In the middle of the season, we asked foreign guests how they see the Lithuanian rally championship.
This article is probably intended mainly for the Lithuanian Motorsport Federation, rally organizers, judges, rally officials, media representatives and all those who work in this discipline we love. We hope that the insights of the foreign guests will help you better understand how we can raise the level of our championship even higher and attract even more participants from abroad. All were asked the same seven questions.
There will be a second part of this post where the same participants will answer individual questions that will allow you to get to know our special stages guests even better.
Once again, a big thank you to Ignas Augustonis for developing the idea and helping me gather information.
Robert Kocik / Sebastian Wach – Eurotter Rally Team
Why did you choose the Lithuanian Rally Championship for your rally program?
We chose the Lithuanian Championship as the main program because we love to drive on gravel.
How do you think more participants from abroad could be attracted to the Lithuanian Rally Championship? What is important for you as a foreign participant to make such a decision?
In my opinion, you need to work hard in the Facebook zone. Post-rally coverage on the YouTube channel will probably also contribute to the promotion of the Lithuanian championships in other countries.
What are the strengths of the Lithuanian Rally Championship competition?
As I wrote before, the main reason is our love for gravel. The very organization of rallies also plays a big role, which is really at a high level in Lithuania. Everyone is smiling and ready to help in any matter. You have beautiful special stages, which are different in each event.
What could be improved to make your experience in Lithuania even better?
The strong point is the organization and beautiful special stages that will probably satisfy even the most demanding drivers. You can find everything in every round (fast parts, slow parts, very technical through the forest and of course lots of jumps)
Can you compare the organization of the championship, the running of the rallies and other aspects between Lithuania and your country?
Unfortunately, there are only two gravel rallies in the Polish championship. Unfortunately, the organizers of the Polish rounds of the championship are not always friendly and helpful to the crews. And here is the difference between Lithuania and Poland in favor of Lithuania, of course
Do you share your impressions with your compatriots about the Lithuanian rally? How do the LARČ and the Lithuanian Rally look like in the eyes of your rally community?
At every opportunity I have during rallies in Poland, I tell my friends about the Lithuanian championships and encourage them to start here. I know that if they come at least once and start in Lithuania, they will fall in love with your rallies and will certainly come back again and again.
As I wrote before, you have great stages that Polish crews like very much. The competition in each round is at a high level, which affects the development of each crew.
How are you received by the local participants? Do you talk to them?
– After a few years of competing in the Lithuanian championships, we have quite a lot of friends among the rally crews as well as the organizers of individual rallies. We often talk to each other about various rallies and other topics.
Adrian Sadowski
Why did you choose the Lithuanian Rally Championship for your rally program?
To be honest, at the moment the most attractive thing about choosing the LARC was the really strong and big competition on such a beautiful gravel road with a very nice amount of kilometers. To attract more foreign competitors I think there should be more information about what Lithuania has to offer because many people don’t know how it is to drive here, and when they try it – they instantly fall in love, as we do. 🙂
How do you think more participants from abroad could be attracted to the Lithuanian Rally Championship? What is important for you as a foreign participant to make such a decision?
As above, really fast and very demanding drivers are here to fight with you on the best gravel roads in Europe. The organization is also on the top level because even if you have 100 competitors on the start list, everything goes in 1min intervals without any interruptions! Even when there are crashes or so!
What are the strengths of the Lithuanian Rally Championship competition?
I would say maybe some kind of promotion? We are living in times of WRC+ and it is really nice to be shown somewhere in some kind of media. To be honest it is really hard to say what can be better in Lithuania because really everything is on top level.
What could be improved to make your experience in Lithuania even better?
Everything is different in Poland I can say, but I would leave it without comment. I mean it is not like the organization is bad, but some things could be better for sure compared to Lithuania.
Can you compare the organization of the championship, the running of the rallies and other aspects between Lithuania and your country?
For sure everybody who tried Lithuanian Rallies is impressed with everything in here and wants more! If it is about me I could have driven just here and nowhere else, of course not including ERC or WRC. But that would be really interesting to even see the ERC championship with the round in Lithuania 🙂
How are you received by the local participants? Do you talk to them?
