Kajetanowicz, who wrapped up his fourth Polish title on Saturday’s opening leg, had only completed 200 kilometres of running in the M-Sport-built car prior to the gravel event. Using Michelin tyres, he had little trouble adapting to his new surroundings by going fastest on four stages alongside co-driver and fellow Pole Jarosław Baran.

“It’s one of the best days of my life,” said the 34-year-old Kajetanowicz, who made sure of top spot by winning the final stage live on Eurosport. “We have the best team, car and co-driver. The Polish title didn’t really matter this weekend; it was this rally that I wanted to win. I now have a big smile on my face because I am very happy. I just hope we can do some more rallies in this car.”

And Kajetanowicz’s victory, which made him the fifth different winner in this year’s ERC to underline the serious competition ahead in the all-action championship, earned him the prestigious Colin McRae ERC Flat Out Trophy, which was being awarded on the sixth anniversary of the rallying legend’s passing.

Lithuanian champion Dominykas Butvilas clinched ERC Production Car Cup honours in his Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX R4 with Radosław Raczkowski (Citroën DS3 R3T) taking the spoils in the ERC 2WD Championship after rising star Stéphane Lefebvre dropped out of the class lead on the penultimate stage when he broke his Peugeot 208 R2’s suspension striking a rock.

Molly Taylor secured the ERC Ladies’ Trophy laurels for the fourth time this season despite completing the final stage with a cracked suspension beam. Ekaterina Stratieva battled back from the time loss she endured when she got stuck nearing the finish of Saturday’s final stage. Simone Tempestini top-scored for Napoca Rally Academy in the ERC Production Car Cup for Teams.

However, it might have been a different story for Kajetanowicz had Bryan Bouffier’s Peugeot 207 Super 2000 not suffered a broken right-rear suspension damper on Sunday’s first stage. With two more stages until service in Mikołajki, Bouffier was unable to prevent Kajetanowicz from powering ahead. He settled for second, 23.3s behind Kajetanowicz, with ERC title leader Jan Kopecký completing the podium in his ŠKODA Fabia Super 2000 after overcoming a minor scare on Sunday morning when a propshaft bolt worked loose.

“I did my best and really tried to push but it was not enough to catch Kajto who really deserved to win this race,” said Bouffier, who was fastest on four stages. “Apart from a small technical problem it was a very nice race with very strong competition.”

Kopecký, meanwhile, conceded that running first on the road in the heavy mud and rain on day one had cost him time although he was more than satisfied with his seventh consecutive podium in this year’s ERC. “There was definitely more grip with the sand below for the drivers behind. Finishing third means more points for the championship and that’s the most important thing.”

Michał Kościuszko overcame early mechanical woes to snatch fourth from compatriot Michał Sołowow on the final stage when the latter suffered a puncture. Kościuszko, in another Fiesta R5, had heroically driven the entire rally with a fractured vertebra. With Craig Breen also picking up a puncture on his Peugeot on the last run, Krzysztof Hołowczyc jumped from seventh to fifth with Sołowow taking sixth and Breen dropping to seventh.

It was a frustrating outing for Peugeot Rally Academy driver Breen. The four-time podium finisher in this year’s ERC admitted he was at a loss to explain why he wasn’t able to run closer to the front of the field alongside new co-driver Lara Vanneste. “This definitely was not the result I was looking but Lara has done a fantastic job so at least we’ve got some positives to take away,” he said.

There was also frustration for Martin Kangur, who dropped out of the top 10 on the final stage with broken powersteering and a puncture. The 20-year-old from Estonian had excelled with two fastest times in his Markko Märtin Motorsport-run Fiesta R5 to become one of the youngest stage winners in the European championship. He had to make do with 14th, one place behind Toshi Arai, who scored more ERC Production Car Cup points in his Yokohama-equipped Subaru Impreza R4 STI. Kangur’s misfortune handed Zbigniew Staniszewski eighth spot with young Russian Vasily Gryazin taking ninth and Maciej Oleksowicz tenth.

After completing Saturday’s final stage with the front-right wheel missing from his Citroën DS3 RRC following contact with a rock on a high-speed right-hander, Robert Kubica was unable to restart after it was discovered that his car’s turbocharged engine had ingested mud and had suffered terminal damage. The Formula One race winner was in second overall at the time of his moment. However, he once again underlined his blistering pace by setting two fastest stage times. LOTOS 70 Rally Poland marked the last of Kubica’s four planned runs in the ERC this season although a final appearance is still under consideration.