Fiat Selénia Rally Team official pilot Sebastian Frycz is currently holding onto second position in the Polish 'Super1600' Rally Championship, and lies just four points behind Suzuki Ignis driver Michał Kościuszko, with only two of the six rounds remaining. As Frycz bids to claim the title for Fiat, his Polish National Rally Championship campaign is the culmination of a Punto-based rally programme that has been gaining momentum for half a decade.

Beyond the much-trumpeted and high-profile victories of the exciting little Fiat Punto - in Super1600 format - this year, that have been claimed in the FIA European Rally Championship (in the hands of Italian factory stars, Giandomenico Basso and Mirco Baldacci) and in the CASAI Italian Rally Championship (with Paolo Andreucci as usual behind the wheel), this front wheel drive 'rocket' has a built up a strong 'CV' of victories across the globe at national rally level - and no more so than in Poland, where it is fighting at the front.

The Fiat Punto S1600 - in the thick of the rally action in Poland

After the successes notched up by the tiny Fiat Cinquecento and Seicento Sporting during 1999 and 2000 Polish National Rally Championship seasons (in the A5 category) with Damian Jurczak driving, 2001 saw a decision made by Fiat Poland to step the rally programme up a big gear, and to run a Punto Kit Car, naturally to be piloted by Jurczak. In his first stab at the hard-fought category, Jurczak came home fourth overall in the 2001 Polish Rally Championship trophy for Drivers' of 1600cc cars. At the same time he was 'Vice-Champion' (runner up) in the A6 class with two victories in this specific category, the title being won by Michał Gołębiowski, driving a Škoda Felicia Kit Car.
 

In 2003, Fiat official pilot Damian Jurczak improved further and ended the year as the runner-up in the Super1600 category behind Grzegorz Grzyb, who was driving an official Peugeot 206 XS S1600, run by the Peugeot Sport Polska Rally Team. A single victory meant that Jurczak was in fact the only driver to break the dominance of Grzyb who won the other five events. Grzyb finished the 2003 championship with 50 points from five wins, while one win and three second places gave the Fiat driver 34 points. Mariusz Pelikański was placed third (29 points) in another Peugeot 206 XS S1600.

Last year oddly saw an almost identical performance taking place in the Polish Super1600 Championship. Grzegorz Grzyb (who had by now switched from Peugeot to a seat in a factory-backed Suzuki Ignis S1600) won five of the six rallies, while Sebastian Frycz - who had taken over from Jurczak in the Fiat Selénia Rally Team's Punto S1600, won the remaining encounter. With three second places and a fourth to add to his lone win, Frycz finished as runner-up, beating Michał Kościuszko in a Suzuki Ignis S1600, run by the Shell PDK Rally Team, who also finished on 15 points, by virtue of his single win.

Sebastian Frycz and the Fiat Selénia Rally Team aiming for the 2005 Polish Super 1600 title

This year Sebastian Frycz and the Fiat Selénia Rally Team are once again neck-and-neck with official Suzuki Ignis driver Michał Kościuszko - but this time both are aiming for the Super1600 title outright. With just two rounds remaining (the 32nd Rally Warszawski and then finally the Rally Dolnośląski), Frycz trails Kościuszko by nly four points (22 to 18 points respectively). Hot on the pair's heels though is Piotr Adamus (in a Peugeot 206 XS S1600, run by the Peugeot Sport Polska Rally Team), who has 16 points, and 2003/2004 Champion Grzegorz Grzyb (still at the wheel of a Suzuki Ignis S1600, this time from the Bolix Shell Helix Rally Team), on 14 points.

After a non-finish in the opening round of the Polish Super1600 Championship this year, Frycz swiftly bounced back in some style claiming victory in round two, the prestigious Rally Polski. With podium finishes in the next two events he has now set himself up nicely for a crack at the Super1600 title outright, with two of the six rounds still remaining to be contested.

by Ricardo Lapa