LOTOS Rally Team‘s Kajetan Kajetanowicz has clinched the 2015 FIA European Rally Championship by winning a shortened SEAJETS Acropolis Rally in his Ford Fiesta R5. The Pole retook the lead from championship rival Craig Breen on stage six after a great battle on the final leg of the event, while bad weather forced the event organisers to cancel the remaining three tests as torrential rain made the stages too treacherous.
Things started well for Peugeot Academy’s Breen as the Irishman took the lead after an impressive performance on SS4 which saw him win the test by over twenty seconds. Kajetanowicz admitted to being cautious on the stage while Alexey Lukyanuk hit a wall putting him out of contention. Breen held onto the lead on SS5 but on the sixth test the bonnet on his Peugeot 208 T16 R5 flew open and smashed his windscreen, the Irishman finished the stage seventh fastest and dropped to second behind Kajetanowicz.
“It was a dream but now it’s come true.”, said the Polish driver, “What can I say? Thanks to my team like always. To be honest it was a really hard year for us but we did it, we’re European champions. It’s amazing. It’s a big, big, really big day, probably the best day in my life. I don’t know – how can I say it? We did it with winning Acropolis Rally. It’s also a big thing, one of the most difficult rallies in the world, not only in European championship. I want to say thank you to my parents, mum and dad. They believe in me every time, everywhere. I have no time for them but I want to change it because they are very important for me. They are always with me, and they are always in my heart.”
Overnight leader Lambros Athanassoulas came home third 15.3 seconds off the lead while Jaromir Tarabus took fourth. ERC2 winner David Botka came home fifth overall. The final round of the European Rally Championship will take crews to Switzerland for the Rallye Internationale du Valais at the end of October.