Everybody is very nice and it is a pleasure to talk and work with Lithuanian people!
Tymoteusz Abramowski – ABRAM Racing
Why did you choose the Lithuanian Rally Championship for your rally program?
The regulations of the Polish association do not entitle the competitor to start in rallies without a driving license so a junior license in Lithuania and starts in local rallies were a natural choice.
Another argument is the fast and technical routes at your disposal.
How do you think more participants from abroad could be attracted to the Lithuanian Rally Championship? What is important for you as a foreign participant to make such a decision?
In Poland, five out of seven rounds of the championship are run on the tarmac. Preparing the cars for different surfaces is sometimes problematic due to the tight deadlines of both championship rounds.
What are the strengths of the Lithuanian Rally Championship competition?
1. Compact route
2. Great class competition
3. Involvement of the organizers
What could be improved to make your experience in Lithuania even better?
It’s hard to find 🙂
Can you compare the organization of the championship, the running of the rallies and other aspects between Lithuania and your country?
In Poland, rallies are organized very well. Nevertheless, competitors, organizers, and spectators exaggerate problems that do not exist.
We are very pleased with the start in the Lithuanian championships and it is difficult for us to look for mistakes and differences in both countries.
Do you share your impressions with your compatriots about the Lithuanian rally? How do the LARČ and the Lithuanian Rally look like in the eyes of your rally community?
Always. Sometimes we use your championship to show solutions to situations that cause problems in Poland. We often point to rallies in Lithuania as an opportunity to compare ourselves with other competitors, including those from countries such as Latvia and Estonia. In recent years we have had combined rounds in our championships. Everyone has very nice memories of rallies in Lithuania and their level.
How are you received by the local participants? Do you talk to them?
Very good. Everyone is smiling and hungry for competition. The help they always try to give is admirable.
Janek Vallask
Why did you choose the Lithuanian Rally Championship for your rally program?
We probably wanted to test ourselves in some other country than home. Home gravel roads are too familiar already. I think it is the excitement to go and drive on strange roads. Why not to have experience how things are in somewhere else.
In fact, this idea was still born in 2021, when it was the big time of COVID. Since most of the competitions were canceled in both Estonia and Latvia, we also looked the calendar of the Lithuanian championships. 2021 Rally Žemaitija was supposed to take place at the beginning of the summer. It was highly doubtful whether foreign competitors could compete here, because all kinds of rules were in force, which in retrospect seem even strange to all of us. For example, it was quite difficult to fit a trip to Lithuania together with a rally race into this 72-hour negative test rule. Let’s just say that there was quite a lot of explaining when traveling back to the Lithuanian/Latvian border after the race😊 After all, we were able to compete here, although I think we were really annoying to the rally director Ingrida Savickienė because of our endless calls and letters. I must say that the first impressions of the organization of the competition and the people here were still very warm.
How do you think more participants from abroad could be attracted to the Lithuanian Rally Championship? What is important for you as a foreign participant to make such a decision?
Nowadays, it is very easy to advertise your events in the corresponding communities of nearby countries, even through social media. The organizing team of the rallies and why not even the sub-association could perhaps send more information to foreign rally communities. Making previews and follow-ups in English will definitely come in handy. In other words, the availability of information to foreigners definitely helps to spread the message better.
What are the strengths of the Lithuanian Rally Championship competition?
I would say that the competitions I have participated in are very well organized. I would especially point out the compactness of the rallies. This means that the speed tests are not too far apart and the crossings are actually quite short. I don’t know a single rally driver who enjoys long crossings in normal traffic with his racing car😊 On the positive side, I have noticed that there is often a longer preview show before the rally, in which the speed tests of the upcoming race are introduced and probably the drivers participating in the race are also talked about. Even though these are in Lithuanian, I have always watched these😊 If they were, for example, in English, the coverage would definitely be larger across the border. I like when the fun of the upcoming rally starts already when I’m still packing my stuff at home.
Although sometimes there can be a language barrier but in general the communication with the organizers has always gone well. Our technical staff has noted that the technical inspection team has also always been polite and friendly.
What could be improved to make your experience in Lithuania even better?
