GPPPZ 2023 – 1500km Regularity Debut
“BORING” REGULARITY…
Hard breaking to a standstill. Stop sign. Quick yet cautious check – left, right, left. Clear. Clutch, gas, go! A bit too much of the latter, rear wheels spin for a couple precious seconds too many... Engine revving, gearshift to second. Then third. Nervous look at the screen still showing eight second delay. Six… Three… Two, one… braking. Less hard, now from ninety to the prescribed 49 km/h for this stage and careful balancing of the throttle onwards to keep the perfect time. „In 600 metres right at the crossroads” I hear from my co-pilot Piotr and I know I can enjoy half a minute of relative calmness.
Whilst many picture historical regularity rallies as much less exciting alternatives to rally championships or track racing, it usually takes only a couple of Regularity Tests (RT) – special stages in this sport, if you will – to change their mind. I already see it coming… But Adam, the averages are always below or equal to 50km/h! Yes, I get it and I even agree. Keeping it on a straight asphalt road is easy. Now add a hairpin to the equation… and wet cobblestone. Would you like to spice it up with an unexpected tractor causing you a fifteen second delay beforehand, or are the conditions enough now?
Having tasted regularity in a track criterion few years back and having a bunch of friends partaking in rallies quite regularly (pun intended) I knew I wanted to go back. That’s how Piotr and I ended up signing up for the longest Grand Prix for Historical Vehicles in Poland. Let’s get back to the start line, shall we?
FOUR DAYS’ MARATHON WITH ICONIC ROADS
The rally commenced with a prologue in Warsaw on Wednesday evening, preceded with technical inspection of all the rally cars. Having the road book for the first two days we couldn’t be more excited, as our first kilometres teleported us to the famous Karowa street. Every rally fan in Poland knows it. Cobblestone hairpins overarched by a beautiful viaduct hold the finale of Rajd Barbórka with a show-off Ace Criterion ever since the 1964. Inaccessible on an everyday basis, the road was opened for our rally and secured by the police. Kicking it off here… what an honour!
Photo courtesy of D/S Photo © 2023
Afterwards the cavalcade headed to the first racetrack of the tour – the Modlin Circuit. Lit by spotlights in an already pitch-black night, the experience lifted our adrenaline levels even higher. It was the first time for me on a racetrack, so I was cautious. Very cautious. Knowing we can lose more than can realistically gain, I was gradually testing my abilities. And it was my heart, not the engine that reached the limiter! After three (not so quick) laps, it was time to take off the helmet. The smell of warm rubber and hot brakes are now engraved in my memory with a simple badge – fun!
The very next morning the aura surprised everyone. Despite beautiful sunrise it was three degrees below zero, making my Alfa’s starting motor choke a bit. Quickly up and running, though, we headed to our next circuits, located in Słomczyn and then in Łódź. On the way we learnt yet another lesson about regularity rallies – even outside an RT you’d better make it in time to your next checkpoint! Seeing the minutes and then seconds disappearing in a blink of an eye, we rushed ourselves. 24 seconds within time… Well, that was close!
Three laps ran in two stints allowed for an improvement on both tracks, which layout suited historical vehicles very well. Knowing the corners and learning the optimal line spared us around four seconds per lap. Not bad! Two other good indicators of an increased cornering speeds are also the width of your smile post lap and… seeing your co-pilot holding the door handle tight rather than casually sitting! Then, with four RTs along the way we arrived at the final circuit of the day.
This time in Kielce, the conditions were… Different, to say the least. Challenging. Very challenging… It was wet and the circuit was very slippery. To top it all off, the start-stop straight was the longest of all the tracks we had been at, we only had one lap to go and the circuit was poorly lit. Well, maybe not lit at all. Every braking point and racing line in every corner needed to be conjured on the spot, so caution sprung back into play. Nonetheless, it was exciting! At a darkened hairpin I wanted to accelerate too early and lost the rear. Quick countering, some reflexive and highly unexpected wizardry pulled and… Ooft, saved!
After surviving the lap, it was time for our next sport attempt. A forest “hill-climb”. This one can be described with one word – scary. Visibility was no more and chicanes were appearing out of nowhere. The aim was to bring it home in one piece and we did. Let me tell you, after a day like this, I slept like a baby. Glad that I did, as the following days were even more exciting!
