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Abu Dhabi team gear up for Rally Poland

The 72nd edition of Rally Poland based in Mikolajki starts next weekend from July 2 to 5.

Abu Dhabi Racing’s junior driver, Mohamed Al Mutawaa is set for the FIA World Rally Championship in Poland. — Supplied photo

Abu Dhabi — Citroen Total Abu Dhabi World Rally Team led by Kris Meeke-Paul Nagle and Mads Ostberg-Jonas Andersson are getting ready to participate in seventh round of FIA World Rally Championship in Poland aboard the upgraded DS 3 WRC.

The 72nd edition of Rally Poland based in Mikolajki starts next weekend from July 2 to 5. Total Abu Dhabi are looking to strengthen their provisional second place in the overall standings of the manufacturers’ championship and reduce the 64-point gap with the championship leader after Rally Italia Sardegna.

In JWRC, Rally Poland will be the second round for Abu Dhabi Racing’s junior driver, Mohamed Al Mutawaa (22 years) and his co-driver Stephen McAuley in their Citroen DS 3 R3-Max. Al Mutawaa is the first Arabic Emirati driver to participate in a JWRC season which features 18 drivers from various European countries.

“I made a mistake during Rally Portugal which unfortunately forced me to retire very early,” said Al Muawaa.

“So my goal in Poland is simple and that is to complete the Rally with zero mistakes, gain as much experience as possible and make the most of this opportunity to participate in the JWRC campaign given to me by Shaikh Khalid Al Qassimi.

First established in 1921, Rally Poland is considered one of the world’s oldest rallies in the world and was added to WRC’s first season in 1973.

Very fast roads will see speeds approach those of Rally Finland, with tall grass lining many stages, limited visibility and hidden rocks in the grass increasing retirement chances for those drivers following racing lines when cornering. Additionally almost 90 per cent of the stages in this year’s Rally have changed from last year adding.

Rally Poland consists of 19 gravel stages with a total length of 313.53 km, starting on Thursday evening with a 2.5 km spectator stage (SSS) in Mikolajki Arena.