It looked as if the season was already over, but rally cars were still flying through the woods here and there. This was the case in western Lithuania, where private test sessions were organized. The very windy, cold, rainy and of course muddy conditions were ignored by the people who gathered near one of the very twisty and technical stages of the Žemaitija Rally. These tests were attended by a world-known rally driver from Estonia – Egon Kaur, who has nearly 200 rally starts in Estonia, Finland, other countries and in the WRC itself. He was back in Lithuania after a month’s break, where he took part in the Samsonas Rally Utena with his Ford Fiesta Proto KMS and achieved the 3 place in the overall standings. Martynas Samsonas offered Egon the opportunity to test the N5 car, which he did last Saturday. Although the conditions were really treacherous, the Samsonas Motorsport team and Egon found a way to push the car to the limit and get a really good response. Egon was accompanied by his co-driver Allan Birjukov. After the tests, Egon shared his thoughts on his experience.
Egon, what were you doing in Lithuania on this windy, rainy Saturday?
Yes, the weather is similar to what you normally see in Saaremaa. It’s windy, quite wet and there’s a lot of mud. But it’s still nice to be here again. It’s always nice to visit Lithuania because there are a lot of customers and friends here. Actually, we were invited here by Martynas Samsonas after the “Samsonas Rally Utena” to try out his car and get an idea of what N5 is all about and maybe give him some feedback for the car and future development. Yes, it was a really interesting day that started with a really slippery and muddy track where we were sliding all over the place. Then at least it dried out a bit and we got some ideas about the car. The car is really good, the whole package has really good potential and just needs a few adjustments for each driver and you can go really fast.
So the feedback from your side is positive?
Yes, definitely. I have already told the guys about some optimizations to possibly achieve a bit more speed. But overall the pace of the whole thing is really good and I think if you test it and adjust it to your own driving style, you can go really fast.
Maybe you can compare it to your own Ford Fiesta Proto?
As the N5 has a different engine and a different turbo, the biggest difference is the engine itself, which has a bit more power. We also use shorter gear ratios in our Proto to compensate for the power. Other than that, just the geometry changes a little bit, but the cars are built very similarly and offer alternative to the Rally2 cars to run them at a lower cost. If you are an up-and-coming driver who wants to drive a lot, or if you just want to drive a faster car that gives you good and enjoyable feedback that you can enjoy, this is a good alternative if you do not plan on competing in FIA events. This car is not homologated for the WRC or ERC, but if you just want to build your confidence, improve your driving skills and get some good experience – these cars are really good.
So in terms of performance it’s pretty close to the Rally2 and R5 cars?
I think the N5 cars are not that far away and it depends on the conditions. If the conditions are very rough and you get ruts, and if there are conditions that you do not see that often in testing, then these cars are not that advanced because of the work of the engineers and other manpower that need a lot of budget, so of course they are not developed for all conditions. In certain conditions they can come very close to and can fight with the Rally2/R5 cars that we have shown in previous rallies.
So maybe there is a chance to see an N5 car in Estonia?
I think that we can see N5 cars in all the Baltic countries. It seems that it works really well here in Lithuania, and maybe it is possible to convert other proto-cars that we have in other countries. There are cars that have a good pace and a lot of spare parts. If we can take other Proto cars that are based in the Baltics and connect them together, maybe we can have a really strong class across the Baltics where a lot of cars and drivers can compete. I think the most important thing is to have a lot of cars competing against each other and then you can really compare them.
Is there any chance of seeing you in the N5 car later on?
I hope so, because I would really like to use it and test it in good conditions, so why not?
And maybe a few last words to the N5 community in Lithuania?
Keep doing what you are doing. I think it’s going in the right direction. I think the whole idea of these N5 and Proto cars is to have an alternative to cheaper driving if you are not planning to compete in the FIA events at the highest level. It’s a good stepping stone or a preparation class where you have a really good car and you can push it to the limit. And I can be pretty sure that it’s not difficult to move up to the Rally2 class if you push N5 to the limit. So, yes, keep it up and let us hope it gets bigger and we can enjoy these cars in all the Baltic countries.
