Rally and Race

Polish sim racing team AK-SPORT WRT is organising a virtual rally event in Richard Burns Rally to bridge the gap between competitive seasons. Running from 7–13 September 2026, the Virtual Rally Legend will feature 10 special stages designed to prioritise spectacle and atmosphere over raw pace. Unlike conventional competitive events, the Virtual Rally Legend shifts focus away from time-trial precision. Participants are encouraged to deliver visually impressive runs, execute dramatic driving techniques such as drifting, and create entertaining content rather than chase fastest times. Organisers plan to compile the most striking footage into a highlight reel showcasing the event. Filip Kościółek, one of the event's architects, emphasised the initiative's significance beyond routine virtual competition. "It's a pleasure to organise this rally alongside Michał and our team principal Adam. I hope this event becomes a memorable chapter in our team's history," Kościółek stated. He noted strong community engagement across social media, with positive feedback motivating the team to enhance the event further. Full details regarding classes, stages and participation rules are being published on the AK-SPORT WRT team page. The event serves as a seasonal activity for the team while the Master of Champions Cup heads toward its final two rounds.

The FIA European Rally Championship will visit Wales for the penultimate round of the 2026 season with the Ceredigion Rally, scheduled for 4–6 September on asphalt roads. The event will feature two Polish crews: Miko Marczyk and Jakub Matulka. Organisers have planned 16 special stages totalling 191.34 km. The rally begins with a ceremonial start on Thursday evening in Aberystwyth, with competitive action running from Friday evening through Sunday afternoon. Schedule Thursday, 3 September 16:00 – Ceremonial start, Aberystwyth Friday, 4 September 09:00 – Shakedown (Pendam, 6.41 km) 18:55 – Rally start 19:05 – SS1 Aberystwyth 1 (1.23 km) 19:35 – SS2 Aberystwyth 2 (1.23 km) 20:50 – SS3 Elerch (6.28 km) 21:30 – SS4 Blaenmelindwr (9.28 km) Friday's leg covers 127.54 km. Saturday, 5 September 08:55 – SS5 Aberffrwd 1 (12.02 km) 09:50 – SS6 Soar Y Mynydd 1 (20.80 km) 11:45 – SS7 Cwm Elan 1 (20.71 km) 14:20 – SS8 Aberffrwd 2 (12.02 km) 15:15 – SS9 Soar Y Mynydd 2 (20.80 km) 17:10 – SS10 Cwm Elan 2 (20.71 km) 18:25 – SS11 Aberystwyth 3 (1.23 km) 18:40 – SS12 Aberystwyth 4 (1.23 km) Crew will retire to a closed park in Aberystwyth after Saturday's action. Sunday, 6 September 08:15 – SS13 Gorsgoch 1 (20.64 km) 09:05 – SS14 Ty Glyn 1 (11.26 km) 12:00 – SS15 Gorsgoch 2 (20.64 km) 14:05 – SS16 Ty Glyn 2 (11.26 km) – Power Stage 15:05 – Finish ceremony, Aberystwyth 16:05 – Rally finish Sunday's leg totals 63.80 km. The longest stage is Soar Y Mynydd at 20.80 km.

17-year-old Polish driver Fabian Dybionka will make his debut in the ADAC GT Masters this coming weekend at Austria's Salzburg circuit. Dybionka will share a Ford Mustang GT3 entered by Haupt Racing Team (HRT) with 19-year-old Norwegian Emil Gjerdrum, marking an important milestone in his racing career and his first outing in one of Europe's leading GT series. The Salzburg round will be contested in endurance format, featuring two 80-minute races with mandatory pit stops in each. During these stops, driver changes, tyre replacements and refuelling will take place. Dybionka's 2026 season has centred on the International GT Open, where he drives a BMW M4 GT3 and has already scored two podium finishes. The Mustang represents a new platform and series for the young driver. HRT, founded by former driver Hubert Haupt, currently holds the ADAC GT Masters titles in both the drivers' and teams' championships. The squad also claimed the DTM drivers' championship in 2021, just one year after its establishment, and has won classifications in GT World Challenge Europe. Originally a leading Mercedes-AMG outfit, HRT switched to Ford last year to showcase the new Mustang GT3 on European circuits. Dybionka commented on the opportunity: "I'm very pleased to make my ADAC GT Masters debut with such an experienced team as HRT. It's a significant step and a chance to compete against a strong international field. The Mustang GT3 is completely different from the cars I've raced before, so I want to make the most of every session and adapt quickly. Our goal will be consistent, clean driving and fighting for the best possible result."