During the planning of our competitions, we have often encountered the situation that it is quite difficult to find accommodation for our team in smaller places. Not all possible accommodations may be displayed on large portals. Sometimes our Lithuanian friends have been the ones to help us out and have found these places for us. Why shouldn’t the rally organizer also sometimes give a small overview of the possible accommodations. The owners of the hotels and the organizer could certainly cooperate here.
Can you compare the organization of the championship, the running of the rallies and other aspects between Lithuania and your country?
After all, the fundamentals of organizing rallies are essentially the same. There are probably not very big differences here. One difference I’ve noticed here is that some rallies here have very long regroup times in the middle of the rally. During this time, the order of the competitors is also changed according to the speed table of the rally. I had never seen such a change of starting order in the middle of the day. The organizers themselves know why it’s good for, but sometimes it seems like it makes the day quite long. In our understanding, regroup means that the gaps caused by some contestants dropping out are simply pulled together. Most of the time, this is still done when entering the service area, and it’s not a very long delay.
In terms of road profile, I think Lithuanian roads are very similar. Lithuanian roads are probably sandier and softer. Sometimes it just needs a different approach.
Do you share your impressions with your compatriots about the Lithuanian rally? How do the LARČ and the Lithuanian Rally look like in the eyes of your rally community?
Yes, of course we share. Good emotions and experiences must be shared with others. In recent years, we have competed with our team in quite a few competitions here. Our club even has last year’s Lithuanian champion (Ott Kuurberg/Saimon Köst LARČ4). Such facts have certainly not gone unnoticed in the rally media and society of our country. In fact, they are still asking how to compete further away behind several borders. I also know that Estonian rally fans follow what is happening in Lithuanian rally sports through social media groups and media. Many of your fast rally drivers are as famous in our country as they are here😊
How are you received by the local participants? Do you talk to them?
I think that everyone who worships the god of rally still treats each other with respect and friendliness. We have experienced a positive and friendly reception. We have made quite a few contacts with drivers and fans here. Local smaller and bigger rally fans often come to take pictures and talk. We also communicate with other drivers. You can still exchange impressions and sometimes ask for advice. I remember a funny incident from last year’s Rally Žemaitija, when we asked other drivers in our class what kind of nature that big road jump is in the forest. Either completely flat out or rather cautiously. Maybe it was a ruse from others, but everyone advised to take the jump very calmly. So we did at the first time. But we also realized that we had been sedated too much. On the second pass, we used the potential of this jump more and found that with this old “taxi” you can almost fly to the bottom without any problems 😊
Ilja Zakmans
Why did you choose the Lithuanian Rally Championship for your rally program?
First of all, I’m a big fan and co-driver for Karolis Raišys as you probably know, so I have good ties with Lithuania and it is natural for me to race here. Also, you have way more events, more people participating, and a good variety of roads. Have to say thanks to Karolis for getting me into classic rally – it looked very easy from his co-driver seat, so I made this step. Now I see the difference, but that is too late 🙂
How do you think more participants from abroad could be attracted to the Lithuanian Rally Championship? What is important for you as a foreign participant to make such a decision?
I thought about that – actually surprised, that not many Latvian drivers are going to Lithuania, given that we do not have that many events here. Hard to say how this can be promoted, most probably it is a matter of costs for people to go – not sure if the entry fee matters, as most of the costs are anyway for the car but from my experience in historic racing, they promote events during other events.
I got a flyer for Rally Portugal while participating in Rally Monte Carlo, so I think that might be a good idea to come to “Rally Cesis” for instance to promote “Rally Elektrėnai” – just share some flyers in Rally HQ or even personally come to drivers in Service Park.
What are the strengths of the Lithuanian Rally Championship competition?
More participants than in Latvia, variety of roads, generally friendly atmosphere. but that could be subjective 🙂 I personally like it. Also, I think LARC is more easy for beginners in some events.
What could be improved to make your experience in Lithuania even better?
Well, frankly I’m ok with everything 🙂 Of course, they put lots of different cars in my class this year, so we compete with Rally2-kits and Rally 3, which in N-Group cars is tricky. In the previous year, I had more chances to get to the podium despite being pretty slow, but this is not the goal – we race for fun.
