Mikkelsen and Sesks Surprise in the Polish Rally

Ott Tänak, driving his Hyundai i20 N, took the lead after the initial stage of the ORLEN 80th Rally Poland, beating his teammate Thierry Neuville by one second. Thousands of fans gathered in Mikołajki's main square to witness the start of the event, marking Poland's long-awaited return to the FIA World Rally Championship.

Tänak, who had already dominated the morning's shakedown, continued his good performance to take the lead before the intense Friday stage. "I enjoy this stage and these roads, but they are not easy at all," Tänak said. "Everything needs to be spot on, and you need to have full confidence in everything around you. Tomorrow we will see how we feel."

Elfyn Evans, third in the overall standings, was 0.3 seconds behind Neuville. His Toyota teammate, Takamoto Katsuta, followed just three-tenths behind, while Andreas Mikkelsen completed the top five. Grégoire Munster, with his M-Sport Ford Puma, suffered a cracked windshield caused by stones kicked up by Katsuta's car, finishing eighth overnight. Adrien Fourmaux and Kalle Rovanperä also finished in the top ten.

In the afternoon, Andreas Mikkelsen took advantage of his starting position to build a 7.4-second lead over debutant Mārtiņš Sesks. A stage win in the opening stage at Stanczyki pushed the Norwegian into the lead, consolidating his position with another victory in the Olecko test. The Wieliczki stage was canceled for spectator safety reasons.

Mikkelsen started well, unlike his teammates Ott Tänak and Thierry Neuville. Tänak retired due to front-end damage after hitting something at high speed in the first stage. Neuville, meanwhile, faced slippery conditions as the first on the road, falling more than half a minute behind the leader in seventh position.

"I am doing the best I can and we are enjoying it," Mikkelsen said. "The car is very nice to drive. The surface is still slippery, so we had to be careful, you can't just throw the car into the corners, but it's enjoyable."

Sesks, in his non-hybrid Ford Puma Rally1, used his knowledge of the terrain to set the second-best time in SS2, just three-tenths behind Mikkelsen. "It's good, we are still learning and the car is amazing to drive," said the Latvian.

Elfyn Evans moved to third, with his title hopes boosted by the problems faced by Tänak and Neuville. His Toyota teammate, Kalle Rovanperä, finished 2.3 seconds behind, while Adrien Fourmaux completed the top five in another Puma.

Grégoire Munster recovered from a nervous landing to set the second-best time in Wieliczki, finishing the morning in sixth overall, 16.3 seconds ahead of Neuville. Takamoto Katsuta reported a lack of confidence in his GR Yaris, finishing eighth.

Sami Pajari led WRC2 in his Toyota Rally2, with a 4.7-second advantage over local hero Kajetan Kajetanowicz at the end of the morning.