Poland reveals 2014 route

After a five-year absence, Rally Poland will return to the World Rally Championship in 2014 with a new route that also includes stages in neighbouring Lithuania.

The 26 – 29 June event will be first time that stages of the World Rally Championship will have been run in Lithuania.

Announcing the new route today, Jarosław Noworól, Clerk of the Course said: “We have prepared 21 special stages on gravel roads, including four in Lithuania. Several of them or their parts are known from 2009 edition of Rally Poland but the Lithuanian stages and additionally two in Poland will be completely brand new to everyone. One of the new stages is to be run close to the Polish-Russian border.”

As in 2009, the rally will be based from the Polish tourist resort of Mikolajki, which hosts the service park and a head-to-head Super Special stage that will be run four times.

After a ceremonial start in the town’s main square on Thursday 26 June, the rally kicks off with three stages in the surrounding forests that afternoon, with one run in darkness,

Friday starts with one stage in Poland before teams cross the border for four fast and flowing stages in Lithuania, one of which is run twice. The last of the Lithuanian loop will be the longest test of the rally at more than 34 kilometres.

After a remote service in the Lithuanian spa town of Druskininkai, 47km from the border, the rally returns to Poland with two more stages before a return to Mikolajki.

Saturday and Sunday’s stages will be in Poland exclusively, on stages in the province of Warmia and Mazury, east and north-east of Mikolajki. Sunday’s final test will be the Power Stage that is due to begin at 1200hrs.