Since 1995, the year of the first München-Breslau, the Rallye Breslau has written the history of the European off-road sport. This legendary race, born with few rules and a lot of passion for impossible challenges, has evolved over the years without ever forgetting its origins and losing the spirit that made it a legend. The unforgettable 30th edition of this legendary race tooke place from 23 to 29 June 2024 in Poland. 

Photography Paolo Baraldi, Story Hristomir  Nikolov

Rallye Breslau, since its origins, has evoked in the imagination of European off-roaders, and not only, epic scenarios of an immense challenge between men, machines and nature. A reputation that has grown and consolidated year after year because, while adapting to new trends, it has never denied the identity of its origins.

The added value that makes the Breslau unique and appreciated is that it is the only rally that sees all the vehicles present in the offroad scene competing together: motorbikes, quads, side by sides, cars and trucks competing, obviously along dedicated routes , in the two categories Cross Country and Extreme. 

 This 30th edition did not disappoint the more than 300 competitors and Alexander Kovatchev's organization kept its initial promises, giving everyone one of the best Rallye Braslau ever.

The start of the 2024 Rallye Breslau took place in Zagan, the European off-road capital, before moving to Drawski Pomorskie, with a real marathon stage, where the last days of the race took place.

The race program included a Prologue, which immediately tested all participants with the difficulties of the race and 6 stages for a total distance of approximately 1300 km.

The first 3 days of the race took place in the military polygons around the city of Zagan along some historic routes in Breslau. On June 26 the competitors faced the tough Hannibal stage which transferred the caravan to the second camp in Drawsko. Here the race took place within the largest military range in Europe which offered a vast diversity of terrain wich make the Rallye Breslau one of the most complete and toughest rallies on the entire continent.

The last day of the race was not at all a parade for the glory but a real stage with all the pitfalls that characterize the Rallye Breslau and which made all the participants sweat to reach the agonized finish line.

Short prologue with big emotions for the very first day of the marathon.

After the technical verifications and the starting ceremony, rally Breslau is officially on the go. The race began with a short, 9-kilometers prologue, where the two categories – Extreme and Cross-Country had their separate routes. For the CC it was a fast sandy track with a tricky navigation and for the EX we saw a pure Breslau stage, with challenging mudholes and water crossings.

In the bike class, it was Bartolomiej Tabin (KTM) from Poland, who set the best time, steeling some 20 seconds from his compatriot Krzysztof Jarmuz (KTM). Another Polish triumph was in the ATV class, where Kamil Baszczynski (Polaris) beat Marcin Wilkolek (Polaris) with 15 seconds.

Janus Van Kasteren (Yamaha) claimed the stage win in the SSV class, with tiny 8 seconds advance to another Dutch - Jan Van Gerven (Can Am).

In the Car Open CC class Mindaugas Povilaitis (Toyota) from Lithuania claimed the best time on the prologue. As the short track suggest, here the differences also were small - Herman Jasper (Bowler) from Nederlands were second for the day, only 11 seconds behind the leader. In the Cat Limited CC it was Gregorz Brochocki (Toyota) who bring another good news to the host-country of Breslau.

In the Truck CC class, William Van Groningen (Iveco) won the prologue and will open the first full-scale stage in front of his compatriot from Nederlands Marc Leeuw (Ginaf).

Moving to the Extreme category, the well-known Estonian pilot Hardo Mere (HM7 Proto) won the muddy prologue in the car class, with more than three minutes advance to his countryman Karl-Erik Abram (Toyota). Stefan Braun (Unimog) was the fastest in the samll truck class, and his compatriot Ralf Britz (MAN) will open the stage for the big trucks.

Tricky navigation for the Cross Country, hard obstacles for the Extreme players

The first full-scaled racing day of Breslau Rally 2024 offered to the competitors everything they want from the race. There were hard 150 kilometer to cover for the Cross Country category with deep sands, dust and sometimes difficult navigation in the military polygons around Zagan. For the Extreme category, beside the forementioned sands, there were several mudholes and deep-water crossings to pass, where the winches worked non-stop.

Starting with the CC cars, Julien Leroy with Bowler claimed the stage win. The pilot from France set the best time with 7 minutes advance to Mindaugas Povilaitis (Toyota) from Lithuania. The daily top 3 was completed by Harry Ossting (Nissan) from Netherlands, who finished far behind the leader with more than 22 minutes passive.

