After the first LARČ event in Lazdijai, which provided plenty of drama, the championship compass turned towards the north-west, where the traditional Žemaitija Rally awaits. This rally, like Lazdijai, has been changed from a two-day to a one-day format, with several SSs on Friday and a night stage through the streets of Kelmė omitted. However, the special stages have remained more or less the same and are well known to participants who have been taking part for some time. There were seven N5 crews at the start of the last event and eight in Kelmė. Rokas Markovičius returns after having his car repaired, and Aurimas Eidžiūnas, whose new Ford Puma N5 is already in fighting form, is replaced by Julius Masonas with a Renault Clio N5. A guest from Poland – Mikolaj Kempa – will also be competing again.
Deividas Gezevičius showed an unprecedented speed in Lazdijai. The change of co-driver to Evaldas Kvederis did not seem to cause any difficulties, and the perfectly prepared Ford Fiesta N5 successfully brought the driver from Ukmergė to the finish. Paulius Beniušis and Kristupas Adinavičius drove equally well, so we can expect an interesting battle between the members of the ABEPA ST-Sport team. Paulius, as usual, had tests before the rally. Eugenijus Sladkevičius should also be involved in this duel with his Škoda Fabia N5+.
We are very happy to see Mikolaj Kempa, for whom it will be the third start in a row with a Ford Fiesta N5. In Lazdijai, his compatriot Andrzej Tomaszewski read the pacenotes for him, and in Kelmė, Estonian Allan Birjukov, who normally reads the pacenotes for Egon Kaur, will take over the co-driver’s duties. Justinas Brokorius, a newcomer to the class, showed excellent pace in Lazdijai in his newly acquired Ford Fiesta N5. This is reflected in his more than twice as good starting position. As Justinas gets to know the car, we can expect even better results. Julius Masonas will be competing in the LARČ for the first time in his career and normally drives in sprint and mini-rally competitions. This is Julius’ second season with the Renault Clio N5, which he is driving faster and faster. As his usual co-driver will be taking part as a driver in Žemaitija, Aras Kalėda will take over the co-driving duties.
Rokas Markovičius wanted to compete in Lazdijai, but car was not ready for it. The good news is that it is now ready, the car has been tested in mini-rally competitions and we will see the Hyundai i20 N5 crew in Kelmė. This is also the second season for Rokas, so it will be very interesting to see what pace Rokas and Tomas will show. Audronis Gulbinas and Vytis Paliukonis will continue their acquaintance with the VW Polo N5. After successfully finishing Lazdijai, they have collected a lot of points and will try to increase their dowry.
| Nr. | Driver | Co-driver | Car | Team | Class | |||
| 6. |  | Deividas Gezevičius | | Evaldas Kvederis |  | Ford Fiesta N5 | ABEPA ST-SPORT | LARČ1 |
| 7. | | Paulius Beniušis | | Kristupas Adinavičius |  | Citroen C3 N5 | ABEPA ST-SPORT | LARČ5 |
| 8. | | Eugenijus Sladkevičius | | Marius Kairys |  | Škoda Fabia N5+ | Elektrėnų ASK | LARČ1 |
| 10. |  | Mikolaj Kempa |  | Allan Birjukov | | Ford Fiesta N5 | Tylko Lechia Gdańsk | LARČ5 |
| 15. | | Justinas Brokorius | | Ramūnas Paškevičius | | Ford Fiesta N5 | VšĮ Ralio Ratai | LARČ5 |
| 22. | | Julius Masonas | | Aras Kalėda |  | Renault Clio N5 | RallyLithuania.com | LARČ5 |
| 42. | | Audronis Gulbinas | | Vytis Paliukonis |  | VW Polo N5 | GSR MOTOSPORT | LARČ5 |
| 47. | | Rokas Markovičius | | Tomas Grigonis |  | Hyundai i20 N5 | Gorilla Burgers | LARČ5 |
