Marian Bublewicz (25.08.1950 – 20.02.1993)

Sport is the field of life with unlimited possibilities of self-realization. For many people, working out a sport is a hobby, sometimes it might be disobliging relax but it also happens that it becomes the way of life, the passion which absorbs with no limits up to the end. Such sportsmen were formerly called privileged by Goods and as Goods were adored for their capabilities, will power and self-denial. If something of this admiration has changed during centuries it can be only the way of expressing it. Inseparable feature of every sportsman is the permanent eagerness to self-advancement that means aiming at the championship climax. If the motor sports fans from Olsztyn were asked what they had evaluated and loved Marian Bublewicz for they would answer for sure that it was his immense ambition of continuous eagerness to become better than the best were. He consequently followed this trace without loosing any of his features of being the unassuming and straightforward man. We all undoubtedly remember him charmingly smiling and shaking his hand with every fan who desired to shake it after each rally, regardless its result – successful or not. Today, Marian Bublewicz is no longer among us. His figure and the sport achievement recollects 

PAWEŁ JARZĄBEK
Marian Bublewicz was the best Polish rally driver of the 80s and 90s who made Olsztyn known as the center of motor sports. Many people appreciated and liked him not only in his home city. He died driving with the first numbed, belonging to a champion, in the Dolnośląski Rajd Zimowy (Dolnośląski Winter Rally). Due to the charisma and passion of what he did, he has remained a pattern for many young colleagues and fans. 
The most important laurel – vice-championship of Europe Marian Bublewicz achieved five months before his death. He had begun to start worldwide in the 70s. He also won the second place in “Puchar Pokoju i Przyjaźni” (The Pace and Friendship Cup) in 1983, 1985 which was the contest for drivers coming from socialistic countries driving cars produced there. Marian Bublewicz was also the six-fold champion of Poland, four times year in year (1983, 1987, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992). Jointly, including the triumph classes, he won The Polish Rally Championship 20 times. He focused peoples’ attention on himself not only because of his remarkable ability of very fats driving. A man like him is called in English the „self made man”, all he had he deserved himself elaborating in a square dealing way and knowing that his driving talent and business gumption must be succored by work. He showed that even in the very difficult times it was possible to find sponsors. Latter, after the political change he created the professional team – Marlboro Rally Team Poland. It was the real ennoblement as the same tobacco consortium assisted the world wide motorist stars like Niki Lauda, Ayrton Senna, Emerson Fittipaldi, Carlos Sainz, Ari Vatanem, Juha Kankkunen.
Loving rallies so much, Marian Bublewicz was simultaneously successful in business. Much of his money was invested in sport for many years. After finishing the trade school and before starting the technical school, both of the same automobile profile, he started to work in Polmozbyt but he was fired after crashing a car of a police major who was one of the clients. After that he was working in a military service unit where he opened a machine-workshop. He was also leading some shops with spare parts, lacquers and the Nissan selling point employing 50 people in 1993.
He treated sport professionally preparing each really start carefully and patiently supervising every single detail. He trained a lot what distinguished him from his rivals. His colleagues helped him by guarding the crossroads in the forests near Olsztyn as to make those places suitable for training. He was also driving a cross motorbike and water skiing regarding it as the excellent reflex practice. He did not take part in parties but attended the gym in AZS hall and run a lot.
Rallies are the very expensive and specific sport discipline with no trainers. Acquiring knowledge and experience is the matter of taking advantage of the own and the others mistakes. It is not enough to be the excellent driver but also requires co-operation with a very good co-driver, professional team of mechanics ably working together who can change a clutch or shock absorber in few minutes and also a fast car. The best rally cars are dozen times more expensive than limousines and the spare parts or other accessories are hundred or even thousands dollars as well. Moreover, the rally drivers are prejudiced. Marian Bublewicz was always wearing his old shoes during a rally because when he once wore a new pair he did not finish it. 
