Winter has finally arrived in Lithuania. The capricious weather caused quite a headache, and the officials had announced the postponed competition for the several times. However, the situation has finally stabilized and on February 22, about fifty crews will finally chase seconds in the Rokiškis area. Among them also 5 with N5 cars.
There should have been more N5 cars, but the constantly changing competition dates have upset the plans of some crews and they will not be coming to Rokiškis after all. Nevertheless, five classmates will test the conditions of the Lithuanian winter. For some, it will be the debut on snow with the N5 equipment, while others have already driven on snow quite a bit this year.
At the Biorina Winter Rally Rokiškis, we will be able to see last season’s LARČ5 class champion Irmantas Buivydas, who will bring his Ford Fiesta N5 to Rokiškis together with his brother Edvinas. The brothers have not yet driven on snow with such a powerful car, but their performance last year at the Aukštaitija winter rally, when they drove an old MG ZR 160, showed that young people are comfortable on snow and ice. Back then they managed to finish 24th overall with one of the weakest cars and came third in the 2WD- class.
Paulius Beniušis and Kristupas Adinavičius are well prepared for the icy roads of Rokiškis. Together with the Citroen C3 N5, they have already completed two events this year. At the beginning of January, the Lithuanians drove on the roads of Alūksnė and last weekend in Gulbene and have already covered well over a hundred kilometers. In Rokiškis, they will therefore be one of the best warm-up crews.
Rokas Markovičius and Martynas Masaitis also had good preparation. Like Paulius Beniušis, they both took part in the Alūksnė rally, which they successfully completed. An interesting fact is that Rokas Markovičius spent some time in the sand dunes, where he prepared for a possible participation in the Dakar Rally. Vaidotas Paškevičius will take part in this rally with a Ford Fiesta N5. Snow and the N5 equipment will not be new to Vaidotas, as he took part in the Sarma Rally last year with the same car.
The fifth N5 crew will take part in the entire Lithuanian Rally Sprint Championship. The Renault Clio N5 car will be a great asset to this championship. Julius, who bought the Renault Clio N5 from Vilmantas Padegimas last year, participated in several rounds of the LMRC championship and attended the competition in Latvia. Before the winter rally, Julius took part in tests in Ukmergė, where he practiced driving the N5 car on snow. The pacenotes are read to Julius by the extremely fast driver Markas Buteikis. Incidentally, Julius’ son Majus will also be taking part in this rally.
The Biorina Winter Rally Rokiškis consists of four special stages, each of which will be driven twice. Two sections have never been driven before, which will be a great challenge for the drivers. The last runs will take place after dark.
| Nr. | Driver | Co-driver | Car | Team | Class | |||
| 11. |  | Vaidotas Paškevičius | | Steponas Kriaučiūnas |  | Ford Fiesta N5 | VaidotaRacingTeam | Open |
| 15. | | Julius Masonas | | Markas Buteikis |  | Renault Clio N5 | RallyLithuania.com | Open |
| 23. | | Irmantas Buivydas | | Edvinas Buivydas | | Ford Fiesta N5 | 7Bet Racing by RALLY4FUN | Svečių / AWD+ |
| 26. | | Paulius Beniušis | | Kristupas Adinavičius |  | Citroen C3 N5 | ABEPA ST-SPORT | Svečių / AWD+ |
| Rokas Markovičius | | Martynas Masaitis |  | Hyundai i20 N5 | Gorilla Burgers | Svečių / AWD+ |
