During the reconnaissance of the special stages, it was clear that the athletes were facing one of the toughest rallies of this season. Constant rain turned the “Jusema Rally Ukmergė” tracks extremely tricky, and ruts and mud caused problems for many crews even before the official start.
Giedrius Notkus with Dalius Strižanas, who started in Ukmergė with a BMW M3 car, remember such conditions well.
“The rally in Ukmergė, like last year, started with rain this year as well. Already during the reconnaissance of the tracks, it was clear that it would be a tough rally because ruts appeared in the special stages during reconnaissance. I saw several racers being pulled out of ditches with ropes, so there was already a lot of action before the rally,” said Giedrius Notkus.
Despite the difficult conditions, the crew quickly gained momentum. Although they had to chase competitors in the first special stages, by the end of the first day, Giedrius Notkus with Dalius Strižanas regained the lead position in their class and took a two-second advantage into Saturday.
“We started this rally again with the BMW M3 car. While warming up, our colleagues were pressing us again, but after five special stages, we regained the lead position and finished the first day with a very small two-second advantage. Everything was going according to plan. The car was working, and we were satisfied with the pace,” said Giedrius Notkus.
The second day of the rally promised a tense fight for victory. The rain did not stop, and there were more and more accidents and technical failures on the tracks. Notkus and Strižanas continued to maintain a high pace, and with two special stages left to the finish, their lead over the closest pursuer was almost half a minute. However, then a technical failure ruined all plans.
We really no longer have the right to make mistakes and not finish rallies
“On the second day of the rally, we got even more rain, and the conditions became even more difficult. It was very slippery. We saw more than one car with damaged sides. We drove quite cautiously – we won some special stages and lost a bit in others. But with two special stages left, we had almost a half-minute lead over Andrejus Apočkinas, who was in second place. Unfortunately, Darius Sukackas had driveshaft problems, and Saulius Trapuila did not finish due to engine problems.
But in the end, we broke down too. At the start of the fourteenth stage, sounds came from the differential, and vibrations began. We realized that we could no longer continue the race because the car was no longer accelerating. After the start, at the third kilometer, we pulled over to the roadside and ended our rally there. Very unfortunate. We lost important championship points in the fight for first place. We really no longer have the right to make mistakes and not finish rallies. We will try to fix things, prepare for the next rally, and try to rehabilitate,” said Giedrius Notkus.
The Ukmergė rally was even shorter for Saulius Trapuila with Arūnas Jarašius. Their race ended just as they were gaining momentum in the first special stage.
“I don’t have much to comment on because we drove off the start in the first special stage exactly three kilometers, and the engine broke down. The connecting rod came out. The engine was rebuilt 200 kilometers ago, so it’s hard to say why this happened. But we are not giving up. We plan to buy another car with such an engine and put that engine into our BMW. We will definitely see each other in Rokiškis,” said Saulius Trapuila.
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Meanwhile, the most successful finish among the team crews was achieved by Mindaugas Grikienis with Donatas Gaidelis. Although they also had to experience several dramatic moments, the crew not only finished but also rose to second place in their class after the disqualification of rivals.
“I would say that Ukmergė became the toughest rally for me of all the ones I’ve been to. It required a lot of precision; there were narrow, forested places where you always had to be tense. I was most looking forward to the confrontation with the corner where I rolled over in 2005, where I did five flips. I am glad that both times I handled that place perfectly. We drove well everywhere, but I still lost a lot of time in many places – both in corners and braking. But we are gradually getting into the rhythm.
It went very well to jump that ramp. I told all my friends to go watch because I promised to jump high and far there. I fulfilled that promise to my village community. The co-driver asked not to jump a second time, but we jumped anyway. I didn’t feel the jump so much in the car, but from the outside, the view was very good.
In terms of results, everything went quite well in this rally. We were around twentieth place. In the fourteenth special stage, we had problems in a narrow place. I can’t understand how I jumped out of the rut on that narrow road and started sliding. I thought I was going to roll over. I turned into a meadow and almost stopped until I turned on the wipers because the windshield was covered, I approached a culvert and got caught on it. And then our troubles began. We lost a lot of time there, but with jacks and other means, we managed to get free. We arrived at the time control with just a minute left before the moment when a delay would result in disqualification. We made it, although late.
We only found out we were second after finishing
Then we fixed the car in the service and went out to that long, last forest stage. Since we had lost a lot of time until then, we were third in the class out of three, and I thought there was no point in pushing because we wouldn’t make up the time we had lost. However, after the fourteenth special stage, a Latvian who ignored the red flag signal when the previous special stage was stopped due to an accident was disqualified. We only found out we were second after finishing. We got a trophy and points. Very happy.
We will wait for the next stages. Now we will have to fight with the Latvian Lielkajs because we have no chance to catch Sirmacis. He is too fast for us. But the race was interesting. Although I have driven these roads more than once, we couldn’t drive as boldly as we wanted. The rain interfered. If it hadn’t rained, the speeds would have been very high. But we are happy. A good rally, everything went smoothly despite our own mistakes,” shared Mindaugas Grikienis.
Although the Ukmergė rally presented many challenges for the “Viada-Multi FX” team, the season is only halfway through.
At the next stage of the Lithuanian Automobile Rally Championship in Rokiškis, the team crews will seek to recover from technical failures and return to the fight for the top positions.
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