Always smiling and kindly in the relationships with others competitors expected the same reciprocation and always repeated that he wanted to have rivals during the rally and not in the hotel corridors. Sometimes it could be heard that “Bubel” successes were the result of the equipment dominance but not of his talent and that “Bubel” could not chase the rivals. 
Not only once Bublewicz was able to show the truth. His most spectacular chase could have been observed during the elimination of European Rally Championship on the Hebros Rally in Bulgary in 1992. His rivals disposed at least equivalent cars but because of Bublewicz prosaic mistake (his leg slept off the brake shoe), his Ford Sierra swung over the stream brink. The service arrived scarcely after 11 minutes and in that moment the driver from Olsztyn was on the last position of the rally classification while before the event he was the first. Fortunately, there were 22 special stages left till the end of the rally. Due to his winning each of them while driving in a downpour and on the longer stages overtaking even the teams that had started 3 minutes earlier consequently, he aimed the second position of the rally.
After leaving their property in Wilno the Bublewicz family settled down in Skandawa located in the north of Korsze. In this place Marian was born in August 25th and spent his childhood. The first vehicle used by him while organizing his first “rally”, driving down a hillock, was a double-wheeled bogey used in every farm. Its later version was improved by addition a drive of the same kind as was used in bicycles. In the late 50s, when the family removed to Olsztyn, Bublewicz resolved to make a WFM motorbike himself. He was collecting wastepaper or scrap-metal and playing the accordion in a music group to earn money for the spare parts. For being too young to make a driving licence he was racing in the forests and fields with his friends and he generally won. His eagerness was not weakening even when he had an accident: one of his friends was not able to take control over the motorbike and overturned his leg breaking it in two places. 
The serious engagement in this sport started for Bublewicz in spring 1968 when he began to drive in Stomil Olsztyn (he represented this club for many years). He finished the Warsaw motorcross elimination of Polish Championship in 250 ccm class. When he was driving in the military club Czerwone Berety Ostróda he was the vice-champion of Poland in 125 ccm class but his motorcross career must have finished when he had another accident: driving to a date he hit a lorry which crossed the road while turning left. It resulted in the broken leg and consequently putting it into plaster for the next half year.
After convalescence he was originally persuaded by his parents to start driving four-wheeled vehicles. Marian became a taxi driver using his father car, the Polish Fiat 125 p. He eagerly consented the fares beyond the city because coming back or going without clients he could have practiced the fast driving on devious roads. Therefore, it was not enough so he secretly took part in the amateur rallies and in one of them crashed the Fiat. 
Subsequently, after making a rally licence in April 1975, he had his debut in Polish Rally Championship in the Kormoran Rally while starting with Zygmunt Mieczaniec his co-driver on Fiat 125 p 1300 they won their class. This result was also repeated in the Polish and Wisła Rally which effected in the champion title in his class. The debut was really hopeful but it must have taken almost eight long years when ”Bubel” joined the manufacture team FSO among the elite. 
Later on, in 1976 Bublewicz succeeded in the 1500 class, driving with his co-drivers Wiesław Grabarczyk and Stefan Osika convertible. Bublewicz and Osika did not finished their first external start in Rosyjska Zima Rally but in Kormoran ’77 the driver from Olsztyn was one of the best three competitors in the general classification. The change of car into Opel Kadett, in 1979 was not as successful as it was expected. Taking part in the Złote Piaski Rally in Bulgaria in 1981 the Bublewicz-Pawłowski team left the road and stopped hitting into a tree in the ZOO. Later on the driver told that it had been an extremely frightening event. No one suffered from this accident but after that Bublewicz decided to focus his starts on car racing for dozen months. Using Fiat 138 3p he won the vice-championship of the country and turned back again to rallies, continuously driving Opel with Janusz Wojtyna as his co-driver, because rallies were more satisfying for him. 
