Next weekend in Ukmergė, the Lithuanian automobile rally championship reaches its halfway point, after which the competitors will use strategies for points and positions in the annual standings more and more. But first, they have to tackle 115 sporting kilometres in two days, which will be completely unfamiliar to many rally drivers. Achieving a good result at the “Jusema Rally Ukmerge 2025” will require perfect teamwork between the crews, as the roads of the Ukmergė and Anykščiai districts have more than one surprise in store.
Ukmergė is already looking a little different these days – it’s full of event advertising and the city is teeming with organisers preparing for a really big celebration. The biggest changes will occur next Thursday when all the participants and their staff arrive in Ukmergė, as this is when the administrative commission, scrutineering and stages reece begin. On Friday and Saturday, 11 and 12 July, the city will be all about rallying when a service zone will be set up in the town centre, opening and award ceremonies will take place and concerts will be held. The organisers have prepared a serious challenge for the crews – 10 different road sections, divided into 16 special stages on both narrow forest and wide gravel roads. There will be everything from short stages of just 4.18 kilometres to the final special stage of 17.49 kilometres, which is the highlight of the event and for which the crews will receive additional points. Spectators will also be able to watch the competition in the “Viada” autocross track on Friday evening.
Before the 63 crews, a group of “Dacia Duster” cars refueled with “E100” fuel cards will complete the special stages, during which the marshals will ensure that the stages are safe. Only after making sure that the race is safe will Vaidotas Žala and Ugnius Vainevičius set off on a two-day, 347-kilometre journey with the first starting number. Their alliance with the Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 car is currently unbeaten – Vaidotas and Ugnius won the first two events of the Lithuanian Automobile Rally Championship (LARČ) in Lazdijai and Kelmė. Vladas Jurkevičius and Aisvydas Paliukėnas, who received the second starting number, are closest to the pace of the leaders. These drivers had aroused the rally community’s curiosity with news of a new car for this rally. However, as the plans did not materialise, the crew from Vilnius will compete in the Jusema Rally Ukmergė 2025 with the familiar multi-coloured Škoda Fabia Rally2 Evo. Giedrius Notkus and Dalius Strižanas, driving the Škoda Fabia R5, will compete with the third start number. It is worth mentioning that the first three places are occupied by three different evolutions of the Škoda Fabia rally car. Vaidotas Žala has the latest model, and Giedrius Notkus has the oldest. Deividas Gezevičius, who is from Ukmergė, will start the race with the fourth number and will feel the great support of the local spectators. He has recently shown impressive speed and results with Evaldas Kvederis and Ford Fiesta N5. After a short break, Justas Simaška and Mantas Ližaitis will compete in Ukmergė with the Škoda Fabia SRT Proto rented from Latvia. The duo surprised everyone on the first event of the LARČ with second place in the overall standings. The sixth starting number went to Giedrius Firantas and Matas Valiulis, who have just celebrated their victory at the Tauragė Rally and are driving a Škoda Fabia R5 that was just repaired after a serious incident in Lazdijai. The organisers of this rally, Rokas Steponavičius with Dovydas Ketvirtis and the Hyundai i20 Rally2, had an incident at the same place a few months ago and will start with the seventh number.
In the two-wheel drive cars pack, the tenth number was retained by Martynas Samsonas with Ervinas Snitkas. They are showing wonders on the special stages with a breathtaking BMW M3 E36. A very exciting battle is expected in the Lithuanian Rally4 Trophy, in which the participants will compete for a historic 80,000 euro scholarship with the aim of taking part in next year’s European Rally Junior Championship. Markas Buteikis and Titas Čapkauskas are playing the first violins with the Ford Fiesta Rally4, which will start the race with start number 24. Other Lithuanian Rally4 Trophy crews with Rally4 class cars decorated with numbers 25-28 – Irmantas Buivydas, Aras Kvedaras, Erikas Valkeris and Klaudas Bučinskas – will try to catch up with the local heroes.
Among the other interesting crews are the guests from the United States. After a successful debut with the Lithuanian Hyundai i20 VRT at the last rally in Kelmė, Mark Piatkowski, who has Polish roots, will once again come to Lithuania from across the Atlantic and have an even better chance of a good result, as the special stages will not only be new to him. Estonian Sander Erik Tiits will also be making only his second visit to Lithuania. The young man, who is only eighteen years old, is difficult to overtake in Estonia in his old VW Golf II, so it should come as no surprise that even very old cars can be fast in good hands. Speaking of youth: thirteen-year-old Pole Bruno Gryc will be competing in Ukmergė. The young man has chosen Lithuania to learn how to drive on gravel, and this will be his fifth competition in Lithuania this year. The pacenotes will be read to the young man, and the car will be driven on public roads by Dominykas Butvilas, former co-driver Kamil Heller.
