History-making Litwinowicz hails ‘amazing’ end of season

As has become one of his hallmarks in recent years, Litwinowicz was a model of consistency in 2025, and heading to Türkiye for the FIA European Rallycross Championship season finale, he sat 15 points adrift of fellow Audi driver Yury Belevskiy at the top of the table and five points behind Mika Liimatainen in second.

In the opening qualifier, the Pole enjoyed a tussle with CE Dealer Team World Championship stars Niclas Grönholm and Klara Andersson on his way to the sixth-fastest time of the session and third in Euro RX1, and despite losing out to flying Finn Joni Turpeinen at the start of Q2, he produced another competitive showing to wind up fifth amongst the European Championship protagonists.

A frantic opening lap in Q3 cost Litwinowicz time, restricting him to the sixth-quickest run and fourth in the intermediate classification, but a second-place finish in his semi-final subsequently preserved his record as the only driver to have reached the final in every Euro RX1 round this year.

From third on the grid for the day’s biggest race, the 27-year-old Automax Motorsport ace displaced Tamás Kárai for second into Turn One and thereafter pressurised Liimatainen relentlessly for the lead prior to diving into the joker on lap four.

Thereafter, he unleashed a scintillating turn-of-speed to hunt his Hyundai rival down once again, and when Liimatainen jokered on the last lap, Litwinowicz sailed past – and seamlessly on to a hugely popular triumph that elevated him to the runner-up spot in the overall standings, just three points shy of the coveted crown...

“I tried to stay as close as possible behind Mika [Liimatainen] early on in the final,” he reflected. “I kept up that same rhythm after taking my joker and could see he was making mistakes here and there and that I was catching him. It was such an amazing feeling to achieve my first victory in Euro RX1, and being the first Polish driver to win at the highest level of the European Championship meant we made a little bit of history, too.

“Despite the fact we’re only a small team with a small budget, we work really hard and managed to make regular upgrades to the car this year, which has improved it quite a bit, and I’ve been working hard on my own performance, too. 

“I didn’t realise for a while afterwards that I’d also secured second place in the championship. I knew that was a possibility going into the weekend, but also that it would be a pretty tall order, especially given how quick Mika was. 

“I was the only driver in Euro RX1 to reach every final this year, which is really important given the way the points system works, although I haven’t always performed at my best in qualifying (scoring only three ‘bonus’ points, compared to seven for Belevskiy and 11 for Liimatainen).

“Had we done better in the heat races, could we have won the title? Possibly, but it’s all ifs, buts and maybes at the end of the day. In any case, it’s something I will definitely be working on for 2026, when my aim is to compete in the European Championship again.”

Litwinowicz is a big fan of the future direction of the sport and admitted that he will be keeping a close eye on plans for the inaugural FIA Rallycross World Cup, especially after faring so well on his World RX debut on the second day in Istanbul.

In Q1, the former Euro RX3 champion engaged in a close battle with Belevskiy, Andersson and Nils Volland on his way to the ninth-fastest time amongst the 14 high-calibre competitors in the mixed-series field, before exploiting an early joker strategy to fend off CEDT duo Grönholm and Andersson for a race win and sixth overall in Q2.

He did even better in Q3, executing a textbook launch to immediately assume the lead and thereafter nervelessly keep world championship runner-up Grönholm at bay throughout, with a second victory from three heats placing him seventh in the intermediate classification, a single point behind the Finn.

From there, Litwinowicz looked to be on-course to reach the final until a mistake on the penultimate tour of his semi-final saw him sideswipe the barrier on the entry to Turn One, spinning him round and out-of-contention. Despite that disappointment, the retirement did not ultimately detract from another superb display.

“It was awesome to show that I can be genuinely competitive and really fight against the sport’s top drivers – and it was cool to see some big names behind me on the results sheets!” joked the Poznan native.

“On the Saturday, I was able to get a bit of a feel for where the electric cars had an advantage and vice-versa, so when I had Niclas [Grönholm] and Klara [Andersson] behind me the next day, I knew where I needed to defend and where I could focus more on just driving my own race. It’s not so easy to pass on the gravel section, which is where they were strongest so I knew that if I stuck to my line, I should be ok.

“It was close between Nils [Volland] and myself to take the last spot for the final, and the mistake is still on my mind almost a month later, not to mention the pain in my hand from the impact! I’d always kept a small margin from the barrier through that corner, but my spotter told me I had to continue pushing to be safe and on that lap, I went in just a little bit too fast...

“While that was obviously a shame, these things happen sometimes and it was still a fantastic weekend overall – one that has left me with memories to cherish for the rest of my life.”