Tomasz Białkowski has been enjoying a solid season outside his Polish home soil, but you knew he was going to step it up when the FIA World Baja Cup came knocking for the Baja Poland. Białkowski won the Prologue and all four Selective Sections for a convincing victory in the SSV class and a top-ten finish among all FIA entries regardless of category.
Despite snags like tyre punctures, Białkowski wiped the floor in SSV. He beat SSV points leader Fernando Álvarez by five minutes on the first day of racing before holding off Alexander Toril and Álvarez on the second by just twenty-eight seconds and a minute and a half, respectively.
Toril was eventually dropped to the bottom of the order with a four-hour, thirty-second time penalty. His crew replaced a damaged driveshaft shortly after refuelling at the end of SS2, which is forbidden as the refuel and neutralisation zones fall under parc fermé. Toril and his brother Miguel were also fined €250 because a team member recorded themselves refuelling both cars while wearing just a T-shirt and shorts.
Białkowski was not the only sweeper of the race as João Ferreira did the same in Ultimate. He led a Mini JCW Rally Plus 1–2 finish ahead of Michał Małuszyński, a year after Krzysztof Hołowczyc scored the T1+ vehicle’s maiden triumph at the 2023 Baja Poland. Hołowczyc, racing a BMW X3, was unable to defend his win due to an engine failure. Yazeed Al-Rajhi also exited because of a new yet defective factory differential.
The Challenger of Ghislain de Mévius finished third behind Ferreira and Małuszyński.
Besides being the fourth round of the World Baja Cup, the race was also part of the Polish Cross-Country Rally Championship (Rajdowe Mistrzostwa Polski Samochodów Terenowych) where Małuszyński was the fastest among points-eligible competitors ahead of Maciej Giemza‘s SSV. Białkowski was eighth overall in the RMPST results and fourth in SSV.
Martin Koloc finished tenth in RMPST and fifth in Ultimate, running his second career cross-country rally under safer conditions than his début at the Hungarian Baja in early August. His Buggyra ZM Racing also brought trucks for Martin Šoltys and Karel Posledni, who respectively won and finished third in class. Poslední, a longtime crew member for Buggyra, was running his first cross-country race.
“It was a fantastic stress test for us and our car,” said Koloc, who was racing the Red-Lined REVO T1+ while his daughter Aliyyah continues to recover from surgery. “We accelerated steadily throughout the weekend and I don’t think we even made too many mistakes.
“I am very pleased that we are continuously improving the car. Plus, I have great people around me who don’t mind sacrificing their time and who are putting in so much effort to push the car forward. We want to become a competitive rival to the biggest car companies in the world in the long term which is not easy. Established and successful giants like Toyota and Ford are a big challenge. We still have a lot of work to do.”
Tomáš Vrátný joined the Buggyra Tatras on the RMPST truck podium in the maiden race for the new Tatra FF7 truck.
Mikołaj Krysik, the latest Quad rider to migrate to an SSV, finished thirteenth in RMPST after an up and down race. He had lost a half shaft and broke his steering rod at the end of the first day, leaving him coming back to base with just three sturdy wheels, followed by a bent right axle shaft the next day. Nevertheless, he was eighth in SSV in his first time out.
The second day took place on the military training ground of Colonel Franciszek Sadowski Land Forces Training Centre. Perhaps a little too fittingly for the setting, the start of the third leg was delayed after a land mine was reportedly found near the course.