In the SSV class, Jan Van Gerven (Can Am, Netherlands) was the fastest, finishing with 2 minutes advance to Jacek Zak (Polaris) from Poland. Third for the day was Marius Damavicius (Can Am) from Lithuania, slightly less than 4 minutes behind the stage winner.

Moving on 2 wheels, Bartolomiej Tabin (KTM) repeated his success from the prologue and won the first stage. The rider from Poland manage to beat two Dutch pilots of Husqvarna – Ties Hellegers and Luc Dumore. In the ATV class Tomasz Luberda (Can Am) won the battle against the Frenchman Gaetan Martinez (CF MOTO) with 2 minutes and 23 seconds’ advance. Third for the day was another Polish pilot - Tymon Baszczynski (Polaris), some 8 minutes behind the leader.

In the truck CC class, William Van Groningen (Iveco, Netherlands) also repeated his win and finished with almost 24 minutes advance to Benjamin Kittler (Ginaf) from Germany. Another German trucker - Tom Heuer (Tatra) completed the daily podium, finishing 33 minutes behind the fastest.

It was Estonian duel in the Car Extreme Class, won by the “usual suspect“ Hardo Mere. Mere finished with 15 minutes advance to Rainer Ruutli, after a day full of sun, dust and mud. Third place for the day went to Remigiusz Wutkowski from Poland, who finished some 22 minutes behind the leader. It was German domination in the two truck EX classes. In the “big boys” category the stage win was for Oliver Leyh (MAN KAT) and among the smaller trucks the fastest was Felix Muellenheim.

The last battles in Zagan before the transfer to Drawsko

The second leg of Breslau Rally 2024 offered another portion of tracks in the military polygons near Zagan. In the menu there were 170 km including the liaisons, full of dust for the Cross Country class, and filled with mudholes for the Extreme participants.

In the bike class we saw double stage podium for the Dutch HT Rally Raid team. The stage win went to Ties Hellegers, who finished with 4 minutes and a half in front of Luc Dumore. Third for the day was Krzysztof Jarmus (KTM) from Poland, 5:35 min. behind the fastest and only 14 seconds faster than his compatriot Bartolomiej Tabin (KTM).

In the ATV class it was triple daily success for Poland and Polaris, as Marcin Wilkolek was the fastest, finishing with more than 2 minutes adavance to Adam Krysiak and 8:22 to Grzegorz Wlodarczyk.

Moving to the CC cars, the second day of Breslau 24 was marked by Toyota battle. Jerry Van Langen from the Netherlands set the best time in the dusty track, stealing just 33 seconds from Jaroslaw Andrzejewski from Poland. The daily podium was completed by another Dutch pilot - Tonnie Van Der Hoeven, who finished with 3 minutes passive from the winner.

Netherland was the dominating country also in the SSV class, as Jan Van Gerven (Can Am) claimed second consecutive stage win. Second for the day was his fellow countryman Janus Van Casteren (Arcane) with 3 minutes and a half difference. Top 3 for the day was completed by Daniel Radzio (Polaris) from Poland, 5:25 minutes behind the leader.

William Van Groningen (Iveco) continues his domination in the truck CC class with one more daily win. The trucker from Netherland took 4 minutes advance to Benjamin Kittler (Ginaf) and one more to Tom Heuer (Tatra).

Britain’s offroad legend Jim Marsden and his Defender were the stars in the Extreme car class. Marsden managed to cross the hard obstacles with the fastest time, beating Hardo Mere from Estonia with some 4 minutes. Third for the day was Vallo Sassi, also from Estonia.

Oliver Leyh (MAN KAT) triumphed among the big EX trucks, beating his compatriot from Germany Kay Messner (MAN KAT) with 7 minutes. In the small EX trucks class, Felix Muellenheim (Unimog) clamed another stage win, in front of Urmas Uffert (C22) from Estonia.

The race moved to new areas and terrains.

The third leg of Breslau Rally 2024 marked the halfway of the race with the big transfer to the second camp in Drawsko. Well, more interesting was the famous Hannibal stage which started with a 135 km selective section. After the transfer to the new area, there was a second timed section, 55 kilometers long, and after all the participants were very tired at the finish, which some of them made in the evening.

