September 30 to October 1, the roads of all classic rally fans will lead to Utena and its surroundings, as the final stage of the Lithuanian Automobile Rally and Rally Sprint Championships as well as Latvian rally championship “Samsonas Rally Utena” will take place here. A month before this event, the organisers shared some of the information and announced what participants and spectators can expect from the competition, which is returning to this region after a really long break.
Although there is still a month left before the “Samsonas Rally Utena” competition, and until then participants of rally championship and fans of this sport will meet in Elektrėnai, organisers of “Samsonas Rally Utena” already started sharing details of the final event of Lithuanian Automobile Rally Championship which will take place on September 30 – October 1. The first news that representatives of the ASK “Akseleratorius” club, which organises the competition, are sharing – Special Stages and their specifics.
The competition, which took place in Zarasai and Utena area last year and was then called “Rally Aukštaitija”, has been moved closer to Utena this year. This means that all Special Stages will be placed in a smaller radius than last year and it will be much easier to watch the competition and migrate between Special Stages for spectators. The organisers have found 15 Special Stages in this region, the total length of which will reach almost 125 kilometres. Participants will have to cover a distance of 356 km. overall. Distance for participants of Lithuanian Rally Sprint Championship will be a half shorter.
On the first day of the rally, six Special Stages are planned. The first four will be on the gravel, and the remaining two will be at night, during which the participants will drive on the streets of Utena. The next day crews will have another nine Special Stages, which, according to the organisers, should leave an incredible impression on both the participants and the spectators, because the last time rally championship was held here in the warm season seven years ago in 2015. Alexey Lukyanuk driving Mitsubishi Colt triumphed here.
“The Special Stages will be very diverse. There will definitely be legendary Special Stages used in the past, which crews who have been racing for longer or spectators who have been interested in this sport for many years remember very well. There are also completely new Special Stages or their combinations with previously held ones. It is interesting that the starting point of most of the speed stages will be on tarmac.
In addition to that a lot of jumps will be waiting, so I think we will offer a really high-quality and versatile competition, both in terms of participation and observation. Utena region is really great because there are a lot of technical roads that can be used for competitions.
Our idea to return to this region with rally competition was supported by both the local government and the community, so we are very happy with the cooperation and intend to create a really big celebration for both Utena residents and guests from other cities and, of course, the participants themselves,” said Arvydas Petkevičius, the organizer of the competition.
The final chord of the Lithuanian Automobile Rally Championship will be marked not only by breathtaking competition and battles until last seconds, but also by additional entertainment in the heart of Utena, on Aušros street. It is announced that both days of the rally will be crowned with a concert program, which the organisers will tell about later.
More information about the upcoming “Samsonas Rally Utena” competition can be found at www.samsonasrally.com and „Facebook“.
Photo: by Vytautas Pilkauskas
