Thousand-Minutes Rally – The Co-pilot Story
WHEN AN ADVENTURE CALLS
My last year’s debut in long-distance regularity rallies at GPPPZ got me properly hooked on the sport. Classic cars photogenically prepared for historic rallying, picturesque routes nearly impossible to discover without a blinded, roadbook-based navigation and most importantly – amazing people connected by their common passion. What’s not to like? With that mindset I started actively eyeing interesting events of such kind.
Doing so it was impossible not to come across ‘Rajd Tysiąca Minut’ or the ‘Thousand-Minutes Rally’, if you like. Brought to life by Szymon Rajwa and Rafał Chronowski, it forms an evolution of their more family-oriented tourist event happening in late autumn since 2022. Now, testing a two-day regularity formula, their marathon offering felt like the perfect fit for my taste. There was just one problem – I didn’t have an appropriate car.
But when adventure calls… you’d better answer! So, when one day my friend Jakub suggested we team up, less than an hour later I had my flights booked.
SWAPPING SEATS
What that entailed, though, was that I wouldn’t be driving – I’d navigate. Having in mind Jakub’s skills and experience resulting in his becoming the Polish National Champion in Historic Regularity Rallies in 2021… I was slightly anxious. Only agreeing on an easy-going, socially focused approach to the event got me relaxed and properly excited. A few weeks later, we packed his 1968 Alfa Romeo Giulia Super and embarked on our journey to Kraków. On Saturday morning, we were ready to start.
The rally began with three closely situated special sport stages, effectively actuating our adrenaline levels. Some easy navigation when commuting between these two made me also befriend both the roadbook and the road card. Our confidence level rose! It was just then when we approached the start of the first regularity test. Starting in three, two, one…
Go! We went and so did the time. Unfortunately, the GPS tracking in the application we used did not, and so we started fixing the technology on the go. On the upside, I also ran the analogue rally odometer which helped us to navigate. We didn’t get lost but by the time we fixed everything we gathered a tremendous number of points. A tough lesson learnt, ultimately lifting any pressure to score.
DEMANDING, YET OH SO BEAUTIFUL
From there we found our rhythm. We adjusted the way we approached regularity tests, always ran a back-up, navigated through the tripmeter and found our optimal way to communicate. We enjoyed the beautiful route that led us for around 600 kilometres, mostly through narrow and winding country roads, overseeing marvellous panoramic views over Tatra Mountains and some beautiful lakes.
The Thousand-Minutes Rally was simply a feast for the regularity enthusiasts. Organisers prepared twenty regularity tests summing up to more than 280 kilometres. That’s nearly 50% of the total mileage! Commute in-between was also well planned. There was sufficient time to get to the control points without breaking any traffic rules, yet not too much leeway to slack with your lunch or stop for photos. After all, it is a proper rally that also included… a night stage!
A NIGHT EN-ROUTE… AND OFF-PISTE
After a short rest that rejuvenated all teams after a long, eight-hour drive on Saturday, crews left for another three-hour journey exploring the mountains and hills by night. This shorter stint collated four regularity tests. They all bore funny names, such as “The Night of the Living Dead” – a perfect nitty gritty example of the commander’s great taste of humour. Aside lots of fun, the night also brought us what we tried avoiding for the entire weekend… getting lost.
On one of the regularity tests, all three odometers clearly showed it was the right distance to turn right at the Y-junction. With some hesitation, as the roadbook situation varied ‘insignificantly’, we cleared the manoeuvre and… dived down a long steep road into someone’s backyard. We weren’t the only ones and despite the very welcoming dweller, we wanted to get back en-route as fast as we could. When we did, we were two-and-a-half minutes delayed. Impossible to catch? Not if this section average speed is luckily low and there is one hell of a driver behind the wheel. Last kilometre of the stage we were in time.
SUCCESS THE SIZE OF THE RALLY
Sunday was luckily an easier day, yet still packed with lots of regularity action. Five stages and some commute led us to a quick break to a small town of Czchów. Here, all the cars put on a great show for the locals at the main square. Just look at all these kids admiring the classics – start them early, they say! We had a short coffee break and headed back to Kraków, checking in on four remaining RTs. At the finish line, we were satisfied, as much as we were exhausted.
Rajd Tysiąca Minut, and not only in my opinion, was a sheer success. Prepared in professional and safe manner, the phenomenal itinerary with intensive action was wrapped up in a friendly atmosphere. But this jewel of a rally was no fluke! Szymon and Rafał are rallyists themselves – the former crowned Polish National Champion in Historic Regularity Rallies and the latter an experience co-pilot even at… the Rallye Monte Carlo Historique. Yet, above all, they form a charismatic duo making the event such a pleasure to be part of. When and where will their next marathon be? Just sign me up!
Text & Photos: Adam Pekala ©