Krzysztof Hołowczyc and Łukasz Kurzeja won the 18th edition of AKPOL Baja Poland, extending the Polish driver's record tally in the event to eleven victories. Competing in an X-raid MINI JCW Rally 3.0i, the crew dominated the special stages around Szczecin and Drawski Polygon to secure first place ahead of Michał and Julita Małuszyńscy in a Toyota Hilux EVO, with Adam Kuś and Maciej Giemza rounding out the podium in a Taurus EVO MAX. The 2024 edition served as the fourth round of the FIA Baja Europe Cup, the sixth round of the FIA Central Europe Zone Championship, the fifth round of the Polish Cross Country Rally Championship, and the third round of the Czech championship. A total of 194 competitors from 13 nations started the event, with 81 vehicles and 150 drivers reaching the finish. The FIA Baja Europe Cup round covered 646.23 kilometres, including five special stages totalling 366.60 kilometres. Kuś and Giemza won Friday's prologue in Szczecin, completing the 8.85-kilometre stage in 7:23.2, with Hołowczyc and Kurzeja 2.3 seconds adrift. However, the prologue determined starting order rather than contributing to the overall classification. Saturday's three special stages on Drawski Polygon proved decisive, covering 314.44 kilometres combined. Despite a wheel change that cost approximately three minutes, Hołowczyc moved into the lead by the second pass through the polygon, winning that stage by over four minutes and never relinquishing top spot. He won four of the five special stages overall and finished with a margin of 6:36.1 over the Małuszyńskis, with Kuś and Giemza a further 7:27.7 back. In the Polish Cross Country Rally Championship, the podium remained unchanged, with Hołowczyc and Kurzeja also topping the FIA Central Europe Zone Championship and Czech championship classifications. Benediktas Vanagas and Aisvydas Paliukenas finished fourth overall and were the highest-classified regular FIA Baja Europe Cup participants, though their Toyota caught fire immediately after the final stage due to a hydraulic line failure near the exhaust; the crew extinguished the blaze and saved the vehicle. In the motorcycle category, Kamil Piątek overcame a 54.2-second deficit to Marcin Talaga on Sunday's final stage, ultimately winning by 1:36.2.

iRacing is preparing its largest single-player feature overhaul to date, with developers revealing details of a long-awaited career mode designed to compete directly with Assetto Corsa and the Gran Turismo series. The centrepiece of the announcement is how content access will be handled: the entire library of cars and tracks available in iRacing will be usable within career mode without requiring separate purchases. Greg Hill, senior vice president and executive producer at iRacing, confirmed that the career mode will be included as part of the standard subscription at no additional cost. Players will gain access to the specific cars and tracks needed at each career stage, even if those items are not owned on their main account. The career progression system will guide drivers from grassroots motorsport through to top-tier categories, with stronger vehicles, tougher AI opponents, longer races, and new championships unlocking as players advance. However, the content model differs from traditional unlocking mechanics. Cars and tracks provided during a career stage will only remain available for that specific phase; once a career stage concludes, access to those items expires unless the player has purchased them separately. Crucially, vehicles and circuits accessed through career mode cannot be transferred to standard online racing. This approach addresses a significant concern for players considering a paid simulator: progression through the developer-designed career path requires no additional spending. The feature set at launch will include seven career types and adjustable difficulty levels, with the option to retry specific objectives. Multiple attempts will negatively impact the career classification score relative to other players. Hill noted that sponsor management, driver-owner mechanics, and team budget systems will not be available at launch, but iRacing intends to expand the career mode post-release with additional career types and features. While the career mode is technically complete, no specific release date has been announced. If delivered as described, the feature could substantially reshape iRacing's market position, transforming it from primarily a competitive online platform into a viable alternative for players seeking a traditional single-player career experience.

The third edition of the Polish Rally Legend concluded with a single-day competitive format on Saturday, featuring nine special stages divided into three loops across 50 kilometres of racing. Following a parade section on Friday, crews tackled three stages repeatedly: the 5.1-kilometre Polanica Zdrój, the 5.4-kilometre Spalona, and the 6.3-kilometre Duszniki-Zieleniec test. Guest entries Kajetan Kajetanowicz and Maciej Szczepaniak in a Citroën C3 WRC set the fastest times across all stages, finishing over a minute ahead of Adam Sroka and Rafał Piotrowski in a Škoda Fabia, but the main competition among registered participants proved far more competitive. Initially, Miklós Kazár and Tamas Begala in a Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX led the field, building a 20-second advantage by the Duszniki-Zieleniec stage. However, a 30-second penalty for arriving late at a service point shifted momentum. Patrycjusz Grygo and Mariusz Kupiec in a Subaru Impreza WRX STI capitalised on the setback, moving to the front and ultimately securing victory by 5.7 seconds over Kazár and Begala. Bartosz Pawarski and Kamil Kuklewski in a Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX completed the podium, 10 seconds further back. Grygo's win marked a significant return to rally competition after a nearly two-year absence. In class results, Tomasz Czopik and Małgorzata Kosińska won the C5 4×4 category in a Mitsubishi Lancer Evo V, while Michał Streer and Jakub Wróbel took the K1 class in a Renault Clio. A total of 72 crews were classified at the finish.

