Marczyk and Gospodarczyk won the Barbórka RallyMikołaj Marczyk Marczyk Szymon Gospodarczyk won the 60th anniversary edition of the Barbórka Rally

Mikołaj Marczyk and Szymon Gospodarczyk won the 60th anniversary edition of the Barbórka Rally, giving up only one special stage to their rivals. The Marczyk - Gospodarczyk crew was in the lead from the beginning of the rally and won 5 out of 6 special stages. The Barbórka Rally is the final race of the motorsport season in Poland. The rally itself is very short and the special stages are curvy requiring great technical skills. The event held in Warsaw and its vicinity is one of the most spectacular and medial events of its kind in our country, attracting thousands of fans along the route and also to the screens.

„The Barbórka Rally is always a great festival. Not only in terms of rallying, but the Polish motorsport in general. Competitors from rallies, mountain racing, drifting or rallycross appear here and everyone wants to make the best possible appearance at Barbórka. Everyone has a desire to be at Karowa and show the best possible pace there. I am glad that we are at the finish line. Thank you for supporting us,”

— Mikołaj Marczyk, Orlen Team member and PFNteam100 beneficiary, said after the race.

The PFNteam100 programme is a scholarship project of the Polish National Foundation aimed at sports champions. Since the launch of the programme in 2017, its aim has been to provide direct and additional support to young talented Polish athletes - Olympic and Paralympic medallists. PFNteam100 beneficiaries have successfully competed at the Olympic Games, Paralympic Games and World Championships, winning medals at each of these events. This year, the athletes of the Polish National Foundation were joined by a young rally driver racing against the best in the WRC2 World Championships.

„PFNteam100 is a programme of the Polish National Foundation dedicated to Polish young sports champions. The programme has supported and continues to support the most outstanding representatives of Olympic and Paralympic disciplines, but it includes more than just Olympic competition. Miko Marczyk, is one of the greatest talents in Polish motorsport. He is the youngest ever winner of the Rally of Poland and the youngest ever Polish rally champion. Our scholarship holder is a rally champion in the WRC2 category and he represents Poland very well in the World Rally Championship,”

— commented Dr Marcin Zarzecki, President of the Board of the Polish National Foundation.

This is the first victory in Mikołaj’s career in the Barbórka Rally. Our youngest Polish Rally and Polish Champion winner proved to be the best at the end of the season. In addition to his first place in the Barbórka Rally, he also added 2nd place in the Criterium of Aces on Karowa Street.

„Miko Marczyk by winning the 60th Barbórka Rally proved that he is one of the best Polish rally drivers. We are proud that the representative of the PFNteam100 programme has once again taken the top podium. This year’s successes achieved in the WRC2 World Rally Championship have clearly shown that Miko and Szymon’s systematic work and precision are bearing fruit. We are happy that as the Polish National Foundation we can at least partly contribute to these successes”

— added Vice President of the Board of the Polish National Foundation Michał Góras.

We would like to congratulate Mikołaj Marczyk and Szymon Gospodarczyk and thank them for representing our national colours in such an outstanding fashion.

Tłum. K.J.