Two Dutch riders dominated the Hannibal stage in the Enduro (bike) class. Fastest for the day was Berend De Rutier (KTM), who stole tiny 43 seconds from Luc Dumore (Husqvarna). Third for the day, with only 52 seconds passive to the winner was Krzysztof Jarmus (KTM) from Poland. The 7th place for the day was enough for Ties Hellegers (Husqvarna) to keep the leadership in the provisional rankings.

In the ATV class the non-surprising winner was Marcin Wilkolek (Polaris Polska). Second for the day was Adam Krysiak (Polaris), 43 minutes behind the leader. In the overall, Wilkolek is leader and Krysiak is second, with 7 minutes difference. Third for the day, as well as the overall is Gaetan Martinez (CF MOTO) from France.

Mindaugas Povilaitis (Toyota) claim the daily win in the car CC class. The pilot from Lithuania made it to the finish with 2:38 minutes advance to Daniel Jurk (Fichtenelch) from Germany and with some 5 more to Roger Schoonbrood (Toyota) from Netherlands. Povilaitis is leading the general rankings, with almost 22 minutes advance to Jaroslaw Andrzejewski (Toyota, 6th for the day). In the Limited CC car class Grzegorz Brochocki (Toyota) took another stage win, staying undisputed leader in the rankings.

Lithuanian was also the pilot who claimed the fastest time in the SSV class. This was Arunas Simanavicius (Can Am), who made it some 2 minutes faster than Polish Jacek Zak (Polaris). Daily top 2 was completed by another driver from the Baltic country - Arunas Lekavicius (Can Am), 2 and a half minutes behind the leader. Jacek Zak is on command here after 3 days, with 9:24 min. advance to Jan Van Gerven (Can Am) who was 29th on the stage, but only three minutes behind Simanavicius.

Same trio battled in truck CC class and William Van Groningen (Iveco) was once again the fastest. The Dutch driver finished with almost 5 minutes advance to his German rivals Benjamin Kittler (Ginaf) and Tom Heuer (Tatra). These three truckers are also in the same positions in the general standings.

In the Extreme car class, Hardo Mere won another duel with Jim Marsden with less than 2 minutes advance. The Estonian driver is leading the overall.

Another day, another win for Oliver Leyh (MAN KAT) among the big EX trucks. And once again after a duel with his compatriot from Germany Kay Messner (MAN KAT). In the small truck class, this time Urmas Uffert (C22) from Estonia managed to beat Felix Muellenheim (Unimog) for the stage victory.

After the long marathon stage from Zagan to Drawsko, leg 4 of Breslau Rally 2024 offered another tough challenge to the competitors. First, both Crosss-Country and Extreme categories faced 180 kilometers in the surroundings, and after that, in the evening they started again on the famous Night stage. Despite it was only 65 kilometers long, the track wasn’t so easy, accompanied by the darkness.

Bartolomiej Tabin (KTM) won the daily stage in the bike class, with 2 minutes advance to Ties Hellegers (Husqvarna) from the Netherlands. Hellegers was overall leader before the night stage, but he was unable to start it, so the Dutch crashed in the general standings and it seems that Tabin is now on command.

Adam Krysiak was the fastest quad rider in the day’s stage, overpassing his compatriot and team-mate from Polaris Polska Marcin Wilkolek with tiny 16 second. In the evening it was an opposite situation as Wilkolek claimed the night stage win, with 8 minutes advance to Krysiak. Thus, Marcin Wilkolek is still leading the group in the ATV class.

Bert Mourik (Bowler) from the Netherlands took the stage win in the car CC open class in the first part of the day. He managed to steal 15 seconds from Mindaugas Povilaitis (Toyota). But it was the Lithuanian who triumphed in “the dark side” of the race, with 2 minutes advance to the Dutch pilot Lucas Van Geest (Mitsubishi). Povilaitis is still leader in the overall, 2 days before the end of the race. In the limited car class Radoslaw Kotulski (Mitsubishi, POL) was fastest in the day and Robbert Van Lutterveld (Mitsubishi, NLD) during the night stage.

