From August 13 to 15, the “Rokiškis Grand Rally” will also be a stage of the “Tour European Rally” championship this year. It was the invitation from the organizers of this championship that encouraged M. Bernini to try rallying in Lithuania for the first time in his career.
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“I received an invitation from the organizers of the ‘Tour European Rally’ to come here and test my skills. I accepted this offer because I want to try this competition. It will be different for me. I have never raced in Lithuania, so it will be very interesting,” said M. Bernini.
For the Italian, not only the roads of Lithuania will be new. Most of his experience has been gained on asphalt, and he has started much less frequently in gravel competitions. The athlete has raced in Croatia and Finland, but he admits that gravel is not yet the surface on which he feels he has the most experience.
This will be a very important factor in the “Rokiškis Grand Rally” competition. The athletes will face 17 special stages and 134 competitive kilometers, with most of the battle taking place on the fast gravel roads typical of Lithuanian rallies.
“My main goal here will not be to prove anything to anyone, but to gain new experience racing on gravel,” the Italian stated his task.
M. Bernini and L. Mattucci will have equipment in the “Rokiškis Grand Rally” that allows them to compete at the front of the absolute classification – the crew will start in a “Škoda Fabia Rally2” car. However, the Italian does not set maximum goals for himself before his debut in Lithuania.
He does not hide that trying to immediately match the leaders of the Lithuanian championship would be difficult. Local athletes know the specifics of Lithuanian gravel roads very well, and some of the main favorites have been racing in the Rokiškis area for many years.
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“I cannot promise that I will be able to compete with the fastest participants of the Lithuanian rally championship. Still, these are their home tracks, they are strong here. And I will focus on gaining experience,” said M. Bernini.
The Italian will certainly not lack competition. Among the main contenders for the overall victory are Vaidotas Žala and Ugnius Vainevičius, who won all three stages of this season’s Lithuanian car rally championship, as well as Deividas Gezevičius with Evaldas Kvederis and Rokas Steponavičius with Dovydas Ketvirtis. V. Žala, who has won the “Rokiškis Grand Rally” four times himself, names this trio as the most realistic contenders for victory in the jubilee competition.
M. Bernini is also facing another challenge – some of this year’s routes will be new even to Lithuanian championship participants. Newly discovered technical special stages near Jūžintai have been included in the route, so at least there, the long-standing experience of local athletes will provide less advantage than on the well-known roads around Rokiškis.
The abundance of foreigners will be one of the distinctive features of this year’s jubilee “Rokiškis Grand Rally.” The list of participants includes crews from Poland, Latvia, Estonia, the Czech Republic, Italy, Ukraine, the USA, and Monaco. The international composition is also due to the significantly increased status of the competition.
Held for the tenth time, the “Rokiškis Grand Rally” will this year be a stage of the Lithuanian car rally championship, the FIA European Rally Trophy, the “Tour European Rally” championship, and the Lithuanian “Rally4 Trophy.”
Over the three days of the competition, participants will have to complete 17 special stages with a total length of 134 kilometers. It is on these roads that it will be revealed how M. Bernini, who has much more experience in asphalt rallies, will adapt to Lithuanian gravel and how close he will be able to get to the pace of the local leaders.
