Poland's sports include almost all sporting disciplines, in particular: volleyball, football and motorcycle speedway, ski jumping, track & field, basketball, boxing, fencing, rugby union, field hockey, handball, ice hockey, swimming and weightlifting. The first Polish Formula One driver, Robert Kubica, has brought awareness of Formula One Racing to Poland. Volleyball is one of country's most popular sports with a rich history of international competition. Poland has made a distinctive mark in motorcycle speedway racing thanks to Tomasz Gollob, Jaroslaw Hampel and Rune Holta. Speedway is very popular in Poland with them winning the world cup (2014) and the Polish Extraleague has the highest average attendances for any sport in Poland. The Polish mountains are an ideal venue for hiking, skiing and mountain biking and attract millions of tourists every year from all over the world. Cross country skiing and ski jumping are popular TV sports, gathering 4–5 million viewers each competition, with Justyna Kowalczyk, Adam Małysz and Kamil Stoch as the main attractions. Baltic beaches and resorts are popular locations for fishing, canoeing, kayaking and a broad-range of other water-themed sports.
Sébastien Loeb is a French professional rally, racing, and rallycross driver. He competed for the Citroën World Rally Team in the World Rally Championship (WRC) and is the most successful driver in WRC history, having won the world championship a record nine times in a row. He holds several other WRC records, including most event wins, most podium finishes and most stage wins. Loeb announced his retirement from World Rallying at the end of the 2012 season. Participating in selected events in the 2013 WRC season, he raced a full season in the FIA GT Series driving a McLaren MP4-12C before moving on with Citroën to the FIA World Touring Car Championship in 2014. In the 2018 season he is one of the official drivers of the Team Peugeot Total.
Gérard Larrousse is a former sports car racing, rallying and Formula One driver from France. After the end of his career as racing car driver, he continued to be involved in Formula One as a team manager for Renault. He later founded and ran his own Formula One team, Larrousse, from 1987 to 1994.
Robert Józef Kubica is a Polish racing driver who is currently racing for the Williams F1 team. He became the first Polish driver to compete in Formula One. Between 2006 and 2009 he drove for the BMW Sauber F1 team, promoted from test driver to race driver during 2006. In June 2008, Kubica took his maiden Formula One victory in the Canadian Grand Prix, becoming the first Polish driver to win a Formula One race. That season he led the championship at one stage, before finishing fourth overall, his best career position. Kubica drove for Renault in 2010 and was set to remain with the team in 2011. Several years later Kubica confirmed he had signed a pre-contract for the 2012 season with Ferrari, a move that was eventually cancelled by his devastating rally crash in the winter of 2011.
Sobiesław Zasada is a Polish former rally driver. He won the European Rally Championship in 1966, 1967, 1971 and was vice-champion in 1968, 1969, and 1972. In 1967, he was chosen the Polish Sportspersonality of the Year.
Krzysztof Hołowczyc is a Polish rally driver. He won the Polish Rally Championship in 1995, 1996 and 1999 and the European Rally Championship in 1997. He was also member of European Parliament (2007–2009) from Civic Platform list.
Janusz Kulig was a Polish rally driver. He started his career behind the wheel of a Polski Fiat 126p and during his early years in rally he also drove a Toyota Corolla, a Opel Kadett, and a Renault Clio. He became one of the top drivers while driving Renault Megane Maxi. In this car he also won his first Polish Rally Championship title in 1997. After 2 seasons with Renault, he signed a contract with Marlboro Mobil 1 team. He changed his car to a Ford Escort WRC and in following years to a Ford Focus WRC. Those years were most successful for Kulig. He won another 2 Polish Championship titles and became well known in European and World rally. Kulig spent the 2002 and 2003 seasons competing in the European Rally Championship and occasional WRC events. In 2002 Janusz Kulig won the Rally du Valais. His biggest success in WRC was 1st place in PCWRC in Sweden 2003 but after the rally he was stripped of his glory by FIA due to illegal modifications in his Mitsubishi Lancer EVO VII. For the 2004 Polish Championship Season he signed a contract to drive Fiat Punto S1600.
Andrzej Grubba was a Polish table tennis player.
Mikko Hirvonen is a Finnish former rally driver, and a current Rally-Raid driver, who drove in the World Rally Championship. He placed third in the drivers' championship and helped Ford to the manufacturers' title in both 2006 and 2007. In 2008, 2009, 2011 and 2012 he finished runner-up to Sébastien Loeb. Hirvonen's co-driver was Jarmo Lehtinen from the 2003 season until his retirement in 2014, Lehtinen had replaced Miikka Anttila who co-drove with Hirvonen in the 2002 season.
Rajdowe Samochodowe Mistrzostwa Polski (RSMP) – the annual series of Polish Rally Championship existing from 1928. Consisting of several rounds on different surfaces throughout Poland. The organizer and owner of the cycle is Polski Związek Motorowy (PZM). In 2008 the main sponsor of the series is Orlen oil company and its full name is Platinum Rajdowe Samochodowe Mistrzostwa Polski.
Kris Meeke is an Irish professional rally driver, best known for competing in the FIA World Rally Championship (WRC). He was the 2009 Intercontinental Rally Challenge champion. His co-driver is United Kingdoms Seb Marshall. He began his career as a Computer Aided Designer with M-Sport, at the headquarters of the Ford World Rally Team, before moving on to competing in the Peugeot Super 106 Cup in 2001.
Kenneth Block is a professional rally driver with the Hoonigan Racing Division, formerly known as the Monster World Rally Team. Block is also one of the co-founders of DC Shoes. Over the years, he has also competed in many action sports events including skateboarding, snowboarding, and motocross. Since selling his ownership of DC Shoes, Block has shifted his business focus to Hoonigan Industries, an apparel brand for auto enthusiasts. He is currently the co-owner and "Head Hoonigan In Charge" (HHIC) at the company..
The 2009 ORLEN Platinum Rally Poland was the 66th running of the Rally Poland and the eighth round of the 2009 World Rally Championship season. Rally Poland had previously been part of the WRC schedule during the inaugural 1973 season. The rally consisted of 18 special stages and was won by Ford's Mikko Hirvonen, who took his first-ever back-to-back victories. However, the team's celebration was subdued after Jari-Matti Latvala crashed out from second place on the final super special stage, losing important manufacturers' championship points.
Przemyslaw Mazur is a Polish rally codriver.
Bryan Bouffier is French rally driver. He is currently competing in the European Rally Championship with a Citroën DS3 S2000. He won the 2011 Monte Carlo Rally and the 2013 Tour de Corse.
Michał Kościuszko is a Polish rally driver, who currently competes in the Production World Rally Championship (PWRC). He has previously won rounds of the Junior World Rally Championship (JWRC) and has competed in the Super 2000 World Rally Championship (SWRC).
Kajetan Kajetanowicz is a Polish rally driver.
The 2018 FIA World Rally Championship was the 46th season of the World Rally Championship, an auto racing championship recognised by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) as the highest class of international rallying. Teams and crews were competing in thirteen events—starting with the Monte Carlo Rally in January and finishing with Rally Australia in November—for the World Rally Championships for Drivers, Co-drivers and Manufacturers. Crews were free to compete in cars complying with World Rally Car and Group R regulations; however, only Manufacturers competing with 2017-specification World Rally Cars were eligible to score points in the Manufacturers' championship. The series were once again supported by the World Rally Championship-2 and World Rally Championship-3 categories at every round and by the Junior World Rally Championship at selected rounds.
