N5 Gang – Eugenijus Sladkevičius – N5 Lithuania / Lietuva

We continue our acquaintance with the members of the N5 family, also known as – “N5 Gang” 🙂

In winter we talked with Tomas Šmagarys, recently Aurimas Eidžiūnas and Rokas Steponavičus, and now a conversation with the representative of LARČ1 – Eugenijus Sladkevičius, who after selling a small and agile Mitsubishi Mirage Proto got into an extremely fast Škoda Fabia N5+ 🙂

How did you get into rallying? What did you do before, do you have experience in other sports?

Rallying was a childhood dream, because I was born and raised in Žiežmariai, and rally cars always passed by our house. We used to ride our bicycles to the nearby special stages to watch the action on the track, so you can say that my love for rallying was born in childhood. During my studies at the Panevėžys Technical School, I attended a motocross club, there I could drive the “čž” brand motorcycle, and the technical things was always with me anyway. After the appearance of four-wheeled motorcycles in Lithuania, I competed in “enduro” off-road competitions for a few years.

I bought my first Subaru car in 2008. It was a Subaru Legacy 4WD turbo model. With him I was a frequent participant and prize-winner at race tracks and ice races. This was the first serious step towards rallying.

Eugenijus kadaise mėgavosi purvo voniomis su keturračiais — *Eugenijus once enjoyed mud baths with quads*

Eugenijaus kelio į ralį pradžia - Subaru Legacy 4WD turbo bei žiemos treko varžybos — *The beginning of Eugenijus road to rallying is the Subaru Legacy 4WD turbo and winter track competition*

You are another example of starting a career with a powerful vehicle, in your case the Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution. Why did you immediately jump into such a technique?

I bought the first real rally car from Mindaugas Varža – an American Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X that had rolled over slightly. After changing a few details and putting it in the hands of Darius Biesevičius, half a year later I already had a real rally car. Having a lot of experience in driving, I did not see any sense in driving a car with 2WD, and 4WD technology is more fun, so I chose this car.

5 metus Eugenijus praleido Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution automobilyje, kurį išaugo — *Eugenijus spent 5 years in a Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X car*

Later you drove a rather strange but fast Mitsubishi Mirage Proto. What is its history? How did it come into being and where is it now?

Since the Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X was American in origin, it had a slightly heavier body. After a few years of driving it, I realized I couldn’t go any faster with it, and went looking for something new. Factory equipment was expensive, and proto-cars were on the wave. In Latvia, just such appeared at an affordable price.

After 4 seasons of operation, the Mitsubishi Mirage Proto went to Cyprus, where it’s running successfully this season

Mitsubishi Mirage RS Proto Saaermos ralyje, į kurį Eugenijus žada dar sugrįžti — *Mitsubishi Mirage RS Proto at the Saaermas Rally, to which Eugenijus promises to return again*

Tell us about your journey to the N5 guys. Why did you decide to change your car and join the N5 boy band? Are you happy with this decision?

I ended up in the N5 group thanks to Martynas Samsonas because I was looking for a faster car.

As with any new product, the N5+ takes some time to get used to, but when it’s working properly, it’s really fun to drive. It seems that it’s possible to achieve a pretty decent result.

Eugenijaus sprendimas sėsti į greitesnį automobilį šįmet itin džiugina žiūrovus — *Eugenijus’ decision to get into a faster car this year makes the public very happy*

Marius Kairys sat in place of Artūrs Šabanavičius in the co-drivers seat. Why did you change the reader of the pacenotes?

We have a very friendly relationship with Artūras, but he had health problems. Since we are not a youth crew anymore, something breaks from time to time. Artūras decided to take a break after the season to take care of his health, and since I wanted to keep riding, I had to find another co-driver.

Ilgametį Eugenijaus šturmaną Artūrą Šabanavičių šįmet pakeitė su Karoliu Kairiu anksčiau važiavęs Marius Kairys — *Eugenijus’ long-time co-driver, Artūras Šabanavičius, has been replaced this year by Marius Kairys, who previously drove with Karolis Kairys.*

From time to time you are also seen on the asphalt in Palanga 1000km race. How close are you to the asphalt and circuit racing?

Circuit racing is not my sport, 1006-km races are more fun with friends and like-minded people.

Tarp ralio etapų - šiek tiek egzotikos Palangoje :) — *Between the events of the rally – a bit of exoticism in Palanga 🙂*

You mentioned that you would like to return to the Saaremaa Rally. Where else but on this island would you like to drive a rally?

Saaremaa Rally is a high level competition with many fast athletes and a good atmosphere. It’s fun to participate and measure your speed with the best athletes in the Baltics. I think Finland is the country where every rally driver would like to go.

TIkėkimės šį automobilį dar šįmet išvysime Estijoje, o každaka galbūt ir Suomijoje — *Let us hope we will see this car this year in Estonia and maybe sometime in Finland too*

Eugenijaus Sladkevičiaus starts in 2023

Rally	Co-Driver	Car	Team	Class	Overall / Class
Rally Žemaitija	Marius Kairys	Škoda Fabia N5+	Samsonas Motorsport	LARČ1	23 (2)
ORLEN Lietuva Rally	Marius Kairys	Škoda Fabia N5+	Samsonas Motorsport	LARČ1	13(3)
Rally Visaginas	Marius Kairys	Škoda Fabia N5+	Samsonas Motorsport	AWD+	Gedimas
7bet Winter Rally Aukštaitija	Marius Kairys	Subaru Impreza STi N14 VRT	Samsonas Motorsport	AWD+	5 (4)

N5 Gang – Eugenijus Sladkevičius