In the list of participants of the “Alburnus Rally Elektrėnai” we can see up to 10 N5+ and N5 cars. For some it will be an opportunity to secure the championship title, for others – the first kilometers with the N5 car.
“Alburnus Rally Elektrėnai” will welcome the group of N5+ and N5 gang who have returned to the peak of abundance. Deividas Gezevičius, who made his debut in Rokiškis, and Vaidotas Paškevičius, who changed his car before the Elektrėnai Rally, replaced Vilmantas Padegimas, who is absent from the rally for the time being. There are still many open questions in both the LARČ1 and especially the LARČ5 standings, and the rankings can move in either direction. One thing is clear – the drivers will go fast.
The N5+ trio, under the LARČ1 flag, can be divided into two parts. Martynas Samsonas and Ervinas Snitkas can already secure the championship titles in both absolute 4WD and LARČ1 classifications in Elektrėnai. This is due to the fact that Martynas won all four rallies. Despite the solid lead, Martynas and Ervinas are by no means relaxing and took part in the tests in Grendavė last Sunday with their colleagues.
Meanwhile, the other two representatives of the N5+ are fighting more against each other. Eugenijus Sladkevičius has a twenty-point lead, so his main competitor, Linas Vaškys, has to overtake Eugenijus, who deliberately comes from Elektrėnai.
The Elektrėnai Rally is my home rally, so I am really looking forward to it. Driving at home is always fun and maybe even easier because you always have more fun in your own roads. We haven’t done much to the car, although there will be some improvements this year. This weekend we were in Grendavė for testing, so we took a break to get back into shape a bit. I admit it was interesting in the first corners, but the most important thing is that the car is working well so everything should be fine.
Eugenijus Sladkevičius
After the “Alburnus Rally Elektrėnai” the champions of class N5 or LARČ5 can also be announced. Nedas Radišauskas and Justas Vičiūnas are the absolute rulers of the situation there. This team not only finished all events, but their placements were never worse than second place in the class, so the white “VW Polo N5” duo leads Rokas Steponavičius and Dovydas Ketvirtis with 54 points.
We have had a longer break since the Rokiškis Rally, so the desire to get behind the wheel of a sports car is particularly strong and the mood is very good, because this week the rally will be held in Elektrėnai. This rally is always characterized by difficult special stages, and the competition is really strong, so you have to work very hard to get to the top.
Nedas Radišauskas
Meanwhile, Rokas Steponavičius will come to Elektrėni after missing the Rokiškis Rally, but he did not let the almost two-month break go to waste:
I had a long gap between LARČ events. Due to health problems I missed the Rokiškis rally, and to fill this gap I decided to do the mini rally event in Kelmė. I felt good in the car and it worked as it should. The atmosphere in anticipation of the Elektrėnai Rally is great. I am looking forward to the start!
Rokas Steponavičius
Theoretical chances for the first place in the class also have the crew of Aurimas Eižiūnas and Justas Barysas, who had to put a lot of work into repairing the car after the Rokiškis Rally.
After hitting the stump in Rokiškis, we built up the Ford Fiesta N5 with new energy and after the tests we had this Sunday in Grendavė, we can say that really everything is in order and all aggregates work perfectly. The shock absorbers renewed in Utena work perfectly, we have adjusted everything and even made some experiments with spoilers. We wash, clean the car, tighten the bolts and meet in Elektrėnai!
Aurimas Eidžiūnas
Paulius Beniušis and Tomas Šmagarys have the biggest challenges this season. The last event brought neither luck nor points to both of them, so they will have to work hard in Elektrėnai to move up in the LARČ5 standings.
The Elektrėnai rally is one of those that you definitely want to compete in. Technical and quite difficult special stages provide many pleasant moments for both participants and spectators. The organization and format of the rally are also very attractive for the participants, as everything is very compact in terms of time. This rally has always been characterized by a large number of spectators, which is very motivating and creates a good atmosphere. The organizers are racers themselves, they understand the details of this sport very well and manage to organize a great event.