The 18th edition of AKPOL Baja Poland will take place from 27 to 30 August in Szczecin and Drawsko Pomorskie, serving as the fourth round of the FIA Baja Europe Cup. Poland's premier cross-country rally will also count towards Polish and regional championships, as well as the FIA Central Europe Zone Championship and Czech Republic cross-country title. The event will feature cars, motorcycles, and quads across multiple categories, including an amateur Baja Promo series. The rally covers a total distance of 611.15 km, with four special stages totalling 351.66 km for the FIA Europe Cup classification, plus an 8.85 km prologue. Krzysztof Hołowczyc holds the record for most victories at Baja Poland with ten wins; his most recent triumph came in 2025 co-driven by Łukasz Kurzeja. Friday begins with a test section between Dobra and Wołczków (10:00–14:00), followed by the prologue on the Głębokie–ul. Zawadzkiego route in Szczecin at 17:20. The prologue does not count toward the final classification but determines starting order for Saturday. An opening ceremony on the Wały Chrobrego waterfront at 20:00 will allow spectators to see the rally cars and crews in central Szczecin. Saturday is the decisive day, with crews tackling the Drawsko military training ground twice. Each pass covers 149.75 km, with the first run starting at 09:15 and the second at 13:40, totalling nearly 300 km against the clock. The route has been modified to be faster than previous years, featuring fewer turns but higher speeds. The military terrain is closed to spectators, though a service park at Drawsko Pomorskie railway siding will be open; crews have 45 minutes between runs. Sunday concludes the event with two passes of the Sławoszewo–Wołczkowo–Szczecin stage (26.08 km each), starting at 09:05 and 13:05. The podium ceremony takes place at Enea Arena at 14:30. The rally combines urban spectacle in Szczecin with long, fast stages on the Drawsko range, where reliability, navigator skill, and sustained concentration over Saturday's marathon will prove decisive.

The third round of the FIA European Drag Racing Championships at Hockenheimring concluded without crowning any winners across its four main categories. A prolonged delay caused by fluid cleanup on the circuit, combined with the venue's strict noise curfew, forced organisers to cancel all four finals before competition could resume. The Top Fuel, Top Methanol, Pro Modified and Pro Stock finals were scheduled for Sunday but never took place. A spill during Sportsman class runs required extensive track cleaning that consumed enough time to push the restart past 18:00—the moment when Hockenheimring's noise restrictions take effect. With no opportunity to complete the finals before the curfew deadline, all four championship-deciding races were abandoned. In Top Fuel, defending champion Susanne Callin had advanced to face India Erbacher after Callin defeated her RF Motorsport teammate Colin Millar (winner of the previous round at Tierp Arena) with a 4.23-second pass. Erbacher progressed when Øyvind Jacobsen red-lighted. The Top Methanol final would have been an all-Swedish affair between top seed Tony Bryntesson and Jonny Lagg of A-Fuel Team Sweden. Andres Arnover, leading the championship standings, had secured his Pro Modified spot by beating Michel Tooren with a 6.37-second run and would have faced Stian Rusånes. In Pro Stock, thirteen-time European champion Jimmy Ålund (6.59s) and Robin Norén (6.62s) were set to contest the final. The fourth and final round of the season takes place 10–13 September at Santa Pod Raceway in the United Kingdom.

Maciej Marcinkiewicz and Filip Sterczewski secured pole position in the combined round of the Polish Endurance Championship and FIA CEZ at Slovakia Ring, posting the quickest qualifying time among the field. The margin at the front proved razor-thin, with Miro Konopka trailing by just 0.011 seconds, underlining the competitive nature of the grid. The leading trio of LMP3 Ligiers will occupy the front rows, with Tomasz Dyszkiewicz and weekend substitute Robin Rogalski lining up second. Championship leaders Przemysław Bieńkowski and Mateusz Lisowski in a Mercedes-AMG GT3 qualified fourth, separated from the top three by only 0.243 seconds across all classes. Pole positions were distributed across the supporting categories: Marek Zmysłowski and Michał Ratajczak topped GT4 qualifying in an Audi R8 LMS, while Krzysztof Górny and Krystian Korzeniowski claimed GTC honours in a Porsche 911. Jan Antoszewski and David Dziwok, returning to Polish racing, led the Porsche 4F Cup field. Artur Paziewski and Amuno Pelette qualified first in the up-to-3.5-litre class, and Przemysław Silski and Zbigniew Szwagierczak headed the two-litre category. The endurance race will conclude Saturday's programme at Slovakia Ring, scheduled for 18:10.

