The Friday program began early in the morning, when some crews participated in training and qualification, while the rest tested their equipment on a test speed stage. Vaidotas Žala recorded the best result in the qualification. Having earned the right to choose the starting position, he decided to start the first part of the rally as the first car.
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In the afternoon, when the main competition began, V. Žala immediately showed his ambitions. In the first, 6.21 km long speed stage, he was the fastest – completing the distance in 3 min. 1.42 sec. However, D. Gezevičius was only 0.34 sec behind, so after the first stage it was already clear that the fight for the leader position would be very close.
In the second, 5.20 km long speed stage, D. Gezevičius responded with the best result. He finished in 2 min. 26.39 sec., beating Justas Tamašauskas by 0.37 sec., Rokas Steponavičius by 1.74 sec., and V. Žala by 2.65 sec. After two stages, D. Gezevičius was already the rally leader, leading J. Tamašauskas by 1.48 sec. and V. Žala by 2.31 sec.
In the third, 4.27 km long speed stage, D. Gezevičius was once again the fastest. V. Žala lost to him by 0.67 sec., J. Tamašauskas by 1.29 sec., and R. Steponavičius by 2.25 sec. After the first three stages, D. Gezevičius and E. Kvederis led the overall standings, ahead of J. Tamašauskas and Algirdas Pranckūnas by 2.77 sec., and V. Žala and U. Vainevičius by 2.98 sec.
After the service, participants faced three more Friday speed stages. Here, D. Gezevičius continued to demonstrate a stable pace – he won the fourth speed stage. In the fifth, 5.10 km long stage, V. Žala was again the fastest, but in the last stage of the day, 7.32 km long, D. Gezevičius recorded the best result once more.
In the last stage, D. Gezevičius finished in 4 min. 23.11 sec., beating R. Steponavičius by 1.08 sec. Third was J. Tamašauskas, who lost by 1.86 sec., while V. Žala was fifth in this stage, losing to D. Gezevičius by 2.05 sec.
Thus, out of the six speed stages held on Friday, four were won by D. Gezevičius and E. Kvederis, and two by V. Žala and U. Vainevičius.
After the first day of the „Rokiškio Grand Rally“, the overall leaders are D. Gezevičius and E. Kvederis. Their total time for six speed stages is 17 min. 9.34 sec. In second place are V. Žala and U. Vainevičius, trailing by 3.97 sec. The third position is held by J. Tamašauskas and A. Pranckūnas, with a deficit of 8.96 sec.
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In fourth place, R. Steponavičius and Markas Buteikis finished the first day – they are 10.56 sec behind the leaders. Fifth are Giedrius Firantas and Matas Valiulis, trailing by 23.72 sec.
No less fierce competition took place among two-wheel drive cars. On Friday, the 2WD classification leader position was taken by the Estonian crew of Markus Tammoja and Karolis Pertas with a BMW M3. Their total time after six stages is 18 min. 38.23 sec.
In second place in the 2WD classification are Darius Sukackas and Evaldas Gezevičius with a BMW M3. They are 6.04 sec behind the leaders. Third are Nedas Radišauskas and Justas Vičiūnas with a BMW E36 M3N5, with a deficit of 10.62 sec.
In fourth place in the 2WD classification, Andrejus Apočkinas and Anuš Šachsuvarova finished the first day, trailing the leaders by 12.38 sec. Fifth place is held by Giedrius Notkus and Dalius Strižanas – their deficit is 26 sec. G. Notkus finished the first day triumphantly – in the last Friday speed stage, he was the fastest among all 2WD participants and beat N. Radišauskas by just 0.12 sec.
The first day of the rally did not go successfully for everyone. On Friday evening, eight crews withdrew from the competition. The crew of Mindaugas Grikienis and Donatas Gaidelis ended their race due to a rollover. Sebastian Teter and Michał Marczewski, as well as Alar Hermanson and Kalju Holzberg, withdrew due to engine failures.
Technical problems stopped Bruno Urmo Gryc and Kamil Heller, Arūnas Vaičiūnas and Ona Danguolė Vaičiūnienė, as well as Saulius Zurlis and Julius Kalvaitis. Andrzej Kruszewski and Kaja Kruszewska withdrew due to a damaged wheel, and Tadas Pupeikis and Tomas Pupeikis were stopped by suspension failure.
After Friday’s battles, the question of the rally winner remains completely open. D. Gezevičius and V. Žala are separated by only 3.97 sec., and the top three by less than nine seconds. On Saturday, a much longer part of the „Rokiškio Grand Rally“ awaits – another 11 speed stages and 101.90 kilometers in sport mode. Over two days of competition, crews are expected to cover a total of 17 speed stages and 134.27 kilometers.