We arrive in good spirits and ready for another battle. I would like to congratulate Deividas Gezevičius for his performance in Rokiškis, where he proved with his fast pace that he is able to fight with the fastest competitors in this class. We also expect a solid performance from Vaidotas Paškevičius in his debut in the N5 class. I believe that these guys will have a serious competition this weekend
Paulius Beniušis
Deividas Gezevičius and Tomas Nenartavičius in the Elektrėnai will try to switch from test/regular mode to race mode after jumping on the departing N5 season train.
I hope it will be possible to finish car preparations and that Elektrėnai will come up with excellent special stages. Although I did not train with the Ford Fiesta N5 between rallies, I participated in karting tournaments to stay in shape. In Rokiškis we wanted to test and adjust everything and we drove with only one set of tires. In rally Elektrėnai, the goals are already different – we want to get faster.
Deividas Gezevičius
In the list of “Alburnus Rally Elektrėnai” we will see a new N5 crew – Vaidotas Paškevičius with Paulius Vičiūnas. Vaidotas has already tried N5 technique, but this season we have seen him in Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX. Vaidotas’ technical change will take place in Elektrėnai, where he will get into a Ford Fiesta N5. At the same time, two co-drivers and brothers – Justas and Paulius Vičiūnai – will compete in the LARČ5 class.
We tested the Ford Fiesta N5 car during the tests in Grendavė. We drove only 10 kilometers, but we could already get a small impression of how good this car is. The suspension travel is cosmic, I have never felt so comfortable siting in a rally car. When we drove, the road was already in a very bad state in some places, but we did not feel that at all.
Braking is probably what sticks the most. In the tests, when you drive a 500-meter straight at 180 km/h and see that the left-three corner is approaching, Vaidas does not brake like in the Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution. Well, I felt really uncomfortable and was already thinking how it would all end, but as driver pressed the brakes – the Fiesta took the corner well. With a Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution, for example, we would be 100% of the road if we braked like that.
We are very much looking forward to Elektrėnai to drive as many kilometers as possible and experience good feelings. Since we have withdrawn from the fight in the LARČ3 class of LARČ, we will not aim for a result, but just have fun.
Paulius Vičiūnas
| Nr. | Driver | Co-Driver | Car | Team | Class | |||
| 2. |  | Martynas Samsonas | | Ervinas Snitkas |  | Škoda Fabia N5+ | Samsonas Motorsport | LARČ1 |
| 5. | | Rokas Steponavičius | | Dovydas Ketvirtis |  | Ford Fiesta N5 | VšĮ Automobilių sporto projektų grupė | LARČ5 |
| 6. | | Nedas Radišauskas | | Justas Vičiūnas |  | VW Polo N5 | Samsonas Motorsport | LARČ5 |
| 8. | | Eugenijus Sladkevičius | | Marius Kairys | | Škoda Fabia N5+ | Samsonas Motorsport | LARČ1 |
| 9. | | Linas Vaškys | | Laurynas Paškevičius | | Škoda Fabia N5+ | ORLEN Lietuva-Mažeikių ASK | LARČ1 |
| 12. | | Deividas Gezevičius | | Tomas Nenartavičius | | Ford Fiesta N5 | Nordis racing team | LARČ5 |
| 14. | | Paulius Beniušis | | Kristupas Adinavičius |  | Citroen C3 N5 | ST-SPORT | LARČ5 |
| 15. | | Tomas Šmagarys | | Valdas Čiuplys |  | Hyundai i20 N5 | Autoralis | LARČ5 |
| 16. | | Aurimas Eidžiūnas | | Justas Barysas | | Ford Fiesta N5 | 7Bet racing by RALLY4FUN | LARČ5 |
| 18. | | Vaidotas Paškevičius | | Paulius Vičiūnas | | Ford Fiesta N5 | Kupiškio auto moto sportas | LARČ5 |
N5+ / LARČ1 standings
N5 / LARČ5 standings
