After three rounds of the European Rallycross Championship, held in Latvia, Hungary, and Sweden, the caravan of participants moved to Ireland. The seventeen-year-old Lithuanian Rytis Gurklys also started here.
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Although this track was completely unfamiliar to him, it didn’t take long to adapt. From the very first runs, the athlete demonstrated a competitive pace and quickly understood the specifics of the Irish track.
“I had never driven on this track before. The track is very fast, the turns are quick, and there is a long straight. The track is more like circuit racing. The gravel sections had already been cleaned, so the surface was very hard. Coming here, I didn’t expect to do so well, to start driving at a high pace so quickly. To push so hard from the very beginning on a new, unfamiliar track was really strong,” said Rytis Gurklys.
Adapting to the track brought quick results. After minor car setup adjustments, the Lithuanian began to dominate throughout the weekend – winning all the qualifiers and starting the final from the most favorable starting position.
However, the decisive race was not easy. In the final, Rytis Gurklys made a few mistakes and briefly lost the lead. But after the finish, the judges determined that the main Lithuanian rival, Frenchman Julien Meunier, violated the rules while overtaking and went off the track. For this, he was given a three-second penalty, which returned the victory to the Lithuanian.
“In the first practice, we showed the fourth time. Then we adjusted the car settings a bit and in the second practice managed to record the fastest time. In the first qualifier, I was first again. After that, we adjusted the car a little more and managed to win the second qualifier. In the third, fourth qualifiers and the semifinal, I also managed to lead and show the best result.
And in the final, I made a mistake myself. I released the accelerator too early and was overtaken by a rival. However, while overtaking, he didn’t fit on the track, clipped my side, and went off the track. Because of not respecting the track limits, he received a three-second penalty, which moved me up to first place, and he dropped to third. Although I won, I am not completely satisfied because I didn’t maintain the same pace in the final as I did before. My lap times in the final were worse than in the qualifiers, but I’m happy that I managed to win,” said Rytis Gurklys.
Another victory allowed the Lithuanian to further strengthen his position in the overall championship standings. Last year’s European vice-champion now has a solid lead over his closest pursuers, and only one real competitor remains in the fight for the title.
“Currently, in the championship, I lead by 28 points over my main rival, the Frenchman. I have 122 points, the Frenchman has 94, and the competitor in third place has 55 points. The competitor in third place no longer has a chance to win the championship, so the biggest fight until the end of the season will be with the Frenchman,” said Rytis Gurklys.
There are three races left until the end of the European Rallycross Championship season. One will take place in France, and then the participants will face a double round in Portugal, during which races will also be held at night.
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