Rallying in Poland developed at a high level of organisation and safety in the prewar period, with the Second World War halting progress across the sport. Recovery was slow in the postwar years, but the championship regained momentum through the 1960s when Polish drivers began to make their mark on the European stage. The most celebrated figure of this era was Sobiesław Zasada, who won three European Rally Championship titles — the predecessor to the World Rally Championship — and dominated domestic competition by importing the latest international sports cars, giving him a significant technical advantage over rivals.
In 1975, a young Marian Bublewicz from Olsztyn claimed the title driving a Polski Fiat 125p, beginning an era of new challengers. The champions of the 1970s and early 1980s included Tomasz Ciecierzyński, Włodzimierz Groblewski, Jerzy Landsberg, Błażej Krupa, Maciej Stawowiak, and Ciecierzyński again, reflecting the series' competitiveness.
Through the 1980s and into the early 1990s, Marian Bublewicz and Andrzej Koper were the championship's dominant forces, both importing Japanese sports cars and Renault machinery to compete at a level above domestic production vehicles. Bublewicz claimed a particularly notable title in 1987 driving a Polonez 2000 and then dominated from 1989 to 1992 with imported hardware.
In 1993, Bublewicz acquired a Ford Escort Cosworth for a further title campaign, but the car was not ready for the opening round — the Zimowy Rajd Dolnośląski. Starting in a hired Ford Sierra, Bublewicz lost control of the car and struck a tree. He died in hospital from his injuries, a loss that deeply shocked Polish fans and the PZM, and which accelerated work on safety standards across the series.
The 1990s brought new championship contenders including Paweł Przybylski, Krzysztof Hołowczyc, Robert Gryczyński, and Janusz Kulig, all of whom campaigned cars derived from the World Rally Championship. Hołowczyc in particular achieved significant international recognition, going on to compete at WRC level and winning the Silk Way Rally in 2011.
The championship has attracted major commercial involvement: in 2008 the series was titled by Orlen, the Polish oil company, under the full name Platinum Rajdowe Samochodowe Mistrzostwa Polski. As of 2026, foreign drivers are eligible to score championship points, opening the series further to international competition.
The Polish Rally Championship's longevity since 1928 places it among the most historically significant national rally series in the world. It has served as the launching pad for Poland's most successful international rally drivers and has maintained a consistent tradition through major historical disruptions including World War II and the transition from communist-era domestic vehicles to modern WRC-specification machinery. The series remains the central competitive structure for Polish rally sport.