Jacek Zak (Polaris) was the fastest SSV pilot in the morning, but with only 9 seconds advance to Arunas Simanavicius (Can Am). In the night stage, won by Janus Van Casteren (Arcane, NLD), Simanavicius was second and Zak 5th, but it wasn’t enough for the Lithuanian to detronate his Polish rival from the leadership in the general standings.

In the truck CC class William Van Groningen (Iveco) was the fastest, beating his German rivals Benjamin Kittler (Ginaf) and Tom Heuer (Tatra) with some 2 – 3 minutes during the morning stage. The night stage was won by Heuer, who claimed some 41 seconds from Van Groningen. The Dutchman, however, continues to lead the class, with a solid advance.

In the Extreme car class, Hardo Mere continues to be an undisputed leader. The driver from Estonia won both day and night stages, beating his compatriot Rainer Ruutli in the morning and the British legend Jim Marsden in the evening.

Urmas Uffert (C22) from Estonia was the fastest in the small turck class during the morning, but in the night stage was overpassed by Steffen Braun (Unimog). Kay Messner (MAN KAT) triumphed in the first part, but in the evening was far, far away and Oliver Leyh (MAN KAT) secured his overall lead.

After the mind-blowing night stage, there was a little time to sleep, after which the participants faced the penultimate day of Breslau Rally 2024. Leg 5 offered some more battles on the territory of the military area near Drawsko. Both CC and EX classes faced 180-kilometer-long special stages.

Bartolomiej Tabin (KTM) won another stage, beating the experienced Breslau rider Matthew Grid (KTM) with 7 and a half minutes. In the overall rankings the Polish rider has less than 6 minutes advance to his South African rival and there will be a battle until the end of the race. With his third place for the day, Krzysztof Jarmus (KTM) has big chances also to battle for a better place, as he is now third overall, 10 minutes behind his fellow countryman Tabin.

Marcin Wilkolek was the fastest quad rider, beating his compatriot and team-mate from Polaris Polska Adam Krysiak with almost 4 minutes. Wilkolek now is leading to Krysiak with more than 19 minutes advance day before the end of Breslau 2024. Third for the day was Antanas Kanopkinas (CF MOTO), but the 17th place for the stage was enough for his team-mate Gaetan Martinez to keep the third position in the overall.

Another day, another win for Mindaugas Povilaitis (Toyota) in the car CC open class. The Lithuanian set exactly 11 minutes to Daniel Jurk from Germany. Third for the day was Lukas Van Geest (Mitsubishi) from the Netherlands, some 15 minutes behind the winner. In the limited CC class the Toyota Overlimet team continued with new pilot - Wojcieh Chorowski, who replaced Gregorz Brochocki due to personal reasons. Anyway, this vehicle was still the fastest so far.

It was total Lithuanian domination in the SSV class, as 4 Can Am machines from the Baltic country set the fastest times. The stage win went to Arunas Lekavisius, who had 55 seconds advance to Arunas Simanavicius and 1:09 min. to Emilija Gelazinkiene. Fourth was Aivaras Kavaliauskas, 11 minutes behind the winner. In the general standings Arunas Simanavicius managed finally to dethrone Jacek Zak (Polaris) from the leading position, but the pilot from Poland, who finished the stage on 6th place is only 52 seconds behind. Third place in the overall for the moment is for Emilija Gelazinkiene, less than 7 minutes behind Simanavicius.

No worries in the truck CC class William Van Groningen (Iveco), who calmed down due to his huge advance and leave the stage battle to the other players. The Dutchman finished seventh for the day, 11 minutes behind the stage winner Tom Heuer (Tatra) from Germany. In the overall the difference between them is more than an hour in favor of Van Groningen.

It is clear that the Estonian dominator Hardo Mere will take the victory in the CR Open Extreme class. Mere won the penultimate stage and is no doubt the leader in the rankings, with almost hour and a half advance to his compatriot Rainer Ruutli (4th place for the day). In the limited EX car class, it is a total domination for Oliver Schwermann from Germany, leaving his rivals hours behind…

Oliver Leyh (MAN KAT) continues his domination among the big EX trucks, securing his title with another stage victory. So did it Urmas Uffert (C22) from Estonia in the small truck class.