Can you compare the organization of the championship, the running of the rallies and other aspects between Lithuania and your country?
In Latvia we have just a few events – if we compare local rally sprints, then of course that is pretty similar to Lithuania except, of course, European Championship is a higher level event. Otherwise, I would say Latvian roads are more 3D, so more dangerous and, normally, we have way less forest road driving which means road condition is better after the first run. That said last ERC was the exception, as roads were destroyed very fast, so stages were almost 1m deep at some turns.
Do you share your impressions with your compatriots about the Lithuanian rally? How do the LARČ and the Lithuanian Rally look like in the eyes of your rally community?
As I said I’m a big fan of Lithuania and your events, so you have my support. Cannot speak for other people though, but I think again it is mostly a matter of the costs of this sport.
How are you received by the local participants? Do you talk to them?
Sure, I hope we are all good friends there and it is always a very warm welcome.
Pranko Korgesaar
Why did you choose the Lithuanian Rally Championship for your rally program?
I choose the Lithuanian Rally Championship current Co-Driver invited me to drive there, because he drove there last year and the rallies are awesome.
How do you think more participants from abroad could be attracted to the Lithuanian Rally Championship? What is important for you as a foreign participant to make such a decision?
I mean it is everyone’s own decision where he/she competes. As a foreign participant, I am looking to drive on different/new stages with different conditions in different countries to get the experience of what are the stages like there. To experience in a wide variety of different stages will come in handy in my future career.
What are the strengths of the Lithuanian Rally Championship competition?
I would say the strength of the Lithuanian Rally Championship is the organization, for example, the end podium, etc. The people are friendly and very talkative (Who speaks English of course 😊) in service areas and everywhere else as well.
What could be improved to make your experience in Lithuania even better?
I don’t even know what to change or what to add, there are for sure some improvement points, but right know I don’t have anything to blame about.
Can you compare the organization of the championship, the running of the rallies and other aspects between Lithuania and your country?
Everyone hosts the competition on there own way, so each competiton have their own pros and cons.
Do you share your impressions with your compatriots about the Lithuanian rally? How do the LARČ and the Lithuanian Rally look like in the eyes of your rally community?
I post about every rally I compete on my IG and FB fan pages and there I talk about the rallies as well.
How are you received by the local participants? Do you talk to them?
I have talked to a few and with other country participants as well, we have had fun cinversations and helped each other.
Ott Kuurberg
Why did you choose the Lithuanian Rally Championship for your rally program?
This year in Estonia we have only 6 rallies and we wanted to drive for more SS kilometers and experience, that’s why we are driving in Lithuania.
How do you think more participants from abroad could be attracted to the Lithuanian Rally Championship? What is important for you as a foreign participant to make such a decision?
In my opinion, LASF is doing great job. As we can see Rally Rokiškis start list, more people from Estonia are coming to Lithuania.
What are the strengths of the Lithuanian Rally Championship competition?
In Lithuania, you have good rules for everyone who want to participate in LARC. Mono tyre like you have. Quite good prices also.
What could be improved to make your experience in Lithuania even better?
I am participating in Lithuania for three years now and for me is everything good.
Can you compare the organization of the championship, the running of the rallies and other aspects between Lithuania and your country?
I have only good words for Lithuanian Rally Championship 😊
Do you share your impressions with your compatriots about the Lithuanian rally? How do the LARČ and the Lithuanian Rally look like in the eyes of your rally community?
It can be seen that with each rally there are more and more Estonians at the start.
How are you received by the local participants? Do you talk to them?
Yes, I have many friends in Lithuania. I almost can say that Lithuania is my second home because I spend many weekends in Lithuania three years in a row 😀
Thomas Martens
Why did you choose the Lithuanian Rally Championship for your rally program?
To learn gravel driving and there are too few rallies in Latvia
How do you think more participants from abroad could be attracted to the Lithuanian Rally Championship? What is important for you as a foreign participant to make such a decision?
More promote it as a learning ground for gravel rallies where youngsters are welcome from a younger age than in West and South Europe
What are the strengths of the Lithuanian Rally Championship competition?
