Bartłomiej Mirecki, having won both runs at the Automotodrom Brno race track, sealed his title of the Kia Picanto 2012 Polish Racing Champion. In the first run, the 16-year-old car racing novice beat Michał Dobrowolski and Filip Tokar, while in the second one he left behind Zbigniew Łacisz and Stanisław Kostrzak.
Sport
Bartłomiej Mirecki, having won both runs at the Automotodrom Brno race track, sealed his title of the Kia Picanto 2012 Polish Racing Champion. In the first run, the 16-year-old car racing novice beat Michał Dobrowolskiand Filip Tokar, while in the second one he left behind Zbigniew Łacisz andStanisław Kostrzak. As a result, with an advantage of 21 points over Zbigniew Łacisz, ranked second in the general classification, Bartłomiej Mirecki became the first winner of the Kia LOTOS Race. The third driver on the podium is Damian Łata, who was 10th and 5th in the first and second run, respectively.
- We have ended another season. It was full of genuine sport excitement and, at times, fierce competition. I’m glad that once again we took part in an event that for many years has been rightly considered crucial to the development of motor sports in Poland, more than any other initiative - emphasized Jacek Neska, President of the LOTOS Oil Management Board.
The final KLR round took place in difficult conditions for inexperienced drivers. The race track, which in some places was still wet after morning rain, was a great challenge especially to those drivers who entered their first race on this track. Bartłomiej Mirecki, starting from pole position, had the best start, but was overtaken by Michał Dobrowolski on the first turn. The youngest driver of the event did not wait long to get back at the rival and again took the lead. At the same time, Zbigniew Łacisz was fighting for precious points by consistently advancing from his 10th starting position. However, the "professor" ran out of steam at the fourth place and later yielded to Jakub Sudoł, ending the first run as the fifth driver. Thus, the pressure was off for Bartłomiej Mirecki, whose advantage over Zbigniew Łacisz in the championship scores increased from 2 to 16 points.
Traditionally, in the final run the line-up of the first ten drivers from the first run was reversed. Hence, Bartłomiej Mirecki started from the 10th position, and Zbigniew Łacisz was five places ahead of him. If the old-timer was to reach the finish line first, the novice had to be at least fifth to win the title.
As expected, Zbigniew Łacisz advanced to the lead in the first lap and Bartłomiej Mirecki gave chase. After three laps, Bartłomiej Mirecki was just behind his rival and in the next one he took over the lead, which he held throughout the rest of the run. Zbigniew Łacisz had to accept the runner-up trophy in the race and in the championship, while the third position on the podium was taken by Stanisław Kostrzak. During the last laps, the atmosphere was cranked up when a safety car was deployed, following difficulties experienced by Maciej Dreszer. However, the final lap was run under green flags and did not change the order at the finish line.
At the end of the season, Damian Łata, who has gained points in each KLR round and secured a victory on the Lausitzring track, will receive a cheque for PLN 10,000 as the Kia Picanto Second Vice-Champion of Poland. The Polish Vice-Champion and Champion will receive cheques for, respectively, PLN 20,000 and PLN 35,000. Further positions in season scores were taken by Filip Tokar, Michał Dobrowolski and Konrad Wróbel.
The first season of the Kia LOTOS Race has come to an end. The competition organised by Kia Motors Polska and LOTOS Oil, in cooperation with PZU, Santander Consumer Bank and Santander Multirent, and under the auspices of the Polish Motor Sports Association was welcomed by racing teams and the media. The six rounds of the season featured not only contenders for the title but also guest appearances by journalists from TV, press and Internet media. The championship was covered by the most important sports and news programmes. The teams raced on tracks in Germany (the competition accompanied the DTM round), Austria, Slovakia, Poland and the Czech Republic.
The preparations for the second season are under way, as is the recruitment of drivers willing to take part in the only one-brand racing programme in Poland, organised by a car manufacturer. Cars for the 2013 season may already be ordered. All updates on the new edition of the KIA LOTOS Race will be announced at http://www.kialotosrace.pl/ and in the media.
Bartłomiej Mirecki, the 2012 Kia Picanto Polish Champion - I am so happy with the victory in this season. I'd like to thank may entire crew, without which it would have been impossible. I am particularly glad of having beaten Zbyszek. It was an excellent and fair competition throughout the season. I'm very happy and I hope that I will be able to repeat the victory next year.
Zbigniew Łacisz, the 2012 Kia Picanto Polish Vice-Champion - What can I say. I did all I could. Bartek was unbelievably fast, so I could only admire his performance on the track. He was extremely well prepared for the competition and all I can do now is analyse the season, as we made some unnecessary mistakes and lost important points. Now I can only congratulate Bartek and his crew. Plans for the next season are not yet clear. I definitely had great fun and consider the Kia LOTOS Race to be a superbly organised racing event.
Wojciech Szyszko, CEO of Kia Motors Polska - There will be time to review the season, but I am glad that we managed yet again to generate so much excitement and introduce young people into the motor sports. We have a 16-year-old Kia Picanto Champion, which confirms that we have planned it right. We want to help young people who are looking for a chance and make their first steps on the difficult road to success a little easier. I hope that the participants are as satisfied with the season as we are. There are many challenges ahead and we intend to meet them.
Information Office, Grupa LOTOS S.A., ul. Elbląska 135, 80-718 Gdańsk, tel. No. +48 58 308 87 31, +48 58 308 83 88, e-mail: media@grupalotos.pl