WINDING COUNTRY ROADS OF KŁODZKO VALLEY
The organisers had a clever plan. When the roads led through flatlands and regularity could err on its more monotonous side, they packed the programme with time attack racing. However, as we approached hills and eventually mountains, circuit chasing got swapped with eight and twelve RTs consecutively on Friday and Saturday. Equipped with precious experience gained the day before, Piotr and I knew better how to communicate, to adjust our measuring apps on the go and even sometimes… how to guesstimate corrections.
The difficulty level had been increasing with every stage until it reached a climax at the end of day three. Two regularity stages ran at night for more than fifty kilometres total were leading through Czechia and then routed back to Poland. All that, sunken in dense fog with very limited visibility. At these moments the road book was not adding complexity… it actually assisted us in finding junctions hidden behind the white curtain, relentlessly hung some fifteen metres in front of the hood. Staying extremely aware in those conditions - utterly tiring. Do you still remember that „easy” dispute? Again, rather a test for the team’s morale, physical and mental toughness.
Saturday morning flipped the seasons around again. From cold, damp, misty and winterly vibes to warm golden autumn sunshine with seventeen degrees Celsius on the thermometer. A highly welcomed gift for a day stuffed with regularity action! Almost immediately after leaving our hotel base we found ourselves on wonderfully winding mountain roads. Otherworldly scenery! Sunrays were passing through the branches when we calmly drove through various forests… only to struggle to keep the designated average on famous hairpins of Patelnie Walimskie seconds later. If you’re a Polish rally fan – again – no explanation required.
The agenda of the finale was packed. Two loops nearing 300 and 160 kilometres for the day and night stage respectively kept the teams on their toes to make it to the next checkpoint in time. Everyone but one team was late… at a cost of breaking many speed limits, also mercilessly punished in the overall classification of the rally. Safety is in mind and obeying of the rules controlled, too! Piotr and I did our best at all the trials, slightly spoiled by a tiny navigational hesitation at one stage, an accident en route and a bus getting stuck in traffic. Luck and random events do play a role in this sport. Crowning of the four-day marathon was the very last, shortest RT ran via… a biathlon track. Shooting, however, happened only from some of the exhausts. An extremely hilly route made for an unforgettable experience at the end of our tour.
A REWARDING JOURNEY… WITH A GREAT RESULT
Sixty kilometres of expressway landed us back at the hotel. And just like that we finished the longest rally in Poland on a debut. From the very first kilometres, we were in it for the adventure and never for the end result. To have lots of fun and not to put any pressure were our only indicators on how well we were doing. Easier said than done for as competitive person as I am. Though… I managed! I have even learnt a thing or two not only about regularity, but also about myself.
With all that said, ultimately, there is a final classification. On our debut, Piotr and I achieved an extremely satisfactory 8th place out of 22 teams in Sport Class! Scoring just 736 points over 24 RTs is a victory on its own. The fact that on many stages we managed to go toe-to-toe with highly experienced crews in professionally prepared rally cars is something I was never expecting when competing with… two phones and an app. Here also a heartfelt appreciation to my co-pilot – Piotr. Thank you! It was amazing to have you on the passenger seat and your navigation was spot on! Oh, and for the conversations that made us lose our way between RTs, too. Here’s to many more rallies together!
YOU SHOULD TRY, TOO!
Yes, you read it right. We didn’t have any specialist equipment. No complex tripmeters, no wheel sensors, external GPS antennae or purpose-built rally computers. All it took were two phones with Rally Tripmeter App and a high output 12V charger to keep the juice flowing all day long.
So, if you’re imagining yourself on a rally but keep on waiting for that perfect car, conditions, rally prep – just as I did for three years… Don’t! Find a rally, sign-up, take your classic and have fun. Simple as that. You will not regret it but beware! You might enjoy it so much, that you will seek more rallies to dream about in the future. Guess who’s currently browsing through stories about Maroc Classic and Peking-Paris…
Wholehearted thanks to the entire rally team, led by rally commander and founder Piotr Kostrzewski aka Kudłaty!
To all participants, much better described by the word “companions” rather than “competitors” - thank you!
… and specifically to Jakub Strzemżalski, for sparking my interest in regularity rallies!
Text & Photos (unless noted otherwise): Adam Pekala © 2023