Overall results
FIA
Ultimate
Finish | Overall Finish | Number | Driver | Co-Driver | Team | Vehicle | Class | Time | Margin |
1 | 1 | 201 | João Ferreira | Filipe Palmeiro | X-raid Mini JCW Team | Mini John Cooper Works Rally Plus | T1+ | 3:44:12.1 | Leader |
2 | 2 | 204 | Michał Małuszyński* | Julita Małuszyńska | Michał Małuszyński | Mini John Cooper Works Rally Plus | T1+ | 3:47:05.9 | + 2:53.8 |
3 | 4 | 203 | Włodzimierz Grajek* | Michał Goleniewski | Grajek Rally Team | Toyota Hilux | T1+ | 3:59:00.2 | + 14:48.1 |
4 | 5 | 206 | Miroslav Zapletal | Marek Sýkora | Offroadsport | Ford F-150 | T1+ | 4:00:45.4 | + 16:33.3 |
5 | 7 | 205 | Martin Kaczmarski | Armand Monleón | Overdrive Racing | Toyota Hilux Overdrive | T1+ | 4:01:03.0 | + 16:50.9 |
6 | 15 | 211 | Magdalena Zajac | Błażej Czekan | Proxcars TME Rally Team | Toyota Hilux | T1.1 | 4:29:18.7 | + 45:06.6 |
7 | 19 | 210 | Vincent Vroninks* | Dave Berghmans | Vincent Vroninks | Nissan Red-Lined Navara VK56 | T1.1 | 4:43:50.6 | + 59:38.5 |
8 | 20 | 209 | Tomasz Baranowski* | Konrad Dudziński | Finarto Racing | Toyota Hilux | T1.1 | 4:45:28.9 | + 1:01:16.8 |
DNF | DNF | 200 | Yazeed Al-Rajhi | Timo Gottschalk | Overdrive Racing | Toyota Hilux Overdrive | T1+ | DNF | N/A |
DNF | DNF | 202 | Krzysztof Hołowczyc | Łukasz Kurzeja | Fosfopower | BMW X3 | T1.1 | DNF | N/A |
Challenger
Finish | Overall Finish | Number | Driver | Co-Driver | Team | Vehicle | Time | Margin |
1 | 3 | 300 | Ghislain de Mévius | Johan Jalet | GRallyTeam | GRally OT3 | 3:57:04.4 | Leader |
2 | 6 | 302 | Eduard Pons | Jaume Betriu | Past-Racing | Taurus T3 Max | 4:00:48.9 | + 3:44.5 |
3 | 8 | 305 | Hans Weijs* | Mark Salomons | Arcane Racing | Arcane T3 | 4:01:13.5 | + 4:09.1 |
4 | 9 | 304 | Alexandre Pinto* | Bernardo Oliveira | Alexandre Pinto | Can-Am Maverick X3 | 4:06:58.1 | + 9:53.9 |
5 | 13 | 301 | Diego Martinez | Sergio Lafuente | South Racing Can-Am | Can-Am Maverick X3 | 4:29:10.8 | + 32:06.4 |
6 | 15 | 303 | Khalid Aljafla | Andrei Rudnitski | Aljafla Racing | Taurus T3 Max | 4:29:53.5 | + 32:49.1 |
7 | 17 | 307 | Mark Mustermann* | Michael Zajc | Mark Mustermann | Can-Am Maverick X3 | 4:35:48.5 | + 38:44.1 |
8 | 22 | 306 | Vic Flip* | Gerhard Schmiedberger | Vic Flip | Can-Am Maverick X3 | 5:06:38.4 | + 1:09:34.0 |
9 | 23 | 308 | Richard Aczel* | Wouter Rosegaard | Arcane Racing | Arcane T3 | 5:58:43.3 | + 2:01:38.9 |
SSV
Finish | Overall Finish | Number | Driver | Co-Driver | Team | Vehicle | Time | Margin |
1 | 10 | 405 | Tomasz Białkowski* | Dariusz Baśkiewicz | Kamena Rally Team | Can-Am Maverick XRS Turbo RR | 4:08:47.7 | Leader |
2 | 11 | 400 | Fernando Álvarez | Xavier Panseri | South Racing Cam-Am | Can-Am Maverick XRS Turbo RR | 4:14:41.9 | + 5:54.2 |
3 | 12 | 401 | Miguel Toril | Rosa Romero Font | Escudería JMP Racing | Can-Am Maverick XRS Turbo RR | 4:27:05.7 | + 18:18.0 |
