The third event of the Lithuanian Car Rally Championship, the Jusema Rally Ukmergė, will invite all participants to an unknown and serious challenge – new roads known only to a very small part of the crews, no less than 10 different special stages, two days of action, a tribute to the spectators on the Versmė cross racing track and the almost 18-kilometre-long Powerstage that crowns the rally. How will the championship leaders cope?
If the previous LARČ event in Žemaitija was without some of the leaders, the Ukmergė and Anykščiai special stages will again be full of the fastest Lithuanian rally drivers. They will enter into a desperate battle for microscopic fractions of a second immediately after the marshals have checked the safety with the “Dacia Duster” fuelled with the “E100” fuel card. Vaidotas Žala, who has returned to the LARČ for the full season, will be hounded by his rivals, but during the first two events he has scored a lot of points on the way to his victories and will arrive in Ukmerge a little calmer.
The special stages of the Ukmergė Rally will present us with new challenges. I will be one of the drivers who either don’t know many of the special stages at all or have driven them more than ten years ago. This will cause additional anxiety and uncertainty. On the other hand, I believe our record will stand up to this test and the inertia of the championship leaves some room for risk management on the stages. After a long break, I can afford to plan more than just one rally start. – said Vaidotas Žala, who is in a favourable situation
The closest to Vaidotas, both in terms of points and speed, is last year’s champion, Vladas Jurkevičius. The Lithuanian rally community has been expecting a renewal from the Vilnius-born driver, who has been driving the same car with the same design for the fifth season. The “Jusema Rally Ukmergė 2025” in particular could be the competition where we will see Vladas in a new car.
I am very happy that we will have a new rally and new stages. I think that reece and driving according to pacenotes is the strength of our crew. At the same time, we have a plan to test a new car in Ukmergė and as it will be the first rally with a different “Rally2” car, we will not necessarily be able to fulfil the pacenotes completely. New car needs kilometres to get used to it. In any case, we are really looking forward to the rally. – Vladas Jurkevičius revealed the news about the new car
The rallying career of Giedrius Notkus, who lives in Panevėžys, began near Ukmergė, so the sportsman has something to say about this region. On the other hand, Giedrius has either never driven the roads of this region or he has not been driving them for a very long time, so Dalius Strižanas’ pacenotes will make a particularly important contribution to the result.
The Ukmergė region has better known to older rally drivers like me. We all remember the rallies that used to take place around Širvintos, and my career began in this region. Recently, a mini-rally also took place in Ukmergė, so the organisers will probably use some of these roads, including wooded, technical and sandy areas. From what I’ve heard, the Versmė cross track will also be included – a tribute to spectators, part of which will be a variant of the urban SS. Not to forget the legendary forest road along the Šventoji River, which is quite long and difficult. I think that the drivers of Ukmergė will be very strong in this rally, and since we haven’t driven in this region for 15 years, this rally will be like new and will certainly offer many challenges. If you haven’t driven the mini-rally event here before, you really need to work on the accuracy of your pacenotes. The more risks someone takes on new roads, the better the result will be. – Giedrius Notkus shared his wisdom
At the “Jusema Rally Ukmergė 2025”, we will also see Justas Simaška, who surprised everyone with an impressive time on the final special stage of the Lazdijai Rally, jumping from fourth to second place in the overall standings. Considering the extremely professional preparation for the competition, we can expect another very strong result from this racer.
“I’m really looking forward to the new rally and the new special stages. It’s great when new rallies have different roads, new challenges and not some memorised stages. You only pass what you have written down – this is a real rally.
I don’t think there are many people left who can remember what was there 10 or more years ago, so I hope we will see who drives by what they have written down and who drives more from memory. I don’t think the results and pace will change too much, and the top 5 contenders will remain similar. It’s just that the old hands who have been riding for more than 10 years might have less of an advantage.
I think there will be unknown and dangerous places in the new rally. When rallies are repeated, many people know that one year this person “toppled over” and the next year this person “toppled over” somewhere else. “I don’t wish this on anyone, but I think that there will be more sneaky and dangerous places that will claim their victims.” – Justas Simaška shared his opinion
Speaking of locals, more than one crew will defend the honour of Ukmergė. But Deividas Gezevičius, who has mastered the synthesis of speed and reliability, will be fighting for the top places this year. With his “Ford Fiesta N5”, he is in close proximity to his opponents driving factory material, and the walls of his house will probably help him to shave even more seconds off the time for completing the special stage.
I remember the rally in Ukmergė when I was a kid, so I am very happy that it has returned and that I can now take part myself. The new special stages will show who is driving from pacenotes, and they will also make the teamwork of the crew more visible – for some, such innovations improve the results. – Deividas Gezevičius was happy about the return of the rally elite to Ukmergė
Paulius Beniušis, for whom the “Jusema Rally Ukmergė” will be the eighth rally this season is another driver with “N5” car who is attracting attention with his extremely good results and driving performance.
I expect fast, safe and interesting special stages. Although many special stages will only be driven once, I believe that the ground will be hard enough so that good grip can be expected.
As far as I can imagine, there will be more narrow sections than wide ones, so I think the crews will have to work harder and the rally is expected to be long. It will be very interesting. – Paulius Beniušis, who is enjoying one of his best seasons, shared his thoughts
The maps of the Jusema Rally Ukmergė will be published on 7 July.
The event will be paid – price 15 Eu. Information about rally wristbands will be announced soon
