Kajetan Kajetanowicz

Kajetan Kajetanowicz, nicknamed Kajto, is the most successful Polish rally driver in recent years and he was the only one of all Polish rally drivers who won some international titles, becoming the FIA European Rally Champion three times in row between 2015 to 2017. Prior to that, he was a four-time Polish rally champion and two-time CEZ (Central European Zone) Rally champion.

Kajto early in a career

Kajetan started a rally career with Polski Fiat

Kajetan Kajetanowicz was born on March 5, 1979, in Cieszyn, Poland. He started rallying in 2000, driving a little Fiat 126P, so called 'Polski Fiat'. His first navigator was Aleksandra Kajetanowicz-Masiuk. In 2002, their new car was Fiat Seicento Sporting and then Peugeot 206 XS in 2004.

First outright victory with Mitsubishi in 2007

At the wheel of Peugeot 206 XS, Kajetanowicz finished in second place of Polish Peugeot Cup in 2005, then switched to a bigger car in 2006. It was a Subaru Impreza STi N11. After one year with Subaru, Kajetanowicz moved to Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX in 2007, reaching his first overall win in the Polish rally championship, at Rajd Elmot.  He did that with Maciej Wislawski as his new navigator.

Kajetanowicz scored his first win driving Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX

Polish championship runner-up in 2008

In 2008, Kajetan continued to drive Mitsubishi, finishing second in the Polish Rally Championship and the best in Group N classification. The Polish champion that year was a Frenchman Bryan Bouffier, who was driving a Peugeot 207 S2000.

In 2009, Kajetanowicz returned into the cockpit of Subaru Impreza, alongside Jaroslaw Baran as a navigator. With two wins, he finished fourth in the overall standings and second in the Group N.

Polish rally champion for the first time in 2010

In 2010, Kajetanowicz finally reached the top in Polish Rally Championship, winning an overall title with Subaru Impreza TMR 10. The highlight of the year was his victory ar Rajd Polski (Rally Poland), the round of the European Rally Championship.

Kajetan Kajetanowicz and Jaroslaw Baran - four-time Polish rally champions

Kajetanowicz took three more Polish titles with Subaru

Kajetanowicz added three more consecutive Polish rally titles to his account from 2011 to 2013, all three while driving Subaru Impreza STi R4 for Lotos Dynamic Rally Team. In all championship winning seasons, his co-driver was Jaroslaw Baran.

While collecting Polish rally trophies, Kajetanowicz also earned two CEZ Rally Championship titles. In 2010, he was the best in the Production Car class. In 2012, he won the overall CEZ title with Impreza STi R4.

Focus on the European Rally Championship since 2014

After winning 2013 Rajd Polski (ERC event) with Ford Fiesta R5, Kajetanowicz focused completely on European Rally Championship in 2014, participating in eight rounds with Lotos Rally Team's Ford Fiesta R5. He scored two podiums, at Acropolis Rally (3rd) and Cyprus Rally (2nd), finishing fourth in the final standings.

Kajto is a double European Rally champion

Three ERC titles in a row with Ford Fiesta R5

In 2015, Kajto continued to drive Ford Fiesta R5. The season started with his victory at the Internationale Jänner Rallye in Austria. After four podiums in a row, he recorded two more ERC wins at Cyprus Rally and Acropolis Rally, winning his first ERC title with a big advantage over Craig Breen.

In 2016, Kajetanowicz repeated his success, still driving a Ford Fiesta R5. He scored only one win at his home event Rajd Rzeszowski, adding four more ERC podiums and took the title ahead of Aleksey Lukyanuk.

The third title in a row followed in 2017, when Kajetan and his navigator Jaroslaw Baran were the best again in a Ford Fiesta R5. They won at Acropolis Rally and scored three more ERC podiums.

Kajetan Kajetanowicz Kajto

Late WRC debut at 2016 Rally Poland

Although he was a successful rally driver, with a career that lasts for more than 15 years, Kajetanowicz debuted in WRC event at the age of 37, participating at 2016 Rally Poland. He was driving Ford Fiesta R5, finishing 16th overall and 4th in WRC 2 standings.

After he won his third ERC title in 2017, Kajto switched his focus on WRC in 2018, participating in four events in WRC2 class. Then, in 2019, he annouced that he would have seven-round programme in the WRC2 Championship with Volkswagen Polo GTI R5.

After many successful years in a Ford Fiesta R5, Kajto switched to VW Polo GTI R5 in 2019

Photos: kajto.pl, ewrc-results.com,