Poland’s Baja Szczecinek will unfreeze cross-country rallies! The rally, scheduled for 24th-25th July, will be one of the first rallies in Europe, open to all EU competitors, which will be a great occasion for them for the first clash with rivals in this belated season. Cars, SSVs, bikes and quads can compete in several national championships, as well as in the FIA-CEZ Championship. Baja Szczecinek is a compact rally, with two days of racing on 5 Special Stages, located in the beautiful Western Pomerania region.
The coronavirus pandemic stopped the whole world for a couple of months, including the world of cross-country rallies. Many events were postponed or cancelled, leaving competitors hungry for racing. As the world starts coming back to life, and borders are opening again, there’s also green light for cross-country rallies. Baja Szczecinek, which will take place on 24th-25th July in Poland, will not only open Polish, Hungarian, Czech and Central European Zone Championships, but will also be one of the first rallies in Europe! Literally, it will unfreeze cross-country rallies in this part of the world, giving competitors the opportunity to finally feel the heat of racing.
Baja Szczecinek is a rally well-known to Polish and Czech competitors, as for the past few years it’s been a round of the Polish and the Czech Cross-Country Rally Championships, as well as a FIA-CEZ event. This year Baja Szczecinek, for the first time in its history, will also host crews competing in the Hungarian Championship.
But the rally is open to all EU competitors, as Europe has finally opened its internal borders. Cancellation of Spain’s Baja Aragon is a significant loss to cross-country rally sport, but all competitors who were planning to participate in that race, which was to take place on the same weekend as Baja Szczecinek, are warmly welcome to the Polish event. Although it’s not a World Cup round, it also offers a high level of sporting rivalry on well-prepared tracks. Different championships and different categories enable almost everybody to participate in it. Licensed and non-licensed competitors in cars, SSVs and on bikes and quads (trucks are the only exception) will find a proper category for themselves, and an identical route for all of them will enable those starting their cross-country rally career to fight hand in hand with champions.
Baja Szczecinek is a two-day rally, preceded by administrative checks and scrutineering, which will take place on Thursday, 23rdJuly, in the evening. The total length of the route of Baja Szczecinek is 440 km, including 212 km of timed sections. On 24th July (Friday) competitors will tackle a 5 km long Qualifying Stage followed by two runs of the 42 km long SS “Okonek”. For Saturday, 25thJuly, the organizers planned two runs of the 61 km long SS “Czarne”. Rally HQ, service park, start and finish podium are located in Szczecinek – a very nice town in Western Pomerania region, in the northwestern part of Poland. The town is literally built on the shores of lake Trzesiecko, which makes it interesting also for a longer stay. Foreign competitors who arrive in Szczecinek on 22nd can count on pre-rally activities prepared by the organizers.
The compact, two-day formula of Baja Szczecinek is friendly to Polish as well as to foreign competitors, just like the cost of participation in the rally. Entry fees are also affordable – they vary from 800 PLN to 3300 PLN (1 PLN = ca 0,22 EUR), depending on the vehicle, the championship and the date of payment. Entries will open on 23rd June, when the regulations are published on the rally’s website – http://bajaszczecinek.pl/zawodnicy-2020/. More information about the rally in English will also be available on the website of the rally’s International Media Partner, Rally-Raid Network – https://www.rallyraidnetwork.com/rally/. If you have any questions, please contact Anna Michalska: +48606784546, .
Source: Baja Szczecinek press release
Photo: Anna Romanowska Bigos