Here are the new kings of the legendary marathon

Breslau Rally 2024 is already in the history. The 30th jubilee edition of the Europe’s oldest and biggest off-road race finished after 7 dynamic and difficult days. with a not so long, 80 kilometers Winners’ Stage. And, after the last battle, here are the new crowned-winners.

As usual in the bike class, time differences are tiny and unstable until the very end of the race. Breslau 2024, of course, made no exception and the top pretenders were at the arch split by a few minutes. Anyway, Bartolomiej Tabin (KTM) from Poland was the best rider on two wheels, leading the race for the entire week and claimed his well-deserved title. Second place for the South American Matthew Grid (KTM) with 3 and a half minutes delay. Third, slightly less than 9 minutes behind the winner was another rider from Poland - Krzysztof Jarmus (KTM).

Marcin Wilkolek won the title in the ATV class, after a good battle with his compatriot and team-mate from Polaris Polska Adam Krysiak. At the end Wilkolek had more than 18 minutes advance to his opponent and claimed the second title for the host-country of the rally. Well-deserved third place for Gaetan Martinez from France in his debut season with CF MOTO.

No doubt Mindaugas Povilaitis and Slavomir Volkov (Toyota) deserved the title in the car CC open class. The Lithuanian duo started very strong from the very beginning of the rally and at the end the Baltics had huge one hour advance to their pursuers. The second place went to the well-known Breslau veterans Joerg Gruenbeck and Thomas Dasinger from Germany with their white Mercedes G. The G&D team managed to keep their lead over their fellow countrymen Daniel Jurk and Tabea Warg (B-Performance Proto).

In the limited CC car class Wojcieh Chorowski and Grzegorz Komar from Poland with Toyota claimed the overall win with huge advance to their rivals. Second place for the Dutch crew Robert Van Lutterveld - Suzan Saat (Mitsubishi) from the Netherlands and “bronze medal” for another German team - Torsten Wilk and Fabian Franke with Mercedes.

It was an epic battle in the SSV class during all the week, as the crews Jacek Zak - Artur Kordala (Poland) and Arunas Simanavicius - Edgaras Simanavicius (Lithuania) often changed on the top on the ranking. In the last days, however, the Polish duo pushed their Polaris, beating their Baltic Can Am opponents with just 2 minutes. The third place went to another Lithuanian crew - Emilia Gelazninkiene - Arunas Gelazninkas, also with Can Am.

In the truck CC class, the Dutch trio William Van Groningen / Ralph Van Den Elshout / Wesley Van Groningen (Iveco) managed to control the rally from the beginning, gaining an advance over its competitors day by day. Logically, they claimed the overall win, with massive advance. Second place for Tom Heurer - Christoph Tum - Marco Richter (Tatra) from Germany and third for another German crew - Benjamin Kittler / Silvio Kelch / Marco Rihter (Ginaf).

It was clear maybe in the half of Breslau 2024 that the Estonian dominator Hardo Mere and his copilot from Poland Piotr Kujawski will claim the title in the Car Extreme Open class. And the last days just confirmed that. Estonia was the dominating country here as Rainer Ruutli and Rainer Oja finished second and Vallo Sassi and Ats Tsupsman took the third place.

In the limited EX car class, it was a total domination for Oliver Schwermann and Marc Brosig (Land Rover) from Germany, who finished first with huge advance to their rivals. Second place went for Jip Saris and Jos Beekman (Nissan), from the Netherlands and the third to Michael Betz and Bastian Betz, from Germany with their good old VW Iltis.

Another victory for Estonia was claimed in the small Extreme trucks, where Urmas Uffert and Kaiod Kallavus with their Omaval C22 proto made it more than perfect. Second, more than 2 hours behind was the well-known German crew Steffen Braun / Christian Koepke / Rainer Ulrich with Unimog. Third finished the mixed equipage of Floors Dekers and Simon Meintema from Netherlands and Hendrik Alfers from Germany, also Unimog.

Last but not least, Kay Messner, Nico Huth and Anja Wilhelm managed to win the Big Truck Extreme class for vehicles with over 7,5 t weight. In this German-only competition the second place went to Oliver Leyh, Marcus Kemmerzehl and Andre Probst. Third were Silvio Menz, Maximilian Rexhaeuser and Anke Rexhaeuser, and all the top teams played with legendary Man Kat machines.

