Fans of the FIA European Rally Championship will be able to savour more exhilarating television coverage when Eurosport Events with the cooperation of the LOTOS 70th Rally Poland organizers, produces four stages for live broadcast this autumn.
Tens of thousands of spectators are expected to flock to Poland’s stunning Masurian lake district to watch national hero and Formula One race winner Robert Kubica chase success in an international event on home soil for the first time since he was 12 years old racing go-karts.
Eurosport Events, the ERC promoter, with the support of Grupa LOTOS SA, the Polish oil company, will produce for live broadcast both runs through the 25.16-kilometre Mragowo stage on Saturday 14 September and the two passes of Mateuszek on Sunday 15 September. Measuring 26.02 kilometres in length, the second run through Mateuszek will mark the final stage of the 13-stage event, round nine of the 12-event FIA ERC season.
Kubica, who is contesting a selected programme of ERC events in 2013 with support from LOTOS, will be one of the star attractions on the gravel rally when he will come up against several of the championship’s other leading lights, plus all of Poland’s top international rally drivers.
Andrzej Witkowski, president of Polish Automobile and Motorcycle Federation said: “For the first time in the history of rallying in Poland, as many as four special stages will be broadcast live. It is symbolic it will happen during the jubilee of LOTOS 70th Rally Poland underlying the importance of this great sporting event. We are very pleased that Eurosport Events, the promoter of the FIA European Rally Championship has chosen our event as the round, which deserves to be broadcast live to more than sixty countries all around the world. We are confident that TV viewers will not complain about the lack of sport excitement on spectacular gravel stages and the unique Masurian landscape will complement the coverage.” – said Andrzej Witkowski, president of Polish Automobile and Motorcycle Federation.
François Ribeiro, the Motorsport Development Director of Eurosport Events, said: “Confirmation of Eurosport’s live coverage of LOTOS 70th Rally Poland underlines the network’s continued commitment to the ERC. All the ingredients are in place for the event to be one of the toughest sporting battles in this year’s ERC. There will serious competition ahead, and passion from the Polish fans coming to see Robert Kubica rallying at home. Eurosport could not miss the opportunity to bring this action and emotion live on TV.”
Kubica has led all three ERC events he has started in his Citroën DS3 RRC. So far he has set 16 fastest stage times and will be in contention to add to that tally when the LOTOS 70th Rally Poland takes place in host town Mikołajki from 13-15 September.
Rally Poland is the third round of this year’s ERC to enjoy live coverage on Eurosport following SATA Rallye Açores and Giru di Corsica-Tour de Corse earlier this season.
LOTOS 70th Rally Poland LIVE broadcast schedule*
Saturday 14 September
Mragowo 1 (25.16kms): 11:30hrs-12:30hrs (Eurosport)
Mragowo 2 (25.16kms): 18:00hrs-19:00hrs (Eurosport)
Sunday 15 September
Mateuszek 1 (26.02kms): 10:00hrs-11:00hrs (Eurosport)
Mateuszek 2 (26.02kms): 18:00hrs-19:00hrs (Eurosport)
* All timings are CET and subject to final confirmation.
Eurosport Events’ coverage of Rally Poland: the big numbers
FOUR: stages produced live by Eurosport Events
TEN: cars equipped with onboard cameras, including Robert Kubica’s Citroën DS3 RRC
ONE: helicopter equipped with a Cineflex camera to capture all the action from up above
TWO: live split-timing sectors on each stage
THREE: cameras at finish of each stage to capture the drama and record live interviews by Neil Cole immediately after the drivers reach the stop line
SEVENTY: personnel from Eurosport working on the ground in Poland
Source: Rajd Polski.pl
