“I'm very proud to be here tonight starting the rally in front of the packed grandstands and I'm going to try very hard for the Polish spectators,” Holowczyc vowed.

“It was fantastic to start the event with this stage to show the fans what kind of action they will be in for over the next three days. My knowledge of this event is very good but the competition here will be tough and I need to use my experience well to push hard for a solid result.”

The action now begins 'proper' on Friday, with six stages on the bill - totalling around 110 competitive kilometres.

Day one is made up of a compact loop of three stages close to Mikolajki. The cars are expected to reach high speeds on the soft, sandy roads and the organisers have added rows of straw bales to the stages to prevent the drivers from cutting corners. The biggest challenge tomorrow is SS3 - Paprotki, the longest stage of the rally at 33.17 kilometres.

The first test of the day - SS2, the 12.09 kilometre run through Grabowka 1, begins at 09.51 hours [local time].