Very good organized rallies on gravel roads, more SS Km’s than in Latvia, good to learn gravel driving, and good to have a shakedown before the rally
What could be improved to make your experience in Lithuania even better?
Not so much, dates that are closer to Latvian rallies so we can optimize travel costs
Can you compare the organization of the championship, the running of the rallies and other aspects between Lithuania and your country?
Very good organization, same level.
Do you share your impressions with your compatriots about the Lithuanian rally? How do the LARČ and the Lithuanian Rally look like in the eyes of your rally community?
Unknown by the Belgian rally community. I think they have to do better promotion in Lithuania about their rallies because they are very nice to drive, Belgians are not used to gravel rallies, so very good gravel experience
How are you received by the local participants? Do you talk to them?
Very good, yes we regularly talk and I see them sometimes in Latvian rallies.
Sander Parn
Why did you choose the Lithuanian Rally Championship for your rally program?
We chose the Lithuanian Championship to get more races for me and Can. Due to his young age of Can (14 years old when he started, now 15 years old), he was allowed to drive only in Latvia and from this season when Can get 15 we were allowed also in Lithuania. These are the only countries in the world (or at least in Europe) where it’s allowed to do professional rallying at the competition level at so young age – only in the Baltics! – Latvia, Lithuania, and now also Estonia allow us to start. Also, the roads of Lithuanian rallies are fast gravel roads which are very good practice for Can and that’s something totally different from Turkish roads.
How do you think more participants from abroad could be attracted to the Lithuanian Rally Championship? What is important for you as a foreign participant to make such a decision?
I think if the rally organizers and local drivers would ‘’spread the word’’ that you actually have very nice and beautiful roads – trying to promote that by publishing some photos or short videos of technical stages – then I believe there would be some more foreign drivers coming to the rallies. Actually, it is strange that I hadn’t been to Lithuanian rallies since last year, I had heard that Lithuanian roads are boring and too fast /too straight, then actually I would say – after driving my first rallies here with Can this year – that the roads here are actually very interesting and enjoyable to drive! I don’t understand why there’s moving around some kind of rumor among Baltic drivers that Lithuanian roads are boring or so – that’s totally wrong! You have very nice rallies with beautiful roads! Seems like you have to make/prove this wrong opinion somehow the other way around and show to other countries’ drivers that you have actually very nice roads and also an enjoyable atmosphere and a good organization level. You have to get this word out from Lithuania! At least I will be now promoting for sure in Estonia to the other drivers that it’s worth coming to Lithuania!
That would be also the main reason why the drivers from other countries should make a decision to come to rally in Lithuania. – Because you have beautiful roads, actually.
Also, you could promote that it’s allowed to rally here at under age (under 18 or 16 years old – which is not allowed in most of the other countries – and that would also bring you maybe more youngster ‘’future’’ rally drivers from other countries here to practice and start their rallying career.
What are the strengths of the Lithuanian Rally Championship competition?
For sure the roads – nice fast technical roads with many crests and some jumps. – And also the organization level of rallies. And also the compact format of rallies – normally 2 days included with recce and also stages are not very far away from each other which makes it also good for the fans and competitors both who are looking for a compact solution.
Also, the fact that you have quite a lot of cars on the list normally, makes the competition level also tight and interesting.
What could be improved to make your experience in Lithuania even better?
Some small details of organizing the rallies from some technical sides – for example, marshals’ language skills (some stage marshals haven’t spoken English language – only Lithuanian or Russian) because for foreign drivers it’s the English language needed for sure.
Also last year in Utena the cars were forced to start with only 1 or 2 minutes to the stage between time control and the start line – that is not allowed by the FIA rules actually.
So, as I said, generally the technical side of organizing could be better/improved sometimes. But the organizers are very enthusiastic and seems like they really want to organize – now just some technical details need to be improved.
Can you compare the organization of the championship, the running of the rallies and other aspects between Lithuania and your country?
To be honest, generally, our rallies in Estonia are technically a bit better organized (for example from the points I mentioned above in the previous question). Both championships are proper championships and have a similar amount of rallies. To analyze more thoroughly I should be connected more to the organization side, so I can’t give much more opinion, as I just see it only from the competition car.
