The Rallye Breslau is back. From 28 June to 3 July, Poland once again sets the stage for Europe’s oldest licence-free off-road rally, this year with a new format. The event begins at the Drawsko Pomorskie military training ground in the north and gradually moves south, towards the sandy plains around Żagań, the so-called “Polish Sahara”.
The programme features a prologue and five rally days, including a night stage in the forests of Drawsko Pomorskie. The rally has three categories, Cross Country, Extreme and Discovery, and is divided into the Enduro, ATV, SSV, car and truck classes. As at the larger international rallies, in 2026 the digital roadbook is used across all classes. Navigation therefore remains, as always in Breslau, a decisive factor.
On Sunday 28 June, the starting signal was given with the prologue. These short, opening kilometres against the clock not only determine the starting order for the first rally day, but also give the competitors a first taste of Drawsko’s challenging terrain.
Dutch success out in front
The fastest time across all classes was set by a Dutch pairing. Herman Jasper and Mark Laan were the quickest in the prologue in their DaklaPack Rallysport-prepared Red-Lined VK50 with a time of 14:26.69. “Prologue first, first overall,” navigator Mark Laan said afterwards. “It went well, but we had to wait a while for the result.” As the fastest crew, Jasper and Laan will open the stage on the first rally day.
Behind Jasper and Laan came the Lithuanian pairing of Mindaugas Povilaitis and Slavomir Volkov in a Toyota Hilux, nine seconds back. Dutchmen Stijn van Erp and Lucas van Geest completed the top three in their Fiat Fullback Proto.
In the Car Open class, alongside Jasper/Laan and Van Erp/Van Geest, numerous other Dutch crews were in action, including Richard Timmerman and Johan Senders, Stefan Goverts and Stefan Plaggenmarsch, Harry Oosting and Mika Kreeft, and Jenne Jasper and Marijn Verbeek.
Large SSV field with familiar names
In the SSV class, traditionally one of the best-attended categories at Breslau, the prologue win went to the experienced Lithuanian crew of Arūnas Lekavičius and Arūnas Gelažninkas (BRP Maverick R). The French pairing of Remi Berthelier and Corentin Bon followed thirteen seconds back, with another Dutch crew in third in the form of Rob van Horssen and Carla Spreeuwenberg.
Next came Mitchel van den Brink, who this time lines up not in a truck but in an SSV. Together with navigator Nick van Drie (Can-Am Maverick R, Eurol Rally Sport), he set the fourth-fastest time in the SSV class. Van den Brink, recently third in the truck class at the 2026 Dakar Rally, won the SSV world title in 2025 with regular navigator Bart van Heun.
Other Dutch SSV crews included Jeroen van Kasteren and Rik Vaessen (fifth, Boss Racing), Jan van Gerven and Rudolf Meijer (sixth), Max and Sem van Empel, Harrie Renders and Theo van de Looy, Ruud Bellemakers and Martijn Daas, Berry Swinkels and Stefan van Ras, and several others, including Arjan Ruitenbeek and Dirk-Jan Hooijer, the second Eurol Rally Sport crew.
Dutch win on two wheels
In the Enduro class, by far the largest starting field, the fastest time also went to a Dutchman, Jeremy Knuiman (KTM EXC 450, Team Knuiman), with a time of 15:25.16. That kept him well over a minute and a half ahead of German rider Tobias Haidt. “Cautious in the dust today, now focus on tomorrow,” Knuiman said after his prologue win.
Further down the Enduro results among the Dutch riders: Ruben van der Vlis (eighth), Julian den Haan (ninth), Floris Cuperus (tenth), Dyon van Wieringen (sixteenth), Hille Dalstra, Imar Verdouw, Harry Korte, Maarten Fikke and Berend de Ruiter. Michel Langmuur and Joeri de Haar, Jeroen Cruijsen and Michael Schuttel were also in attendance.
The monsters of the rally
In the truck class, the German trio of Tom Heuer, Christoph Tum and Marco Richter (Tatra 815) set the fastest time, with the Dutch FVDS Rally Team of Hans van der Sanden, Luc Jansen and Johan Theuws thirteen seconds behind. Truck Team Müller, with Ralph Müller, Geert Bekkering and Roy Korenromp (DAF CF), is also on the entry list. The team prepared for battle on the day before the prologue. “Today is an important day in the run-up to the start. The electronic roadbook has now been fitted into the truck,” the team said. “The bivouac looks beautiful and well-organised. We are camped together with some of the other Dutch teams. It’s still quiet for now, but the tension is slowly starting to build.” Other Dutch trucks came from Rally Team Van de Krol, Dust Warriors and the GINAF team within FVDS, among others.
Extreme
Dutch competitors were also present in the Extreme category and among the ATVs, including Huub and Jens Ockers (Extreme Car Open) and Mark Plat (ATV, JMP Racing), who was the fastest Dutchman in his class in fifth. In Extreme Truck Small, the team around Floor Dekkers (Goldständer Off-Road Team) was among those competing. “Day one,” Dekkers reported. “The alarms went off early and within an hour we were already covered in dust. Long days, rough terrain, plenty of laughter, but this is where memories are made.”
The rally across Poland
With the prologue done, attention shifts to the first proper rally days. The starting order is set, and from Monday the full programme awaits, including the night stage in Drawsko and, on Wednesday 1 July, the feared Hannibal marathon stage from Drawsko Pomorskie to Żagań. After that comes the closing section in the sand sectors around Żagań, where the rally finishes under the Breslau arch on Friday 3 July.
Rallytracks.nl will be following the Dutch competitors’ progress closely over the coming days.
