The two-day competition was truly changeable, both due to events on the track and weather conditions. The rain that regularly poured during Saturday’s races forced team strategists to solve tire selection puzzles. Moreover, on Saturday evening, the track was washed away by such a downpour that the participants’ park was simply submerged in water.
Read more Bank of Lithuania allowed Gjensidige to merge with Ergo
The athletes anxiously awaited Sunday morning, as it was practically impossible to set foot on the track after the downpour. However, on Sunday, the weather conditions improved – the clouds were replaced by the sun, so the wet track began to dry with each race, and the results improved. Finally, after three qualifying races, the athletes entered the final battle for positions and annual points.
In the “Cross Car Mini” class final, young racer Kasparas Kažemėkas shone. Having driven in the shadow of his rivals all day until then, he managed to demonstrate maximum concentration in the final and crossed the checkered flag first.
Another Lithuanian competing in this class, Gedas Rutkauskas, also had good chances to get on the podium. However, he spun in the final, later tried to catch up with his rivals, but did not rise above fourth place.
In the “Cross Car” standings, Kernius Šulinskas took the third step, only behind two fast Latvians. Matas Zavarskis, who entered the main final from the consolation race as number one, finished in fifth place. Immediately behind him in the final was Matas Rimkus. One position lower – Zenonas Bartkevičius, who made it to the final for the first time this year.
The final turned out to be extremely disappointing for Jokūbas Bagdanavičius, who had shown an impressive pace until then. He was stopped by a technical malfunction, and the young man was forced to watch his competing opponents from the side of the track. Another Lithuanian, Marius Udrėnas, did not make it to the finals of this class and was classified in eleventh place.
In the “Super 1600” standings, Valdas Mikužis, who was unbeatable in Bauska, achieved another victory. His race weekend also didn’t go smoothly. In one of the qualifications, the pilot stalled at the start, in another qualification he forgot to turn into the “Joker” lap, and there were also contacts with rivals.
Read more Fuel prices dropped on Wednesday: where is the cheapest?
However, in the final, the pilot proved his worth and left all opponents behind. Mantas Laskovas, who only sporadically appears in rallycross competitions, took second place. Although the athlete stated that he does not yet feel confident in the rallycross discipline, especially on wet surfaces, after the track dried, the pilot showed in the final that he can drive at the pace of the leaders. Rytis Rutkauskas finished in fourth place, who was left with only one driven wheel in the final and could not resist the leading trio.
In the “Super 2000” class, the fastest Lithuanian was Edvinas Miknius. His weekend was also not easy. The athlete experienced many contacts, and during one race, the rim of his “Honda Civic” broke in half.
Nevertheless, in the final, the athlete kept the equipment intact and defended his second position. Alvydas Samoška, who struggled with technical problems several times during the weekend, finished in fourth place. Immediately behind him were three more Lithuanians – Rokas Jakubauskas, Mantas Sidabras, and Gintautas Norkus, respectively.
In the extremely numerous “BMW RX 3000” class, Lukas Sidabras and Dovydas Padgurskis defended the colors of Lithuania. However, the latter withdrew from the competition before the finals, as he crashed into the track barriers during one of the qualifications and severely damaged his BMW. The team was unable to repair the car at the competition site, so Dovydas Padgurskis had to settle for thirteenth place in the class.
Lukas Sidabras, who had shown stability until then, finished in fifth place. Starting from the first row in the final, the Lithuanian was one of the main contenders for podium positions, but was almost spun by a rival in the very first corner. He had to chase distant opponents and missed the third place by a couple of positions.
The stage in Bauska was already the fourth of six stages of the Latvian and Lithuanian Rallycross Championship. On August 9, athletes will gather again in Vilkyčiai, where they will compete in the fifth stage of the season. Some Lithuanians will also compete next weekend, as the Baltic Rallycross Championship stage will take place on the Raassilla track in Estonia.
Read more The Wave of Book Popularity: How Reading Became Sexy