4 | 16 | 404 | Amerigo Ventura | Erika Mingozzi | Quaddy Racing | Yamaha YXZ1000R | 4:34:41.2 | + 25:53.9 |
5 | 20 | 403 | Claude Fournier | Serge Gounon | Claude Fournier | Can-Am Maverick XRS Turbo RR | 4:52:07.6 | + 43:19.9 |
6 | 21 | 406 | Ibrahim Almuhna | Obaid Ali Hassan | Almuhna Racers | Can-Am Maverick XRS Turbo RR | 4:59:38.1 | + 50:50.4 |
7 | 24 | 402 | Alexander Toril | Pedro Gabril Lopez Chaves | Escudería JMP Racing | Can-Am Maverick XRS Turbo RR | 6:58:16.4 | + 2:49:28.9 |
RMPST
Finish | Class Finish | Number | Driver | Co-Driver | Team | Vehicle | Category | Class | Time | Margin |
1 | 1 | 204 | Michał Małuszyński | Julita Małuszyńska | Michał Małuszyński | Mini John Cooper Works Rally Plus | Ultimate | T1+ | 3:35:25.9 | Leader |
2 | 1 | 740 | Maciej Giemza | Rafał Marton | Maciej Giemza | Polaris RZR Pro R | SSV | T4 NAT+ | 3:41:44.3 | + 6:18.4 |
3 | 2 | 203 | Włodzimierz Grajek* | Michał Goleniewski | Grajek Rally Team | Toyota Hilux | Ultimate | T1+ | 3:46:45.2 | + 11:19.3 |
4 | 3 | 206 | Miroslav Zapletal | Marek Sýkora | Offroadsport | Ford F-150 | Ultimate | T1+ | 3:48:54.4 | + 13:28.5 |
5 | 4 | 205 | Martin Kaczmarski | Armand Monleón | Overdrive Racing | Toyota Hilux Overdrive | Ultimate | T1+ | 3:49:19.0 | + 13:53.1 |
6 | 2 | 743 | Mikuła Grzegorz | Priotr Szczygieł | Mikuła Grzegorz | Can-Am Maverick | SSV | T4 NAT | 3:54:07.9 | + 18:42.0 |
7 | 3 | 759 | Grzegorz Gąsiorowski | Katarzyna Szałęga | Grzegorz Gąsiorowski | Polaris RZR Pro R | SSV | T4 NAT+ | 3:56:09.3 | + 20:43.4 |
8 | 4 | 405 | Tomasz Białkowski* | Dariusz Baśkiewicz | Kamena Rally Team | Can-Am Maverick XRS Turbo RR | SSV | T4 NAT | 3:56:28.7 | + 21:02.8 |
9 | 5 | 752 | Witołd Pawlak | Radosław Bomba | Witołd Pawlak | Polaris RZR Pro R | SSV | T4 NAT+ | 4:00:28.5 | + 25:02.6 |
10 | 5 | 705 | Marin Koloc | Sébastien Delaunay | Buggyra ZM Racing | Red-Lined REVO T1+ | Ultimate | T1+ | 4:03:05.0 | + 27:39.1 |
11 | 6 | 760 | Tomasz Sokołowski | Maksymilian Staniszewski | Tomasz Sokołowski | Can-Am Maverick X3 Turbo | SSV | T4 NAT | 4:04:43.9 | + 29:18.0 |
12 | 7 | 748 | Grzegorz Ludwicki | Rafał Jędrys | Grzegorz Ludwicki | Polaris RZR Pro R | SSV | T4 NAT+ | 4:05:07.6 | + 29:41.7 |
13 | 8 | 756 | Mikołaj Krysik | Dominik Jazic | Mikołaj Krysik | Can-Am Maverick X3 | SSV | T4 NAT | 4:06:18.6 | + 30:52.7 |
14 | 6 | 211 | Magdalena Zajac | Błażej Czekan | Proxcars TME Rally Team | Toyota Hilux | Ultimate | T1.1 | 4:08:28.7 | + 33:02.8 |
15 | 1 | 761 | Bartosz Kaziród | Maciej Marton | NAC Rally Team | Can-Am Maverick X3 | Challenger | T3.1 | 4:10:32.1 | + 35:06.2 |
16 | 9 | 746 | Robert Mąsior | Damian Syty | AF Motorsport | Can-Am Maverick X3 | SSV | T4 NAT | 4:12:14.8 | + 36:48.9 |
