The Kauno Ruduo rally, the fifth and only foreign round of the LOTOS 2013 Polish Rally Championship, is scheduled to start this weekend, August 23rd. The LOTOS Rally Team will be represented by Kajetan Kajetanowicz and Jarek Baran.

The Kauno Ruduo Rally is in fact two rallies in one. It is not only the fifth round of the LOTOS 2013 Polish Rally Championship, but also the sixth round of the Lithuanian Championship. Moreover, it is the only foreign rally in the 2013 Polish Championship programme and one of the only two rallies held on a loose surface.

In the Kauno Ruduo, one of the oldest rallies in Lithuania, the teams will compete on gravel special stages in the vicinity of Kaunas. Teams taking part in the Polish Rally Championship will have to complete ten special stages with a total length of nearly 170 kilometres, most of which will be on gravel, with only four spectacular runs taking place on asphalt. For Kajetan Kajetanowicz and Jarek Baran, leaders in their class in the LOTOS 2013 Polish Rally Championship, these will be their first special stage kilometres on a gravel surface this season.

Kajetan, the Kauno Ruduo Rally is a new one in the championship. What's your attitude here?

Kajetan Kajetanowicz: I'm ready to fight, just like with any other rally. We know little of this round, so we'll all be discovering this new rally together. But I have the nature of an explorer, and I like to feel an emotional thrill, so this slight uncertainty gives us extra motivation. We're looking forward to finding out what the organisers of the Lithuanian round have prepared for us. Likewise, I didn't know the Janner Rally, which I took part in earlier this year, so I absorbed the climate, enjoyed the new routes and was happy to have the chance to compete with the best racers in Europe. I've never driven in Lithuania before, either, but I'll be happy to see the new roads and to feel the rallying climate in our neighbours' country. In some of the individual stages we will be competing against local drivers running in the Lithuanian Championship, but the Polish Championship is a priority and we will be looking closely at our round more than anything else. There won't be too much time to discover the special characteristics of the routes - we're only allowed two runs for reconnaissance purposes, so our mobilisation and concentration will be at top levels starting from Thursday.

Nearly a year has passed since you last drove a round on a gravel surface. How will that effect you now?

Kajetan Kajetanowicz: For me, it's a question of recalling what it's like to drive on a loose surface, and of recovering that special feel, so some testing is necessary, and we've been working very hard too. For my technical crew, that's meant that they've had no time to celebrate our win in Rzeszów, because they had to convert the car from an asphalt configuration to a gravel setup within just a few days. Now, we want to see that smile again that the spectators have when they watch us in a full skid. And while we're being torn from side to side on the gravel, Robert Kubica and Michał Kościuszko, who are also supported by Grupa LOTOS, will be competing in the Rallye Deutschland on asphalt. I'll be keeping my fingers crossed for their success whenever I have a free moment.

Jarek, does your working style change during gravel rallies?

Jarek Baran: Taking part in a rally of which we know very little is quite an undertaking from the logistics point of view, but at LOTOS Rally Team we're ready for such challenges. Our work, during the reconnaissance runs and during the rally as such, will not be much different from what we typically do, although we will not be given much time to discover the specifics of the new sections. The schedule is quite interesting too – on the one hand, long special stages which usually determine the result of the race, and on the other – the entire Saturday afternoon will be devoted to some spectacular asphalt racing. Although we'll be one of the first cars to set out, which is not a good starting position in gravel racing, we are fairly positive about the race.

Grupa LOTOS is the Official Partner of Robert Kubica and the strategic partner of the LOTOS Rally Teams of Michał Kościuszko and Maciek Szczepaniak, and Kajetan Kajetanowicz and Jarek Baran.

For more information on Robert Kubica and the LOTOS Rally Team's results, visit our Facebook page “Emocje do Pełna” (Emotions to the Full) at http://www.facebook.com/EmocjeDoPelna, or at http://www.lotosrallyteam.pl

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