In 1983 Bublewicz began to start with another co-driver Ryszard Żyszkowski who was very experienced and five years older than Marian. He acquired his experience while starting with so appreciated drivers like Sobiesław Zasada, Andrzej Jaroszewicz, Adam Smorawiński. Taking part in the first season together, using Polonez 2000 they were the champions of the country and took the second place in Puchar Pokoju i Przyjaźni (The Peace and Friendship Cup). They also won the Kormoran Rally in Olsztyn. After the end of 1987 season, when he was the best in Poland again, Bublewicz left FSO. As the technical possibilities of Polonez were not satisfactory enough and due to Marlboro producers support, Bublewicz with Jacek Wypych could started on four wheel drive Mazda 323 (4WD) in 1988. However, the happiness did not last long because of the accident that happened on Elmot Rally when Mazda crossed 150 meters with simultaneous eight turnings, as the result of hitting into a stone. Bublewicz suffered his skull crack in two places and came back to sport after five months because as he claimed he had to drive in 100 per cent at once contrary he would have newer regained his previous rhythm. The championship of Poland could not have been won this time. His biggest rival Andrzej Koper was slightly better.
Duet Bublewicz-Żyszkowski was invincible for the next four years. Till the end of 1990 “Bubel” started on Mazda 323 and as the competitor of Marlboro Rally Team Poland on Forda Sierra RS Cosworth, that was four wheel drive from 1992. He wanted to check his ability in competition with the European spearhead. Formerly, he could only occasionally start in European Rally Championship (Boucles de Spa, ELPA Halkidiki). The Europe conquest by Bublewicz and Żyszkowski with the entire starts program began in 1992. It resulted in the second place in Hebross, the third in the Polish Rally, Zlatnim, Halkidiki, Cyprus and the seventh in San Marino which consequently gave them the vice-championship after the German team Erwin Weber and Manfred Hiemer who was starting on Mitsubishi Galant VR 4. In the external rallies the co-driver of Bublewicz was Grzegorz Gac. It took 16 years when the Polish team was in the spearhead of ME again, earlier Jaroszewicz another Polish driver succeed in achieving the third position in 1976.
Winning the European Rally Championship on Ford Escort Cosworth was the plan for 1993 and the further perspective was Safari and Monte Carlo. However, Escort was not prepared to start in Dolnośląski Winter Rally – the first elimination in the Polish Rally Championship till that time. For this reason Bublewicz decided to rent Sierra with the driving axle proportion of 50:50 and not as he was used to of 34:66.
In this rally in February 20th 1993 Bublewicz was driving not so comfortable. He lost dozen seconds on the third stage and was only one second before Paweł Przybylski before the start to the fifth stage. He started at 11.15. Driving 120 km per hour after the rights bend egress he hit with the driver’s door into an ash, the only tree growing in that place. Żyszkowski had only his hand broken but Bublewicz was stuck in the car. In the consequence of a rescue car deficiency, scarcely after three-quarters the still conscious driver was in the ambulance. He was talking about his daughter Beata whose eighteenth birthday was to be soon. 
The doctors from Lądek Zdrój had no chance: squashed pelvis, broken leg and many inner lesions. Resuscitation was ceased at 5 p.m.
In February 25th in Olsztyn was the funeral where hundreds of people came. The widow, Mrs. Irena was given the empathy letter from the president Lech Wałęsa. The grave was cowered with hundreds of flowers and chaplets.

Paweł Jarząbek
Jacek Dobkowski

Paweł Jarząbek was born in 1962 in Radom. Being the qualified Germanists he was working as a Deutsh teacher in the secondary school and also in the University of Warmia and Mazury in Olsztyn. Sport is his life hobby in which he became an expert. He is the author of many publications referring the sport issues. He has been managing the sport section in “Gazeta Olsztyńska” since 1995.

tłumaczyła Dorota Kowalska
Biuro Tłumaczeń Doroty Kowalskiej oferuje szeroki zakres tłumaczeń z różnych dziedzin oraz tłumaczenia techniczne i stron internetowych. Zainteresowanych współpracą prosimy o kontakt:
Tel. kom. 0604/ 18 45 18
E - mail: d_kowalska@wp.pl