17 | 10 | 767 | Egidijus Malinovskis | Povilas Ignatavicius | Egidijus Malinovskis | Can-Am Maverick X3 | SSV | T4 NAT | 4:12:53.2 | + 37:27.3 |
18 | 1 | 731 | Tomasz Kobyłecki | Jakub Moliter | Tomasz Kobyłecki | Hummer H3 EVO | TH | TH | 4:15:55.5 | + 40:29.6 |
19 | 7 | 209 | Tomasz Baranowski | Konrad Dudziński | Finarto Racing | Toyota Hilux | Ultimate | T1 | 4:19:44.9 | + 44:19.0 |
20 | 11 | 755 | Mirosław Tokarczyk | Adam Binięda | AF Motorsport | Can-Am Maverick X3 | SSV | T4 NAT | 4:26:28.5 | + 51:02.6 |
21 | 8 | 703 | Sam Heyvaert | Krzysztof Zolty | DS Units | Nissan Red-Lined | Ultimate | T1.1 | 4:29:59.8 | + 54:33.9 |
22 | 2 | 307 | Mark Mustermann | Michael Zajc | Mark Mustermann | Can-Am Maverick X3 | Challenger | T3.1 | 4:31:08.5 | + 55:42.6 |
23 | 12 | 766 | Karolis Marcinkus | Albert Veliamovic | Albert Veliamovic | Can-Am Maverick X3 | SSV | T4 NAT | 4:36:58.0 | + 1:01:32.1 |
24 | 1 | 600 | Martin Šoltys | Vlastimil Miksch, Tomáš Šikola | Buggyra ZM Racing | Tatra Buggyra Evo3 | Truck | Truck | 4:44:26.3 | + 1:09:00.4 |
25 | 9 | 704 | Marek Janaszkiewicz | Agnieszka Janaszkiewicz | Hypnos | Mitsubishi L200 | Ultimate | T1.1 | 4:49:28.6 | + 1:14:02.7 |
26 | 13 | 744 | Tomasz Tomaszewicz | Piotr Jamroziak | Tomasz Tomaszewicz | Can-Am Maverick X3 | SSV | T4 NAT | 4:50:17.0 | + 1:14:51.1 |
27 | 3 | 306 | Vic Flip | Gerhard Schmiedberger | Vic Flip | Can-Am Maverick X3 | Challenger | T3.1 | 4:53:03.4 | + 1:17:37.5 |
28 | 14 | 764 | Dzeralds Ramoska | Ronaldas Ramoska | Oba[D]vision | Can-Am Maverick X3 | SSV | T4 NAT | 4:54:09.6 | 1:18:43.7 |
29 | 15 | 742 | Marek Kubiczek | Filip Gołka | Marek Kubiczek | Can-Am Maverick X3 | SSV | T4 NAT | 4:55:24.9 | + 1:19:59.0 |
30 | 1 | 721 | Michał Lipski | Nikola Lipska | Michał Lipski | Dacia Duster | Stock | T2 NAT | 4:56:35.7 | + 1:21:09.8 |
31 | 2 | 736 | Łukasz Bzdyl | Mariusz Włosiński | Łukasz Bzdyl | Mitsubishi Pajero | TH | TH | 4:58:53.2 | + 1:23:27.3 |
32 | 2 | 601 | Karel Posledni | Filip Skrobanek, Jaroslav Kolar | Buggyra ZM Racing | Tatra Phoenix | Truck | Truck | 4:59:25.8 | + 1:23:59.9 |
33 | 2 | 720 | Grzegorz Szwagrzyk | Grzegorz Konczak | NAC Rally Team | Mitsubishi Pajero | Stock | T2.2 | 5:02:27.3 | + 1:27:01.4 |
34 | 3 | 603 | Tomáš Vrátný | Bartłomiej Boba, Jaromir Martinec | Fesh Fesh | Tatra FF7 | Truck | Truck | 5:08:12.4 | + 1:32:46.5 |
35 | 3 | 732 | Wojciech Koziński | Ludwik Wikowicz | Wojciech Koziński | Nissan Pathfinder | TH | TH | 5:13:34.1 | + 1:38:08.2 |
36 | 16 | 762 | Aivaras Kavaliauskas | Ernestas Česokas | BRO Racing | Can-Am Maverick X3 | SSV | T4 NAT | 5:13:43.3 | + 1:38:17.4 |
37 | 17 | 749 | Paweł Pietranek | Michał Šwierczek | Paweł Pietranek | Polaris RZR Pro R | SSV | T4 NAT+ | 5:13:43.8 | + 1:38:17.9 |
38 | 4 | 735 | Michał Horodeński | Arkadiusz Sałaciński | Toyota Team Classic | Toyota Land Cruiser HDJ80 | TH | TH | 5:19:11.6 | + 1:43:45.7 |