Do you share your impressions with your compatriots about the Lithuanian rally? How do the LARČ and the Lithuanian Rally look like in the eyes of your rally community?
Yes, now as I have done some Lithuanian rallies this year, I have been sharing the good emotions we have got from the rallies – especially the fact that the roads/stages are actually very nice and interesting and that it also develops the skills of a driver and co-driver from different aspects.
As I mentioned before, somehow the reputation of Lithuanian rallies in the eyes of Estonian drivers is not the best, but I can confirm and convince them that it’s actually very nice and beneficial to drive in Lithuania.
How are you received by the local participants? Do you talk to them?
I think we have been welcomed well by the local drivers and the organizers but so far we haven’t had much time to socialize with them because, to be honest, the schedule for the rallies has been quite tight – actually this is maybe the only negative side in the eyes of us that the program of all rally procedures is so tight that we never have had a proper break between recce and the rally start. Normally it’s a recce and rally start and first stages all in one day + a late evening recce also for some stages a night before so it’s quite a busy schedule which makes it very difficult and tiring especially for a youngster or not an experienced driver. I would recommend giving an opportunity to start recce already earlier on Thursday during the daytime so the drivers would have an opportunity to make a more relaxed recce and also have time to watch the videos between recce and race.
Rafal Bilski
Why did you choose the Lithuanian Rally Championship for your rally program?
First of all, gravel routes 🙂 In Lithuania you have interesting special stages, sometimes very technical. Special stages are long and compact. A lot of competition in classes, which turns up the rivalry. Pirelli’s tire support is also a plus.
How do you think more participants from abroad could be attracted to the Lithuanian Rally Championship? What is important for you as a foreign participant to make such a decision?
Appropriate advertising in the media promoting car rallies. Championship ambassadors in other countries. We started riding in Lithuania thanks to Kurczak Mgarage – Paweł Poletyło, who recommended us the championships in Lithuania.
What are the strengths of the Lithuanian Rally Championship competition?
Distance for rally and compact stages and entry fee costs.
What could be improved to make your experience in Lithuania even better?
Extensive experience on a gravel surface, good driving technique, and knowledge of the specificity of the routes.
Can you compare the organization of the championship, the running of the rallies and other aspects between Lithuania and your country?
Better organization in the rally office during administrative checks.
Do you share your impressions with your compatriots about the Lithuanian rally? How do the LARČ and the Lithuanian Rally look in the eyes of your rally community?
Lithuania is more focused on the player. The organizers are friendly, approach the crews, and are very helpful.
How are you received by the local participants? Do you talk to them?
Yes, of course, 🙂 And we always recommend the Championships in Lithuania to everyone.
Great curiosity and interest, especially as they see our reports from rallies and photos.
They are very friendly and helpful. We talk to them often and have never encountered any problem
Sebastian Teter
Why did you choose the Lithuanian Rally Championship for your rally program?
Initially the idea came from my current team engineer – Pawel Poletylo/”Kurczak M Garage”, as he was participating in rallies in Lithuania a few years back as a driver and since that time attracted number of Polish drivers to LRC (and I think there’ll be more comming still this year). So Pawel is good ambasador of LARC in Poland :). Once i’ve tried, i liked it so I decided to drive in Lithuania for entire season last year and also this year.
How do you think more participants from abroad could be attracted to the Lithuanian Rally Championship? What is important for you as a foreign participant to make such a decision?
The Lithuanian Rally Championship has all that is needed to be succesful – friendly atmosphere, nice stages, and what is also important there’s a lot of stages to chose from so the rallies are quite compact in terms of distance between the stages. The championship is also organized in a sensible way in terms of costs – i mean single tire (and single compound) that makes the things cheaper, because you buy 33-50% of tires you’d normally do to be competitive, and also the classes promote the cars (like BMW Cup or N5) that are reasonably priced for the performance their offer. So probably what is needed is more promotion abroad or word of mouth.
What are the strengths of the Lithuanian Rally Championship competition?
As I said earlier – good stages, friendly atmosphere, good arangements in terms of costs.
What could be improved to make your experience in Lithuania even better?
