERC season. This effort paid off. The New Zealand duo won five out of eight stages of the Silesia Rally and lead event’s standings, being just a step from their second European championship title. The Silesia Rally also concludes the season in the Polish championship. After the second day of event Jarek and Marcin Szeja are on their way to clinch the title.

After Friday’s opening on the streets of Katowice, on Saturday, the competitors set off for the south of the region to tackle three special stages there. The itinerary included the Jastrzębie-Zdrój (17.04 km), Ochaby (10.8 km) and Gmina Jasienica (19.78 km) stages.

Mikolaj Marczyk and Szymon Gospodarczyk (Skoda Fabia RS Rally2) were leaving the service park at Silesian Stadium as rally leaders. Poles set the pace on the spectacular evening superspecial in Katowice (1.85 km).

Paddon in Pole position to claim ERC title gold

Hayden Paddon has completed the opening leg of Rally Silesia with one hand firmly on landing back-to-back FIA European Rally Championship titles. Ahead of Sunday’s deciding leg, Paddon leads Andrea Mabellini by 6.8sec with title rival Mathieu Franceschi languishing in fifth place. If the current positions remain unchanged, Paddon will take ERC title gold for the second year running with a margin of 35 points aboard his Pirelli-equipped Hyundai i20 N Rally2.

– Being clean and precise is probably the key – said the New Zealander, who set the quickest pace on five of Saturday’s seven asphalt stages. – I think when you start pushing you start over-driving and losing time. Obviously, we’re carrying extra weight with the extra tyres, there’s more in it but we’re quite comfortable doing what we’re doing at the moment.

While Paddon has excelled in southern Poland, Franceschi, who opted to go first on the road, struggled with handling issues, particularly during the morning loop when low ambient and ground temperatures made the low-grip stages even more precarious. 

Having bagged his breakthrough ERC podium on the last round in Wales, Mabellini reached the midday service halt at the Silesian Stadium 1.0sec behind Paddon on the back of a fine performance for Team MRF Tyres. Although the Italian slipped back during the afternoon in his Škoda Fabia RS Rally2, he remains firmly on course for a second consecutive runner-up result with team-mate Simone Tempestini 18.7sec behind in third.

Miko Marczyk, who won the Katowice Super Special Stage on Friday evening, dropped from third to fifth when he went off the road nearing the finish of SS3. But hit back to cement fourth place at close of play.

– We were off in the gravel part on the last corner; it was very muddy, and it was fortunate we came back after some seconds of loss – Marczyk explained, who is currently third in the ERC championship standings. – It was a long right corner that tightens, the finish of the gravel part. It was muddy, I was already opening the throttle and I lost the position from the road to the outside, my fault – he added.

After his AMD Motorport team made multiple set-up changes to his Michelin-shod Fabia RS Rally2 at midday service to “have more precision”, Franceschi demoted Grzegorz Grzyb to fifth on SS7 with Grzyb falling to sixth ahead of Jon Armstrong.

Armstrong’s bid for a breakthrough ERC podium suffered an early setback when his Ford Fiesta Rally2 lost power before the two-kilometre mark of SS2. The Motorsport Ireland Rally Academy driver was also delayed on SS3 with a half-spin. But he showed what might have been on SS4 by banking his second ERC career stage win despite running wide nearing the end of the Gmina Jasienica stage. He then repeated the feat when the stage was repeated in the afternoon.

Yoann Bonato (Citroën C3 Rally2) is eighth on his comeback from serious injury followed by Polish championship leader Jarosław Szeja and Zbigniew Gabryś. 

SS7 was red-flagged after Meirion Evans crashed his Toyota GR Yaris Rally2 at high speed. Although he and co-driver Jonathan Jackson were uninjured, with the road blocked at the 15.6km mark, rally officials were forced to stop the action.

– I love special stages in Poland. I love to compete here. The atmosphere is fantastic, with many spectators alongside the route. Being in Poland behind the wheel of a rally car is a pleasure. In the morning, my pace wasn’t the best. We improved the setup during service and increased the pace during the second loop – said Simone Tempestini.

Szeja brothers on the mission

The fight for the championship goes on in the Polish championship, too. After Saturday’s stage, Marczyk and Gospodarczyk are closest to victory in the final round of the RSMP. Two-time Rally Silesia winners will start Sunday’s part of the with a healthy margin (15.5s). Grzyb and Binięda, the reigning champions, hold second overall. The third place belongs to the Szeja brothers (Skoda Fabia Rally2 evo, +34.2 s). Keeping this result to the finish makes them the 2024 Polish rally champions.

– It was almost a perfect day for us. We stuck to our plan, focusing on the Polish championship classification – said Jarek Szeja.

A Swedish-Polish ‘virtual duel is underway among the crews with Rally3 cars. It is led by Mille Johansson and Johan Gronnvall followed by Hubert Laskowski, co-driven by Michał Kuśnierz. The Swede competes only in the European Championship, while Laskowski competes exclusively in the RSMP. After eight stages, the Swede is marginally better. Pole is 7.3 s adrift of the RC3 category leader.

