Lithuanian completed the 320 km special stage in 2 hours 53 minutes 05 seconds, beating teammate Stéphane Peterhansel by 2 minutes 18 seconds. Sara Price finished third, 3 minutes 50 seconds behind Baciuška.
Read more 17-year-old national team started preparations for the World Championship
However, the victories on the last day were not enough for Baciuška to rise to first place in the overall “Stock” class standings. The Lithuanian finished the third stage of the FIA World Rally-Raid Championship in Argentina in second place.
The victory was claimed by Stéphane Peterhansel with Michaël Metge, who after their triumph in Portugal won their second consecutive W2RC stage.
“Today we pushed, tried to do everything we could, but it wasn’t enough to reach first place overall. It was a good, positive day – I finally felt better myself, so the mood was completely different. We wanted to finish the rally strong, and we did just that. Of course, it’s a pity we couldn’t move up to P1, but we take important points and keep moving forward,” Baciuška said after the finish.
In Argentina, the Lithuanian won three out of five special stages, but in rally-raid this does not always determine the final victory. In this discipline, one more difficult day, a penalty, a technical issue, or even the chosen trajectory can cost more time than can be gained over several successful stages.
For Baciuška, this was another important result in the fight for the world championship. For second place in the rally, the Lithuanian earns 25 points, and for the victory in the last stage – another 5 points. After the Argentina stage, Baciuška, according to preliminary calculations, has 199 points in the W2RC “Stock” class standings and continues to fight for his fourth world champion title in his career.
Read more “Desafio Ruta 40” rally completed: how many speed stages did Antanas Kanopkinas win?
This year, “Desafío Ruta 40” once again showed why Argentina is considered one of the most impressive rally-raid locations in the world. Five days offered everything to the athletes – highlands, rocky riverbeds, dunes, fast gravel roads, “fesh-fesh” dust, technical challenges, penalties, leader changes, and lots of drama until the very last kilometers.
“Argentina really surprised – with its difficulty, beauty, and fans. There was a lot here: mountains, dust, dunes, fast sections, difficult navigation. But at the same time, a great atmosphere. It was good to come back here,” Baciuška said.
The last day was also very dramatic in the overall car standings. Carlos Sainz stopped at the 78 km mark, rally leader Seth Quintero briefly stopped at 101 km, and later Nasser Al-Attiyah, who was fighting for the overall victory, also had problems. Ultimately, the “Desafío Ruta 40” was won by American Quintero, marking his first victory in the “Ultimate” class in the world championship. Henk Lategan finished second, and Al-Attiyah third.
The Argentina stage became one of the most eventful episodes of this year’s W2RC season. Leaders changed over five days, favorites’ plans fell apart, and the final results were decided only in the last special stage. This once again showed that in rally-raid, nothing is guaranteed until the finish line.
After three world championship stages, the W2RC season moves into its second half. Athletes still face two important challenges – the Abu Dhabi and Morocco rally-raids. It is there that it will be decided whether Baciuška can continue his impressive streak and win his fourth world champion title, this time in the “Stock” class.
Rokas’ next start is in Sweden, at the European Rallycross stage.
