Janusz Kulig was a Polish rally

Rallying

Rallying, also known as rally racing, is a form of auto racing that takes place on public or private roads with modified production or specially built road-legal cars...

 driver. He started his career behind the wheel of a Polski Fiat 126p and during his early years in rally he also drove Toyota Corolla

Toyota Corolla

The Toyota Corolla is a line of subcompact and compact cars manufactured by the Japanese automaker Toyota, which has become very popular throughout the world since the nameplate was first introduced in 1966. In 1997, the Corolla became the best selling nameplate in the world, with over 35 million...

, Opel Kadett

Opel Kadett

The Opel Kadett is a small family car produced by the German automobile manufacturer Opel between 1937 and 1940, and then again from 1962 until 1991 , when it was replaced by the Opel Astra.-Original model :...

 and Renault Clio

Renault Clio

The Renault Clio is a supermini car produced by the French automobile manufacturer Renault. Originally launched in 1990, it is currently in its third generation...

. He became one of the top drivers while driving Renault Megane

Renault Mégane

The Renault Mégane is a small family car produced by the French automaker Renault since 1995. It is offered in 3- and 5-door hatchback, saloon, coupé, convertible and estate bodystyles...

 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

Ford Focus WRC

The Ford Focus RS WRC is a car built for the Ford World Rally Team by Ford and M-Sport and based on the Ford Focus Climate 2-litre production hatchback, developed to compete in the World Rally Championship. The RS stands for Rallye Sport and the WRC for World Rally Car, the car's FIA specification...

. 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 (2nd place in 2002) and occasional WRC events. In 2002 Janusz Kulig win 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

Mitsubishi Lancer

The Mitsubishi Lancer is a family car built by Mitsubishi Motors. It has been known as the Colt Lancer, Dodge/Plymouth Colt, Chrysler Valiant Lancer, Chrysler Lancer, Eagle Summit, Hindustan Lancer, Soueast Lioncel, Mitsubishi Carisma, and Mitsubishi Mirage in various countries at different times,...

 EVO VII (the flywheel

Flywheel

A flywheel is a rotating mechanical device that is used to store rotational energy. Flywheels have a significant moment of inertia, and thus resist changes in rotational speed. The amount of energy stored in a flywheel is proportional to the square of its rotational speed...

 had different streak than the one approved by FIA). For the 2004 Polish Championship Season he signed a contract to drive Fiat Punto

Fiat Punto

The Fiat Punto is a supermini produced by the Italian manufacturer, Fiat, since 1993.-1st generation :Internally codenamed Project 176, the Punto was announced in September 1993 and launched in late 1993 as a replacement for the ageing Fiat Uno. The Fiat Punto was voted European Car of the Year...

 S1600.

Kulig died in an accident after his car (Fiat Stilo

Fiat Stilo

The Fiat Stilo is a small family car available as a 3-door and a 5-door hatchback, as well as an estate , produced by the Italian automaker Fiat Automobiles. The Stilo 3-door and 5-door were launched in 2001 to replace the Fiat Bravo/Brava, with the Stilo MultiWagon following in 2002...

) collided with a train on a level crossing

Level crossing

A level crossing occurs where a railway line is intersected by a road or path onone level, without recourse to a bridge or tunnel. It is a type of at-grade intersection. The term also applies when a light rail line with separate right-of-way or reserved track crosses a road in the same fashion...

. The crossing barriers were not lowered. He was survived by his wife and two daughters.

Statistics

• 1997 – Polish Rally Championship title
• 1998 – Runner-up for Polish Rally Championship title, FIA Central European Rally championship title
• 1999 – Runner-up for Polish Rally Championship title, FIA Central European Rally championship title
• 2000 – Polish Rally Championship title
• 2001 – Polish Rally Championship title, Slovak Rally Championship title, FIA Northern European Rally Championship title
• 2002 – Runner-up for FIA European Rally Championship title

External links

• http://www.januszkulig.pl/
• http://www.toprally.pl/kulig_biografia.php
• http://rallyplanet.com/?pid=18278