The fourth event of the Lithuanian automobile rally championship will take place in the Rokiškis area on August 7-9. It is expected to attract almost a hundred participants from Lithuania and abroad. As soon as registration began, the current season leaders – Vaidotas Žala and Ugnis Vainevičius – also submitted their applications.
As Vaidotas Žala said, this year he is coming to Rokiškis feeling a bit calmer, because so far he has managed to win all three previous events of rally season. According to the racer, he expects a difficult but interesting race in Rokiškis.
“If there was still anxiety before Ukmerge, because I wanted that series of victories to continue, now I feel calm. The middle of the season is that crucial point and we have reached it. Nevertheless, there are treacherous special stages in Rokiškis where you can get lost. I wonder what sections the organizers have found this year, maybe there will be some new special stages. The question is what will happen with the weather, because so far we have had two stages of the season with wet surfaces.
However, Rokiškis is like the cherry on the cake – the longest and most difficult rally. It would be great fun to win it and further consolidate our advantage. I know that Vladas Jurkevičius really wants to come with a new generation car. We will see if he succeeds. It would be very interesting,” said Vaidotas Žala.
Vaidotas Žala has won this rally competition in Rokiškis three times so far. He did this in 2018, 2019 and 2023. By the way, the pilot also has a crest named after him in the “Rokiškio Grand Rally”, which he christened by performing an impressive jump with a Mitsubishi Lancer EVO car. Now Vaidotas Žala says that he will try not to perform acrobatic tricks on the crest named after him, but in any case, the jump will take place there.
“That crest is now “tuned” so that there are no options not to jump over it. The only question is whether you will jump into the stratosphere or slightly. If you are in a bad mood, you can make a circus there for yourself and the audience. We will definitely not focus on one crest. I think there will be enthusiasts who will show acrobatic tricks there, and we will focus on the result. However, it is a great place there, that’s for sure. There has never been a year when everything was good for everyone there. If someone performs an inaccurate jump, they will fall. The place is really treacherous, so we won’t take any risks there,” said Vaidotas Žala.
The Rokiškis Grand Rally will take place on August 7-9. More information about the upcoming competition can be found on the organizers’ Facebook account and the rally website.