• The third race of the ERC – European Rally Championship starts today, and The Racing Factory presents itself in Polish lands with the ambition of fighting for glory on two fronts.
• Mikko Heikkilä wants to be among the protagonists of the overall fight and Max McRae assumes ambition in his absolute debut in the Junior ERC Championship.

The European Championship returns to gravel roads, in a rally known for the high speed that the stages boast, demanding maximum concentration from the drivers and the most efficient tuning by the teams that ensure the competitiveness of the cars, in an event in which the usual protagonists of the ERC are joined by local specialists, whose knowledge gives them a huge advantage.

Mikko Heikkilä and Samu Vaaleri once again take the controls of the Skoda Fabia Rally2 Evo from The Racing Factory (TRF), with the Finnish duo being highly motivated by this return to dirt roads, their favorite surface. They do so after having shone in Fafe at the opening of the season, where only a puncture in the last stage took away their victory and having taken on a journey of adaptation and evolution to the asphalt surfaces in the Canary Islands. The Finnish champions will want to be in the discussion of the top places and, even in the face of very strong and experienced competitors, they will do everything to be among the protagonists of the fight for the absolute podium of the Polish rally.

Max McRae has his absolute debut in Poland in the Junior ERC Championship. At the age of 18, the young pilot, 3rd generation of the McRae clan, is ready to stand shoulder to shoulder with the rest of the “young wolves” who are attacking this European title. Codriven by Macartan Kierans, the Scotsman drives The Racing Factory’s Opel Corsa Rally4 for the first time, after having made his debut in European competitions at the Rally Terras D’Aboboreira, a portuguese race in which, driving a Peugeot 208 Rally4, he proved all his speed and ability to fight for top places.

Aloísio Monteiro, CEO of The Racing Factory is very confident that “our team is prepared and fully capable of putting on a very positive rally. We have total confidence in Mikko and Max’s talent, and we have prepared very well for this visit to Poland, being convinced that we have found good solutions for the particular challenges of this race. The Rally is long, difficult and will certainly cause a lot of problems, demanding maximum concentration from everyone. Our ambition is great and I believe that we are in a position to leave Poland with excellent results on the two fronts in which we are involved”.

The Polish Rally is the second oldest rally in the world, only surpassed by the Monte Carlo Rally. First held in 1921, this spectacular dirt event has been taking place since 2005 around the small town of Mikołajki. The 79th Polish Rally will cover a total distance of 919 kilometres, including 16 qualifying specials, for a total of 182 timed kilometres.