Rallye Breslau celebrates “absolutely amazing” 30th anniversary

The largest off-road race in Europe turned thirty years old as Rallye Breslau ran through the military training complexes at Żagań and Drawsko Pomorskie, Poland.

As part of the anniversary, the race was extended a day with the addition of a special winner’s stage on the last day. After the last two editions were plagued by route changes on the fly when the Polish Land Forces needed to use the training grounds, organiser RBI Sport had to be relieved that such major modifications need not occur in 2024 and they could celebrate the thirty-year festivities smoothly.

“This year, the Breslau has been absolutely amazing. Absolutely unbelievable,” said race director Alex Kovachev. “You can ask anybody from the probably 1,500 people who are here in the bivouac, but also the people on social media. Magnificent event. I am very, very thankful to all competitors, and I’m extremely thankful to my [organisation] team. Guys, you are amazing. I would go to the moon with you.”

Bartłomiej Tabin, on the heels of his Dakar Rally début in January, won his home rally for bikes after taking the lead from Ties Hellegers, who retired prior to the night stage on the fourth day. On the ATV side, fellow Poles Marcin Wilkołek and defending class winner Adam Krysiak led a Polaris 1–2 finish as they held off CFMOTO Thunder Racing Team‘s Gaëtan Martinez and Antanas Kanopkinas; all but Krysiak have World Rally-Raid Championship experience. CFMOTO also fielded a third CFORCE 1000 for Graham Guy, a rally raid newcomer who finished twenty-fifth.

Given how treacherous military polygons can be, it was far from a smooth rally even for those in the Cross-Country classes. Żagań, where various Polish and American armoured divisions reside, and Drawsko, a proving ground used by all NATO troops, feature tight roads that restrict lateral movement and forced everyone to ride in each other’s dust. Jim Marsden, an Ultra4 star who finished sixth in Extreme Car, described Drawsko as having “deep sand and whoops” akin to Baja along with “big swamps and lots of big water crossings” much like those seen in the Croatia Trophy, one of the most demanding off-road events in the world.

Even in the Prologue, many ended up getting lost; only seven Extreme vehicles completed the leg in time. A repeat occurred during the night stage, where conditions were exacerbated by rain in the dark. The fifth day featured a roadbook error for the Extreme classes that resulted in Car leader Hardo Mere briefly getting lost before pulling away, then losing the stage win to Marsden via a two-minute penalty, before having it reinstated upon protest.

“There was a photographer standing nearby and I drove through the middle of the puddle not wanting to splash him,” recalled a bemused Martinez after the penultimate stage. “The quad slowed down and almost got stuck; the puddle was deeper than I imagined. The second time I drove past, the photographer was still standing in the same place, but I didn’t take any chances and drove next to him.”

While Polish forests are not the deserts of Saudi Arabia that the Dakar traverses through, Breslau is often used for additional rally training by Dakar competitors or to bolster their portfolios so that they could be accepted for one. Justin Gerlach, a Dakar aspirant who spoke with The Checkered Flag prior to last year’s race, finished seventeenth in Enduro while his father Hardin Gerlach was fifty-sixth. Other 2024 Dakar racers who took part include Emilija Gelažninkienė and 2023 Truck winner Janus van Kasteren, respectively third and fifteenth in SSV.

Jacek Żak claimed the SSV win for Poland ahead of the Lithuanians Arunas Simanavicius and Gelažninkienė. Zak and Simanavicius traded blows in a battle of Polaris and Can-Am, the former pulling away on the final day when he beat Simanavicius by three minutes to claim the overall with 2:05 separating them. It was the closest margin of victory among all categories. Three competitors—Ardi van der Hoek (thirteenth), Harrie Renders (forty-first), and Frank Beyer (fifty-eighth)—raced the new Can-Am Maverick R, which remains ineligible for FIA SSV competition but is seeing growing use in other rallies in the meantime.

The Extreme categories, heavy vehicles traversing through more gnarly terrain, saw domination by Oliver Schwermann in his Land Rover and Mere in his HM7 Proto. German drivers comprised the entire grid in the Extreme Truck Big class for trucks over 7.5 tonnes, though Guido Neubert‘s Mercedes-Benz SK 2650 (fifth) also had the Dutchmen Andre Breed and Leon de Wit.

“These swamp donkeys might look quirky but they are built for a purpose and during this rallye myself and Hardo have consistently posted faster times and higher speed averages than the Cross Country cars with our highest average speeds hitting 70+kmph, which is nuts,” wrote Marsden.

Breslau was RBI’s second and final race of 2024 following the Fenix Rally in Tunisia in April. The Balkan Offroad Rallye, traditionally the company’s last round of the year, has been pushed to 2025. Until a new date is confirmed, Breslau is tentatively RBI’s first 2025 rally on 23–29 June as Fenix has been moved to October due to weather.

Route

Class winners

Cross-Country

Extreme

Discovery

Discovery is a non-competition category.