Three crews represented “Viada-Multi FX” in Elektrėnai – Giedrius Notkus with Dalius Strižanas, Mindaugas Grikienis with Donatas Gaidelis, and Saulius Trapuila with Arūnas Jarašius.
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G. Notkus and D. Strižanas triumphed in their class and 2WD category after a changing battle, and they also took very important championship points from Elektrėnai.
The start of the race was not ideal for Giedrius Notkus and Dalius Strižanas. After the previous stage, the car had to be repaired, and the changes made before “Rally Elektrėnai” initially did not give the expected result.
“Already at the start of the race, we began losing to Darius Sukackas. Of course, we made a few mistakes ourselves, not everything was due to improper car setup. We even broke the front windshield on branches. We definitely had adventures, but gradually we started to speed up, found the setup,” said G. Notkus.
After the first service, their crew was second. They were more than ten seconds behind Darius Sukackas, and Andrejus Apočkinas was just one second behind them.
Later the situation changed dramatically. D. Sukackas’s crew was late leaving the service due to a prolonged driveshaft change and was disqualified from the race. The fight for first place continued between G. Notkus and A. Apočkinas, but technical problems also stopped this car.
However, the withdrawal and problems of the rivals did not mean that everything would go smoothly for the leaders. In the fifth special stage, the communication equipment of G. Notkus and D. Strižanas broke down.
“I couldn’t hear Dalius anymore, so he showed me the pace notes with his hands, shouted loudly so I could hear. Luckily, I knew this special stage quite well, so we didn’t lose much,” said the racer.
Needed points in the championship were collected and we took the lead in the class
An even more serious test awaited in the eighth special stage. The crew hit a culvert dug out from the ground and bent the car’s wishbone.
“When we arrived at the service, the mechanics saw that the wishbone was almost broken and barely holding. We quickly replaced the wishbone and went out to the city special stage. We managed to win both our class and the 2WD category. Good mood, good emotions, because the needed points in the championship were collected and we took the lead in the class,” G. Notkus rejoiced in the result.
For Mindaugas Grikienis and Donatas Gaidelis, “Rally Elektrėnai” was their first race with a new car. Their Subaru is still being repaired after an accident in Rokiškis, so the duo rented a Mitsubishi Lancer EVO. M. Grikienis also had to get used to a different gearbox, so the crew was still looking for speed at the start of the race.
A much more serious situation occurred in the sixth special stage. After a fast straight before a sharp turn, M. Grikienis realized that the car no longer had brakes.
“I tried to brake with the gears, but I couldn’t reduce the speed enough to make the turn. I had to look for a place to go off the road. I chose the meadow on the left side.
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I dreamed about that situation for two more days
I saw that there were spectators’ cars and spectators sitting there, but I noticed a gap and directed the car there. Then I turned around in the meadow and returned to the road. Thank God we avoided a serious accident, but I dreamed about that situation for two more days,” said M. Grikienis.
But the crew’s adventures did not end there. In the last gravel special stage, their car also hit a culvert. The car became difficult to control, the crew went off into the forest but managed to return to the road.
When they stopped, it turned out that the shock absorber had broken the upper bolt, and the wheel was turned outward. Continuing the race was no longer possible.
“Later a mechanic came, screwed in the bolt, installed the half-shaft, and we could return on our own, but the rally was already lost. Now we will count the points and see if it will be worth starting in Mažeikiai, the last stage. And we also have a plan to start the season finale at the Saaremaa rally in Estonia,” said M. Grikienis.
Another “Viada-Multi FX” duo – Saulius Trapuila and Arūnas Jarašius – came to the Elektrėnai rally with a clear goal – not to take risks and to finish. But already after the test special stage, the plan began to change.
“We came to the race with only one thought – to finish and not to race too much with anyone. We had agreed with the co-driver, but after seeing the results of the test special stage, we decided that maybe we could still try to get involved in the race,” said S. Trapuila.
Adventures did not lack from the very first special stage. The crew hit a stump and knocked out the wheel alignment, but the mechanics fixed the malfunction.
We finished on three wheels, although it seemed that the rally would end for us here
In the fifth special stage, the car went off the road twice, and in the sixth, a tree or bush hit tore off the entire rear part of the car – the trunk lid and panels. The mechanics fixed the car again.
It seemed that the biggest trials were already behind, but in the city special stage, S. Trapuila hit a curb. After a few turns, the rear wheel broke off and flew off the car.
“We finished on three wheels, although it seemed that the rally would end for us here. But we reached the finish. I got curses from the co-driver, and that third place fell like from the sky because others had even worse luck,” said S. Trapuila.
Despite numerous technical problems and incidents, the results collected by “Viada-Multi FX” athletes were enough for second place in the team classification at “Rally Elektrėnai”.
Now the “Viada-Multi FX” team is preparing for the last stage of the Lithuanian car rally championship in Mažeikiai.
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