The start order of the “Samsonas Rally Utena” was announced on Monday evening. All 110 crews are lined up one after the other to start in the last round of the Lithuanian Automobile Rally Championship September 30 – October 1.
The first start number was given to the crew of Dominykas Butvilas and Renatas Vaitkevičius. This duo has won all previous five events of the Lithuanian Rally Championship and secured the title of national champions even before the “Samsonas Rally Utena” competition. Škoda Fabia R5 car of Giedrius Notkus and Dalius Strižanas will be marked with the second number. The third starting number was given to the tandem of Vladas Jurkevičius and Aisvydas Paliukėnas.
The fourth number will be on the Škoda Fabia N5+ car made by Martynas Samsonas, but it will not be driven by the name partner of this competition, but by a guest from Finland. The young Finnish rally talent Sami Pajari will sit behind the wheel of this car. His compatriot Janni Hussi will read the pacenotes for him.
Škoda R5 with the fifth starting number will be driven by Justas Tamašauskas, who tested it in Elektrėnai and will pilot this car once again together with co-driver Dovydas Ketvirtis. The sixth number will be on the car doors of Giedrius Firantas and Matas Valiulis. They will not start in Utena in a Mitsubishi Lancer EVO, but in a Ford Fiesta car. The organizers of the “Samsonas Rally Utena” will tell you about this crew’s rocking on the equipment on Wednesday.
Janis Vorobjovs, the multiple rally champion of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia, will start the race with number seven. He will be assisted by co-driver Guntars Zicans. The tandem of Vytautas Švedas and Žilvinas Sakalauskas will start the race with number eight in Utena. And although it is a Lithuanian crew, the Ukrainian flag is displayed next to their names because both crew members have licenses from the Ukrainian Motor Sports Federation.
The ninth starting number was given to Estonians Timmu Korge and Erki Pints duet with Mitsubishi Lancer EVO X. And top ten is completed by the duet of Marius Vėgėlė and Pranas Švedas. You can get acquainted with the entire starting order of the participants of “Samsonas Rally Utena” by clicking here.
n this competition 15 Special Stages the total length of which will reach almost 125 kilometres will await for the participants. Along with liaisons, competitors will have to cover a distance of 356 km. The participants of the Rally Sprint Championship will be dealing with a half shorter distance.
On the first day of the rally six Special Stages are planned. The first four will be gravel and the remaining two will be at night during which the participants will run through the streets of Utena. The next day nine more Special Stages will be waiting for the crews. More information about the competitions taking place on September 30 – October 1 can be found at www.samsonasrally.com and at organisers’ page on „Facebook“.