In the 2WD category, Calle Carlsberg, co-driven by Norwegian Jorgen Eriksen (Opel Corsa Rally4) and Max McRae (Peugeot 208 Rally4) with Cameron Fair, are battling for victory. The young Scot loses 5.8s to the Swede. The best wPoles in this classification are Michał Chorbinski and Patryk Kielar (Peugeot 208 Rally4, +1:45.0 s), who lead the national 2WD category. Keeping this place will secure them the title of national champions in the 2WD classification.

The itinerary of the final leg of the Silesia Rally consists of three special stages. Each of them will be covered twice: Marklowice Górne (11.46 km), Hazlach (17.45 km) and Silesian Voivodship (11,87 km).

The closing ceremony and prize-giving will take place at 18:30 in the Silesian Stadium in Chorzów.

Rally Silesia 2024 – FIA ERC standings after SS 8 (Stadion Śląski):

  1. Paddon/Kennard (NZL/NZL, Hyundai i20N Rally2) 56:30,1 s
  2. Mabellini/Lenzi (ITA/ITA, Skoda Fabia RS Rally2) +6,8 s
  3. Tempestini/Maior (ROU/ROU, Skoda Fabia RS Rally2) +25,5 s
  4. Marczyk/Gospodarczyk (POL/POL, Skoda Fabia RS Rally2) +29,9 s
  5. Franceschi/Malfoy (FRA/FRA, Skoda Fabia RS Rally2) +42,3 s
  6. Grzyb/Binięda (POL/POL, Skoda Fabia RS Rally 2) +45,4 s
  7. Armstrong/Treacy (IRL/IRL, Ford Fiesta Rally2) +47,6 s
  8. Bonato/Bolloud (FRA/FRA, Citroen C3 Rally2) +1:01,0 s
  9. Szeja/Szeja (POL/POL, Skoda Fabia Rally2 Evo) +1:04,1 s
  10. Gabryś/Syty (POL/POL, Skoda Fabia RS Rally2) +1:19,0 s

Rally Silesia 2024 – RSMP standings after SS 8 (Stadion Śląski):

  1. Marczyk/Gospodarczyk (POL/POL, Skoda Fabia RS Rally2) 57:0,0 s
  2. Grzyb/Binięda (POL/POL, Skoda Fabia RS Rally 2) +15,5 s
  3. Szeja/Szeja (POL/POL, Skoda Fabia Rally2 Evo) +34,2 s
  4. Gabryś/Syty (POL/POL, Skoda Fabia RS Rally2) +49,1 s
  5. Byśkiniewicz/Siatkowski (POL/POL, Skoda Fabia Rally2 Evo) +50,6 s
  6. Matulka/Dymurski (POL/POL, Skoda Fabia Rally2 Evo) +1:14,9 s
  7. Kołtun/Pleskot (POL/POL, Skoda Fabia RS Rally2) +1:15,5 s
  8. Krotoszyński/Martynek (POL/POL, Skoda Fabia Rally2 Evo) +2:37,4 s
  9. Tochowicz/Białowąs (POL/POL, Citroen C3 Rally2) +3:12,5 s
  10. Kwiatkowski/Kozdroń (POL/POL, Skoda Fabia Rally2 Evo) +3:30,2 s

Rally Silesia 2024 itinerary

Friday, 11 October

  • 18:00 – opening ceremony (ul. Dworcowa, Katowice)
  • 20:05 – SS 1: Katowice (1,85 km)

Saturday, 12 October (7 special stages, 96,74 km in total)

  • 7:20 – service A: 15 min (Stadion Śląski, Chorzów)
  • 9:00 – SS 2: Jastrzębie Zdrój (17,04 km)
  • 10:00 – SS 3:Ochaby (10,8 km)
  • 11:00 – SS 4: Gmina Jasienica (19,78 km)
  • 13:20 – service B: 30 min (Stadion Śląski, Chorzów)
  • 15:15 – SS 5: Jastrzębie Zdrój (17,04 km)
  • 16:15 – SS 6:Ochaby (10,8 km)
  • 17:15 – SS 7: Gmina Jasienica (19,78 km)
  • 19:30 – SS 8: Stadion Śląski (1,5 km)
  • 19:50 – service C: 45 min (Stadion Śląski, Chorzów)

Sunday, 13 October (6 special stages, 81,56 km in total)

  • 7:20 – service D: 15 min (Stadion Śląski, Chorzów)
  • 8:55 – SS 9: Marklowice Górne (11,46 km)
  • 9:55 – SS 10: Hażlach (17,45 km)
  • 11:05 – SS 11: Silesian Voivodeship (Kiczyce, 11,87 km)
  • 12:40 – tyre fitting zone: 15 min (Carbonarium Moszczenica)
  • 13:10 – SS 9: Marklowice Górne (11,46 km)
  • 14:10 – SS 10: Hażlach (17,45 km)
  • 16:05 – SS 11: Silesian Voivodeship – Power Stage (Kiczyce, 11,87 km)
  • 18:30 – finish ceremony (Stadion Śląski, Chorzów)

Rally Silesia – 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 European Rally Trophy (FIA ERT). 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 FIA 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 Silesia is the Silesian Voivodeship.

The strategic partner of the Rally Silesia is the GZM Metropolis.

The city of Katowice is a co-host of the event, and the MOYA brand is a partner of the Rally Silesia. The Silesian Stadium in Chorzów is a co-organizer of the competition.

The event’s partner is also the Ministry of Sport and Tourism, 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.