Hyundai Shell Mobis WRT driver Andreas Mikkelsen and co-driver Torstein Eriksen are currently leading the 80th ORLEN Rally Poland after the first full day which was packed with thrilling fight for the top between several drivers and drama with spectators.
Mikkelsen’s form was a pleasant surprise. He had competed in two tarmac rallies earlier in the season for the team, where the results were not the greatest. However, on the Polish gravel roads, the Norwegian’s speed in the Hyundai i20 N Rally1 car has been on a different level. Mikkelsen holds currently quite a narrow 1.8-second lead over Toyota Gazoo Racing’s Kalle Rovanperä. Rovanperä, who received a last-minute call to join the rally after Sébastien Ogier had to retire due to a pre-event accident on recce, had to concede some time on the morning loop but increased his pace in the afternoon loop. Toyota’s Elfyn Evans is also close to the lead, just 0.2 seconds behind Rovanperä in third.
The rally’s biggest favourite, Hyundai’s Ott Tänak who showed great pace in the shakedown, was forced to retire on the morning’s first special stage as he hit a deer, resulting in damage to the front of the car, including a broken radiator but the Estonian will be restarting the rally on Saturday morning as the car is repairable.
Credit: Jaanus Ree / Red Bull Content Pool
The biggest surprise of the day was the M-Sport Ford WRT newcomer Mārtiņš Sesks, competing for the first time in a Rally1 car with the first-ever non-hybrid Ford Puma Rally1 car the Latvian is impressively in fifth overall with teammate Adrien Fourmaux just ahead of him in fourth place. Their teammate Grégoire Munster is in seventh place.
Hyundai’s Thierry Neuville was the first car out on the road during the whole day but the Belgian couldn’t match the speed to the cars behind him and he is currently half a minute back on teammate Mikkelsen. The last Rally1 car in the top 10 is Toyota’s Takamoto Katsuta in eight. Rounding up the remaining two spots in the top 10 are the WRC2 leader Sami Pajari and the local star Kajetan Kajetanowicz.
The spectators showed a less positive side on Friday. Two of the day’s seven special stages had to be cancleed entirely and several red flagged but restarted again after only a few cars due to spectators standing in dangerous viewing places.
Top 10 after day one
| Pos. | Driver / Co-driver | Nat. | Car | Team | Time |
| 1. | Andreas Mikkelsen / Torstein Eriksen | Norway | Hyundai i20 N Rally1 Hybrid | Hyundai Shell Mobis WRT | 59:43.7 |
| 2. | Kalle Rovanperä / Jonne Halttunen | Finland | Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 Hybrid | Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT | + 1.8 |
| 3. | Elfyn Evans / Scott Maritn | United Kingdom | Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 Hybrid | Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT | + 2.0 |
| 4. | Adrien Fourmaux / Alexandre Coria | France | Ford Puma Rally1 Hybrid | M-Sport Ford WRT | + 7.5 |
| 5. | Mārtiņš Sesks / Renārs Francis | Latvia | Ford Puma Rally1 | M-Sport Ford WRT | + 7.7 |
| 6. | Grégoire Munster / Louis Louka | Luxembourg / Belgium | Ford Puma Rally1 Hybrid | M-Sport Ford WRT | + 21.3 |
| 7. | Thierry Neuville / Martijn Wydaeghe | Belgium | Hyundai i20 N Rally1 Hybrid | Hyundai Shell Mobis WRT | + 29.8 |
| 8. | Takamoto Katsuta / Aaron Johnston | Japan / Ireland | Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 Hybrid | Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT | + 32.3 |
| 9. | Sami Pajari / Enni Mälkönen | Finland | Toyota GR Yaris Rally2 | Printsport | + 2:15.6 |
| 10. | Kajetan Kajetanowicz / Maciej Szczepaniak | Poland | Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 | Kajetan Kajetanowicz | + 2:24.5 |