The only thing that i believe shall be adressed and is within organizer’s control is dust at the stages especially at the night. This happens quite often that evening or night stages, when the wind usually calms down, are just no fun to drive or even dangeorus to drive because you can’t see anything during 30-50% of the distance. I believe the longer intervals shall be planned by default for those stages.
Otherwise it’s really difficult to find some weak points, and I’m saying it after touring quite a few countries in the rally car, as apart from Poland i was participating in rallies in most of CEE and SEE countries.
Can you compare the organization of the championship, the running of the rallies and other aspects between Lithuania and your country?
In Poland the center of the rally activities is in the south where we don’t have gravel rallies at all, so people who decide to compete in Poland are tarmac specialists. Other difference is that somehow atmosphere in Polish ralies is more serious with more pressure on results – in Lithuania i believe there’s a right balance between competition and fun, i like it very much.
Also the the finish of the rally event is what we miss in Poland, i.e. we don’t have events of this scale with live music, videos, drinks and quita a lot of spectators – that’s well done and adds to good experience.
Do you share your impressions with your compatriots about the Lithuanian rally? How do the LARČ and the Lithuanian Rally look like in the eyes of your rally community?
I do, and a lot of Polish drivers who drive or has driven in Lithuania do the same. So generally LARC has very positive image in Poland, and as we don’t have too many ralies on gravel, drivers who’d like to drive on gravel quite often select Lithuania. Also the distance plays a role – Lithuania is the closest place to Poland where you have good quality gravel series.
How are you received by the local participants? Do you talk to them?
Usually I’m somewhere between FWD and BMW drivers, so yes we do talk 😉 – I met a lot of friendly people who are also helpful to guide us on some local rally specifics or rules – I appreciate that very much.
Andrzej Kruszewski
Why did you choose the Lithuanian Rally Championship for your rally program?
Honestly – we don’t like asphalt rallies, and in fact we only have two gravel rallies in Poland: Rally Poland and Rally Podlaski.
Firstly, it’s not enough, secondly, Rally Poland, due to its status, attracts too many 4WD cars and the route becomes simply impassable for cars with two-wheel drive. This makes participation in the Rajd Podlaski pointless for us. One rally a year, that’s not enough. We were looking for an alternative.
We “discovered” Lithuania in 2013. It is our favorite holiday country. It also turned out that a whole round of gravel rallies is organized in Lithuania. We didn’t need more to be happy. We started taking part in Gravel Rallies in your country in 2021. First Rally Sprint, now the main championship.
How do you think more participants from abroad could be attracted to the Lithuanian Rally Championship? What is important for you as a foreign participant to make such a decision?
It’s a hard question. I think that the main motivation for looking for opportunities to participate in gravel
rallies is the lack of such in your own country. We have two gravel rallies, Czechs and Slovaks do not have them at all. They are focused on asphalt rallies, which is a completely different thing. Changing the specification of the car costs money. Plus the distance you have to travel. For most, it’s too much to try anything other than asphalt. You have to be a real “gravel” lover to cross two countries for the rally.
Wider advertising on social media can help to attract potential rally drivers. Unfortunately, nowadays we are”green”, which means that we are dealing with less interest from sponsors, which is equal to less participants with cash support.
We were convinced by the proximity. We live in Białystok, so almost next door. Plus the length of the rallies (Sprint wasn’t enough so we started driving in the main championship).
We don’t regret it. We feel at home. Some even joke that we are half Polish and half Lithuanian.
What are the strengths of the Lithuanian Rally Championship competition?
First of all, very good organization and communication. We appreciate planning not only special stages but also short road sections.
A simple entry application form is undoubtedly is a good thing. Also, the variety of classes you can apply for. An additional advantage is also the number of participants – which is almost always over 50 crews.
What could be improved to make your experience in Lithuania even better?
It will sound like sweetening or a significant exaggeration, but we only lack access to electricity in the
service area – which would make it easier for the guys on the service
Can you compare the organization of the championship, the running of the rallies and other aspects between Lithuania and your country?
Unfortunately, I will not be of any help in this matter. We have done more rallies abroad than in Poland as licensed competitors. The championship we participate in is LARC.
But I can say something about other aspects – the biggest difference is in the local community.
