One of the main heroes of this year’s magazine is Deividas Gezevičius. Until recently, the driver who considered the “Rally2” car a dream today drives the same “Škoda Fabia RS Rally2” as the Lithuanian rally leader of recent years, Vaidotas Žala. In a lengthy interview, the athlete talks about the journey from watching rallies and working as a co-driver to the 2WD champion title, the N5 car, and finally the highest level of technology. The conversation also includes candid thoughts about the pressure from others and one of the main current goals – to beat Vaidotas Žala for the first time.
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However, rally is not just about the athletes. A large part of it is people who year after year travel to the special stages and create the atmosphere beside the track. In the magazine, readers will meet Juozas Baltaduonis and his friends – a group of die-hard rally fans whose life calendar has long been adjusted to motorsport events. They talk about how they plan trips, look for the best spots on the special stages, visit the service park, and why they greet not only their favorites but every crew that finishes the race at the finish line.
Another topic takes you where an ordinary rally spectator usually does not get – into the kitchen of result calculation. Longtime interim Gintautas Firantas tells in the magazine how rally result recording has changed over more than three decades. From manual stopwatches and times sometimes set almost “on the fly” to modern electronic sensors, GPS, and duplicated computer systems. Readers will learn what really happens from the moment the car crosses the start line until its result appears on the spectator’s phone screen.
In the pages of the magazine, you can also embark on a kind of journey through the history of Lithuanian rally. In Dusetos, rally enthusiast Petras Staškevičius has independently established the only such rally museum in Lithuania. His collection includes road books, accreditations, stickers, team clothing, car parts, old video tapes, awards, and many other exhibits. Among them are all the rally magazines published so far in Rokiškis – from the “Samsonas Rally Rokiškis” times to the current “Rokiškio Grand Rally.”
A separate article is also dedicated to a topic that rally spectators probably rarely think about – who takes care of nature where dozens of sports cars roar on the weekend? The magazine presents the work of the environmental delegate. Romualdas Mažuolis talks about the FIA’s environmental requirements and how all rally activities are controlled – from the administrative commission and service zone to the special stages and the cleanup of areas after the competition.
The publication also presents the long-standing partnership between “Rokiškio Grand Rally” and the Association of Car Manufacturers and Importers AGIA. Readers will find practical advice on where to dispose of used tires, what to do with a non-running car, and why proper automotive waste management is important not only for professional rally teams but also for every driver.
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Of course, the magazine also remains a practical guide for anyone planning to watch the “Rokiškio Grand Rally” live. It contains the competition program, start times and lengths of all special stages, spectator zones, their coordinates, and information on how to reach them. The publication also includes rally watching safety rules and marked places where standing is prohibited.
So the 2026 “Rokiškio Grand Rally” magazine can become not only an assistant in planning which special stage to watch. It is a publication about the people without whom there would be no rally – athletes, fans, judges, organizers, and other members of the motorsport community. It brings together the current Lithuanian rally battles, behind-the-scenes, history, and all the essential information for the upcoming weekend.
Or maybe it is worth keeping this magazine even after the competition ends. As shown by the entire collection of Rokiškis rally publications kept in Petras Staškevičius’s museum, a magazine purchased today will be a small part of Lithuanian rally history after many years.
The magazine will be available for purchase at the entrance to the special stages, at the rally information center located in Independence Square, next to the rally start arch. Rally magazines will also be sold at the “Intelektualūs kompiuteriai” store.
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