S-WRC: Kosciuszko set for S2000 return in Portugal

Michal Kosciuszko will return to the Super 2000 World Rally Championship in Portugal later this month - less than eight weeks after he was temporarily blinded in a crash on the Jordan Rally.

However, the 25-year-old from Poland won’t be at the wheel of the Dynamic World Rally Team Ford Fiesta S2000 he used in Mexico and Jordan earlier this season.

Instead, he will switch to a JM Racing-run Skoda Fabia S2000 after the Fiesta was declared a write-off when it left the road on the Middle East event, plunged down a bank and landed on its roof.

Dirk van der Sluys, whose Symtech Racing concern runs Kosciuszko’s Fiesta, said: “It was a close call between if the car was repairable or a total loss and it was decided that it was a total [loss]. Although M-Sport [which designed and built the Fiesta S2000] could get a new car for us there was some delay with the insurance and, at the end of the day, Michal didn’t want to take the risk so he will use a Skoda for Portugal although it won’t be run by our team.”

Kosciuszko suffered a blow to the head in the crash in Jordan that left him without sight for a short period of time. However, he has since made a full recovery to the extent he has carried out a successful test in a Fabia.

“I’m in good condition now - 100 per cent ready,” said Kosciuszko. “I got the feeling back very quickly and I am confident in the car and not scared at all about the speed. I did two rallies in a Skoda last year and quite a lot of testing. I know the car can be very competitive and not a big difference with the Fiesta.”

Kosciuszko is currently ninth in the SWRC title standings, 53 points shy of runaway leader Xevi Pons. They will be among 10 drivers taking part in the SWRC class in Portugal, which include Jari Ketomaa, who scored his first win of the season in New Zealand earlier this month, and P-G Andersson, who along with Ketomaa and Pons is the only other driver to have claimed a victory in the new-for-2010 category.

Local interest will be provided by Bernardo Sousa (Fiesta S2000), who hails from the Portuguese island of Madeira, and guest driver Vitor Pascoal (Peugeot 207 S2000). Martin Prokop and Patrik Sandell have not nominated the gravel event as one of their seven scoring rounds so won’t be in action in their Fiesta and Fabia respectively.