In Lithuania, people genuinely enjoy organizing such an event. It’s a holiday for them.
Fans of all ages, greeting in front of the house, from the sidewalk or from a passing car on the road,
is a rare thing in our country. It’s such an added joy to the rally itself.
In Poland, it happens that the inhabitants have no idea what is organized in the area and why their road is closed.
Do you share your impressions with your compatriots about the Lithuanian rally? How do the LARČ and the Lithuanian Rally look like in the eyes of your rally community?
Of course. We are happy to share our impressions from rallies.
In fact, we always encourage you to take part in a Lithuanian championship rally or sprin event in conversations.
They are usually very curious about what it looks like and eagerly listen to reports from the last rally.
The conversation often takes longer. Friends want details. Longer routes, the compactness of the rally, and the handling of the rally itself are advantages that are hard to pass by indifferently.
How are you received by the local participants? Do you talk to them?
We hope positively. Some of the participants we know by sight, with some we spoke at least once.
There is also a group of friends with whom we always talk. We are also friends on social media.
We talk about technical matters or ask “how are you?” in a completely normal way.
Martinš Ločmelis
Why did you choose the Lithuanian Rally Championship for your rally program?
We wanted to drive more, so we chose the Baltic states.
How do you think more participants from abroad could be attracted to the Lithuanian Rally Championship? What is important for you as a foreign participant to make such a decision?
In my view, a Lithuanian rally has already been widely attended, there is good competition here. Very good special stage lengths and road quality.
What are the strengths of the Lithuanian Rally Championship competition?
Good organization. Live stream at special stages with all participants. Interesting stages configuration.
What could be improved to make your experience in Lithuania even better?
Right now, everything is satisfied by the Lithuanian rally organizers.
Can you compare the organization of the championship, the running of the rallies and other aspects between Lithuania and your country?
It’s always nice to go to other countries. Also, I like to see how rallies are organized elsewhere. Every rally has its own features. Lazdijai, for example, I really like the special stages that were close to each other, with no road sections. In Lithuania, there is a more personal attitude toward participants.
Do you share your impressions with your compatriots about the Lithuanian rally? How do the LARČ and the Lithuanian Rally look like in the eyes of your rally community?
After each rally is analyzed, technical nuances, and onboards are reviewed, and mistakes are analyzed if they were made. Every stage of the rally is a valuable experience.
How are you received by the local participants? Do you talk to them?
Local drivers are very friendly. In the Lazdijai rally, we had a problem with the brakes. Samsonas Rally Team offered help and gave the necessary parts. Thank you so much to them for that.
Emils Blūms
Why did you choose the Lithuanian Rally Championship for your rally program?
We chose to drive here because our teammate Martins Ločmelis decided to start here, and we also got help with the tires. It is especially interesting to start in new, never-run rallies.
How do you think more participants from abroad could be attracted to the Lithuanian Rally Championship? What is important for you as a foreign participant to make such a decision?
I think you should advertise as much as possible on social media because nowadays everything really happens there. I think that it would be possible to invite more participants to Lithuania in this way. Perhaps the fastest Lithuanian drivers could invite their friends from other countries to ride in Lithuania.
What are the strengths of the Lithuanian Rally Championship competition?
I really like the organizational level and style of Lithuania. You’ve got a really great atmosphere here, and it’s also great fun to watch the start ceremony online for fans and supporters alike. Truly the very highest level of special stages, which we like very much. It’s really fun to be a part of it all.
What could be improved to make your experience in Lithuania even better?
I think it could be improved in broadcasts and various reviews because everyone speaks only Lithuanian. Perhaps English could be included in the live broadcasts so that more foreign viewers could understand.
Can you compare the organization of the championship, the running of the rallies and other aspects between Lithuania and your country?
In Latvia, we only have 20-30 crews, and in Lithuania, you have much more competition, even at the highest level, where there are extremely fast racers and R5 equipment. Also many two-wheel drive cars. With you, it is now common what was with us 10-15 years ago.
How are you received by the local participants? Do you talk to them?
The competitors in Lithuania are really friendly, we can talk about the rally and other things, and the atmosphere is really great and friendly. We get along well with M.Samsonas’s team.