1995. München-Breslau. The first race of the Breslau series takes place starting from Munich (35 cars, 20 motorcycles and 5 trucks) and arriving in Wroclaw (Brelsau in German).

2000. Berlin-Breslau. The location of the departure of 65 cars, 50 motorcycles and 15 trucks has been moved to Berlin. Afterwards, due to the intense traffic of Alexanderplatz, the organizers were asked to change the start of the event. The choice fell on a lignite mine near Senftenberg, where the race began in 2001.

In 2005, 106 cars, 65 motorcycles and 38 trucks participated in the race. 2006 marked the last time of departure from Senftenberg or Cottbus when the lignite mining area was flooded and then renaturated.

2007. Dresden-Breslau. The departure was moved to Dresden, capital of the German state of Saxony.

Since 2011, Breslau and Balkan Offroad have been organized by RBI Sport Ltd. direct by Alexander Kovatchev.

2011. For the first time the start of the race has been moved to Poland in Wroclaw with arrival in Dresden. Record of participants in Breslau with more than 370 vehicles.

In the same year, the first Balkan Offroad Rallye, named Breslau 18, which crossed Romania and Bulgaria, took place in September. In 2012 the race was called Balkan Breslau and it always took place between Romania and Bulgaria. From 2013 the Balkan Offroad Rallye took place only in Bulgaria.

2012. Cross Country vehicles, obviously with dedicated tracks, have been admitted to the Rallye Breslau.

2016. Breslau changes its name to Breslau Poland and Balkan Breslau to Balkan Offroad.

2018. RBI Media is born, a team of professional photographers, video makers, journalists and social managers with the task of enhancing the communication dedicated to RBI Sport races.

2018, Breslau 500. Breslau 500 (3 days of competition) is added to the classic Breslau to compensate for the cancellation of the Baja Deutschland.

In October 2019, Baja Europe was born, which takes place in Poland.

On 1 July 2019, the race started from Gwda Wielka to celebrate the 25th edition of the Rallye Breslau. The event ends on 5 July 2019 at the Drawsko Pomorskie military shooting range.

2020. Despite the pandemic crisis that has hit the whole world, RBI Sport with careful prevention rules organized Breslau Poland in September. 250 teams from at least 20 nationalities, including Poland, Germany, France, the Netherlands and many others will start for the Rallye Breslau Poland. In 2020, Rallye Breslau International Association (RBI) presents the Fenix Rally in Tunisia which took place with great success in March 2021.

2021. What has been called the Mega Edition of Breslau Poland took place. In fact, in addition to being the longest running race in Europe, the Breslau 2021 with its 404 teams competing, was the largest international off-road event.

2022. The second edition of the Fenix Rally takes place in Tunisia in March. Breslau Rallye returned to its origins with the start in Zagan. The 2022 edition of Breslau Poland recorded a great success of social communication with over 1.7 million people reached. In September, Balkan Offroad Rally celebrated its 10th anniversary by returning to its origins in Romania.

2022. The Great Escape edition of the Rallye Breslau had a particular connection with its history, with European history and with current events. The Rallye Breslau 2022 returned to the Zagan region with tracks that had not been covered since 2009. The show start took place in the heart of the city of Zagan (historical partner of Breslau) in front of the town hall. The first bivouac was set up in a very special place. In fact it was located where Stalag VIIIC once stood, along the road that runs towards the Harry Tunnel. Historically very important place of the Second World War and made famous by the film The Great Escape. In this year, RBI Sport with Rallye Breslau and Ultra4 joined forces to write an important new chapter in the history of the international off-road. This first step that Alex Kovatchev and Dave Cole have taken together is the prelude to a more assiduous and fruitful collaboration that will produce an incredible game changer in the off-road world in the future. 2023 will see the first step of this collaboration with the Ultra4 teams (European and American) who will participate in the Rallye Breslau. In addition, a plan for 2024 will be established and it will include the Ultra4 class in all RBI Sport events: Fenix Rally in the Tunisian Sahara, in March, Rallye Breslau in Poland in the end of June/beginning of July and Balkan Offroad Rallye in the mountains and valleys of Transylvania/Romania in the beginning of October.

2023. An exciting Rallye Breslau that opens the doors for the 2024 celebration of the 30th edition.