Tomáš Pekař secured pole position for the third time this season in the Clio Cup Bohemia qualifying session at Slovakia Ring, edging out championship leader Bartłomiej Mirecki with a narrow margin. The defending series champion dipped below the 2:27 barrier to set the benchmark time that proved unbeatable for the rest of the field. Pekař and Mirecki traded fastest laps throughout the session before the Czech driver's decisive run. By taking pole, Pekař has closed the gap by one point in the title fight and will start alongside Mirecki on the front row for Saturday's opening race of the fifth round. Filip Dziwok, Pekař's teammate, claimed third on the grid with his best qualifying performance of the season, narrowly ahead of Luca Franca. Six Polish drivers featured in the top eight: Alan Kluza, Rafał Paprota, Julian Śmiechowski (third in the championship), and Paweł Wysmyk all secured strong grid positions. Further back, Oskar Marszałkowski qualified 13th, Krzysztof Dudek 15th, with Dawid Babrajen and Piotr Ławski rounding out the reported finishers at 20th.

Polish driver Oskar Marszałkowski will compete in the fifth round of the 2026 Clio Cup Bohemia season at Slovakia Ring, just three weeks after the previous event at Autodrom Most. The 17-year-old is aiming to secure another podium finish and consolidate his position in the championship standings. Located less than 50 kilometres from Bratislava, Slovakia Ring is one of the newest and most modern circuits in Central Europe. Over its 16-year history, the track has hosted rounds of the FIA World Touring Car Championship and World GT Championship, and remains a regular fixture on the Clio Cup Bohemia calendar. Marszałkowski enjoyed his strongest weekend of the season at the previous round, securing a second podium finish after a run of setbacks in earlier events. He currently sits at the top of a tight four-way battle for fourth place in the championship, separated from rivals by just one point. The driver spent the three-week break between rounds working on racecraft in a go-kart and was invited by McLaren to test the new McLaren Artura Trophy. Preparations at Slovakia Ring proved challenging when an engine failure cut short the official test day, limiting Marszałkowski's track time ahead of the weekend. However, he has previous experience at the circuit from earlier Clio Cup Bohemia rounds. The weekend schedule differs from standard rounds, with qualifying set for Friday afternoon, allowing drivers a full day's rest before the first race on Saturday, with the second race on Sunday. "It's a shame the test ended earlier than planned," Marszałkowski said. "Every lap before the weekend is valuable, especially with such a competitive field. Fortunately, I know the track from previous visits, so we have a baseline to work from. The key will be finding the right setup quickly and performing well in qualifying."

The 84th round of Prime Drift Open took place at Koszaliński Motopark on 14–16 August, drawing large crowds and delivering competitive racing across three days of qualifying and head-to-head battles. Ideal weather and a packed schedule of drifting action kept spectators engaged throughout the weekend, with multiple classes competing for points ahead of the season finale. Saturday's qualifying session set the grid for Sunday's decisive battles. In the Masters class, Fabian Hała topped the order with 91 points, marking the youngest competitor ever to lead the Masters category at this event. Kordian Trela-Muchewicz secured pole position in Pro, while Borys Piotrowski led the Pro Am field. The weekend proved costly for some contenders: Czech driver Daniel Pelikan was forced to withdraw after mechanical failure during practice, while Mateusz Suski, pre-event favourite in Masters, suffered engine trouble that ended his campaign. Sunday's finals delivered the headline results. In Pro Am, Paweł Nawarz claimed victory in his BMW 1, with Aleksander Pelikański (BMW E82) second and Piotrowski third. The Pro class saw Mike Tesler from Ukraine triumph in his BMW E46, defeating Rafał Biej in the final—a career-best result for Tesler. The Masters final proved dramatic: Łukasz Wróblewski (BMW 1) defeated Hała after a semi-final collision between Hała and Leszek Rachimow (BMW E36) left Wróblewski's car damaged. Despite the damage, Wróblewski recovered to win convincingly. With one round remaining, the championship standings remain wide open. In Masters, Łukasz Pijar leads ahead of Suski and Hała. Biej now tops Pro from Trela-Muchewicz and Michał Karwat, while Pro Am sees Paweł Jung leading a tightly bunched field where six drivers remain separated by minimal points. The season finale takes place 2–4 October at Słomczyn circuit.