Heavy rain washes the “Aurum 1006 km” race track and spectator zones
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All information about the race
The twenty-seventh “Aurum 1006 km powered by Hankook” race became probably the wettest in history – teams crossed both the start and finish lines on rain tires.
VIDEO: Finish emotions: Aurum 1006 km race ended in Palanga after a tense battle
Finish emotions: Aurum 1006 km race ended in Palanga after a tense battle
Although almost all crews successfully reached the finish, the drama began from the first laps, when last year’s champions, starting this year from the first position, had to return to the pit zone shortly after the race started and continue from the last place.
VIDEO: Mantas Matukaitis: the black Audi GT3 rose from P20 closer to the leaders
Mantas Matukaitis: the black Audi GT3 rose from P20 closer to the leaders
After 8 hours 41 minutes and 57.8 seconds from the start, the first to complete 373 laps and cross the finish line victoriously were the members of the “RIMO Adero & LKU.LT” team, led by Ignas Abečiūnas during the race. Mantas Janavičius, Marius Bartkus, and Bejaminas Barkeris brought their “Porsche GT3 CUP” to the victorious finish.
Porsche and Lamborghini after the crash
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Mantas Janavičius did not hide his joy after the finish and said that previous starts were just play, but for the last four years they have been purposefully aiming for victory and preparing for it: “It’s still hard to comprehend – we all always crave victory, but it is so far away that to achieve it requires a lot of work. There were various circumstances, but we took advantage of them, not someone else, the car served well, and others had all kinds of stories. Four years of consistent work towards victory and now P1!”
Battle at Aurum 1006 km race in Palanga (2026)
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In second place, having completed 371 laps, was the “RINVEST by Juta Racing” team, whose “AUDI R8 LMS GT3 Evo II” was driven by Simas Juodviršis, Jonas Karklys, Leonardas Diržys, and Oskaras Naujokaitis. They were led by Haris Aleksandravičius. After crossing the finish line, S. Juodviršis admitted that he still wants to be first: “I feel like I gave my maximum for the whole team, so I am really happy. That place might not satisfy because I want to be first, but it is what it is. Next time we will try harder.”
Third overall finished “Porsche Lietuva Racing”. The crew marked with number 91, consisting of Robertas Kupčikas, Tautvydas Rudokas, and Audrius Piktys, was led by Edvardas Grabliauskas.
Race organizer Darius Jonušis admitted after the race that such a successful and safe race is a huge victory for the entire organizing team: “We stood with the team at the finish and watching the joy of the racers inside, we thought that we won an even bigger victory. The organizer’s fate is such – you always have to walk on a razor’s edge, many tasks, but now a lot of joy. Everything ended well, just as we always want.
Understand instantly
First Mitjet Baltics race on the Palanga track: battle until the last lap
How much does it cost to eat cepelinai at Palanga’s “Aurum 1006 km” race?
The battle was very beautiful and once again proved that it is never easy here. This is not the first team to say the same after the finish – “finally”. Winning here on the first try never happens.”
Winners by classes
GT3
In the fastest class, the “RINVEST by Juta Racing” team won, completing 371 laps. In second place in the class, having completed 362 laps, finished last year’s champions “Bio-Circle & HSG by SWAG” team, whose “AUDI R8 LMS GT3 EVO II” was driven to the finish by Mantas Matukaitis, Karolis Jovaiša, and Egidijus Gražys. They were led by Mindaugas Valiūnas. Third among GT3 participants was “Energija by RD Signs racing”.
However, their “Lamborghini Huracan GT3” was the only car that did not reach the finish. After a frustrating crash having completed 123 laps, while leading the overall race standings, they had to withdraw from the competition after a rival hit the rear of the Lambo. The team was led by Eugenijus Andrulis, and driven by Paulius Paškevičius and Šarūnas Vaškelis.
GT Open
In this category, the fastest were the overall winners “RIMO Adero & LKU.LT”. Second – “Porsche Lietuva Racing”. Third in the class standings was the “LIK Racing by KTK” crew, whose “Porsche 992.1” was driven to the finish by Povilas Bonkevičius, Laimonas Starkevičius, Julius Kiršis, and Romet Reisin. They were led by Tomas Liutkus.
GT4
Having completed 328 laps, the winner in this class was “Baltic Karting Academy”. Vilius Reškevičius, Saulius Jonaitis, and Vidas Samuolis, led by Giedrius Reškevičius, completed 328 laps. In second place after 326 laps was “DHR Racing”. Andris Kalkis led the Drew and Mick Holland crew.
In third place, having completed 312 laps, was the “BMW KESTAUTO-TELŠIŲ STATYBA” crew. Andrius Ramanauskas led the crew consisting of Kęstutis Ikanevičius, Mindaugas Rudys, Eugenijus Misiūris, and Marius Galdikas.
TC4
In the largest class, the top three places were taken by identical cars – “BMW G20 Turbo Cup”. The longest distance was covered by the “Anjesė by Route67” team. Aurimas Mištautas, Darius Gaidulionis, and Gediminas Bilinskas completed 317 laps, led by Indrė Senkutė. Second were Markas Šilkūnas, Vanesa Šilkūnaitė, and Tomas Rudokas. Their “Contribee.com racing” team was led by Dominykas Graudinis. “LIK Racing by Delphi” finished third in this category – the drivers in this crew were Emilija Ulvydaitė, Tadas Kaminskas, Arnoldas Pukys, and Matas Valiulis. Their leader was Jonas Ramanauskas.
SP3
In this class, the furthest distance was covered by “ConnectPay-BMW Kestauto Powered by Sonax”. Max Tubben, Kelvin Ursem, Justas Jonušis, and Dovidas Najus, led by Joost Ursem, completed 337 laps. Second – “KADO AUTO – EGPX.LT”. Egidijus Gutaravičius and Tomas Jatkevičius, led by Jolita Gutaravičienė, completed 298 laps. Third was “STATOMENAS by KAUNO ASK”. Vaidas Morkūnas led the crew consisting of Dovilas Čiutelė, Paulius Novakas, Maksim Avdejenkov, Tadas Jonaitis, and Tomas Baranauskas.
Fastest lap
For the fastest recorded lap in the race, Karolis Jovaiša received the trophy for the second year in a row. He completed the 280th race lap in 1 min 06.794 sec.