39 | 5 | 733 | Piotr Brakowiecki | Tomasz Chmielewski | NAC Rally Team | Dacia Duster | TH | TH | 5:25:06.4 | + 1:49:40.5 |
40 | 4 | 308 | Richard Aczel | Wouter Rosegaard | Arcane Racing | Arcane T3 | Challenger | T3.1 | 5:43:05.3 | + 2:07:39.4 |
41 | 3 | 724 | Tomasz Piluch | Marcin Pawłowski | Tomasz Piluch | Mitsubishi Pajero | Stock | T2.1 | 5:56:19.2 | + 2:20:53.3 |
42 | 4 | 602 | Michal Valtr | Marcin Pasek, Marek Hýl | Valtr Racing Team | IVECO PowerStar Torpedo | Truck | Truck | 8:07:24.6 | + 4:31:58.7 |
43 | 10 | 701 | Karel Trněný | Václav Pritzl | Workoutland ACCR Czech Team | Ford F-150 EVO | Ultimate | T1+ | 8:59:10.9 | + 5:23:45.0 |
44 | 18 | 753 | Michalł Košciuszko | Artur Kordala | Polaris Polska Racing Team | Polaris RZR Pro R | SSV | T4 NAT+ | 10:59:33.2 | + 7:24:07.3 |
45 | 19 | 745 | Wojciech Szulecki | Paweł Kuta | Wojciech Szulecki | Can-Am Maverick X3 | SSV | T4 NAT | 10:59:43.6 | + 7:24:17.7 |
46 | 20 | 741 | Karol Lenkiewicz | Dominik Ragiel | Karol Lenkiewicz | Can-Am Maverick X3 | SSV | T4 NAT | 10:59:48.0 | + 7:24:22.1 |
47 | 21 | 757 | Przemysław Matulka | Daniel Dymurski | AF Motorsport | Can-Am Maverick X3 | SSV | T4 NAT | 11:02:11.0 | + 7:26:45.1 |
48 | 6 | 737 | Aleksandr Szandrowski | Wojciech Hencner | Aleksandr Szandrowski | Sam Offactory | TH | TH | 11:03:26.4 | + 7:28:00.5 |
49 | 4 | 722 | Mariusz Pietrzycki | Sławomir Cebulak | NAC Rally Team | Dacia Duster | Stock | T2.T | 11:04:45.0 | + 7:29:19.1 |
50 | 22 | 751 | Olgierd Rostowski | Klaudiusz Rostowski | Olgierd Rostowski | Can-Am Maverick X3 | SSV | T4 NAT | 11:06:47.9 | + 7:31:22.0 |
51 | 23 | 754 | Damian Perzanowski | Inez Kieliba | Damian Perzanowski | Can-Am Maverick X3 | SSV | T4 NAT | 12:32:12.0 | + 8:56:46.1 |
DNF | DNF | 702 | Robert Kufel | Dominik Brzozowski | Robert Kufel | Ford Ranger | Ultimate | T1.2 | DNF | N/A |
DNF | DNF | 723 | Andrzej Kalitowicz | Ernest Górecki | AF Motorsport | Dacia Duster | Stock | T2.2 | DNF | N/A |
DNF | DNF | 730 | Jacek Sobońn | Kacper Jeneralski | Jacek Sobońn | Nissan Navara D40 | TH | TH | DNF | N/A |
DNF | DNF | 734 | Marcin Żukowski | Paweł Zamęcki | Marcin Żukowski | Nissan Navara D22 | TH | TH | DNF | N/A |
DNF | DNF | 747 | Marek Szcurek | Stanisław Wojtków | Marek Szcurek | Polaris RZR XP Turbo EPS | SSV | T4 NAT | DNF | N/A |
DNF | DNF | 750 | Jakub Brzeziński | Szymon Marciniak | Proxcars TME Rally Team | Can-Am Maverick X3 | SSV | T4 NAT | DNF | N/A |
DNF | DNF | 758 | András Lukács | Zoltán Palotai | Speedy Motorsport | Yamaha YXZ1000R | SSV | T4 NAT | DNF | N/A |
DNF | DNF | 763 | Tomas Mickus | Mykołas Paulavicius | BRO Racing | Can-Am Maverick X3 | SSV | T4 NAT | DNF | N/A |
DNF | DNF | 765 | Csucsu | Márk Mesterházi | Speedy Motorsport | Yamaha Quaddy XZ1-T | SSV | T4 NAT | DNF | N/A |