Interview with Mark Piatkowski, who made his debut in Lithuania at the Rally Žemaitija 2025, where he drove a Hyundai i20 VRT prepared by MV Sport
It’s been 10 years since an American has done a rally in Lithuania and we were very happy to welcome Mark Piatkowski who came to the second round of the Lithuanian Rally Championship. It was a very classic event called Rally Žemaitija 2025. This event was probably the most difficult for the guests, because the roads used in this rally are basically the same, just with some variations, so the local knowledge here was very strong. Nevertheless, Mark rose to the challenge and finished in a strong 8th place after 112 kilometres (69.59 miles) in one day. The roads in this rally were very fast and flowing over the numerous crests – a real challenge for guests like Mark.
Mark drove a Hyundai i20 VRT, which can be described as a 4WD proto-car. As Mark is a Subaru fan himself, this car was technically a Subaru, only with a Hyundai chassis and a different engine. How so? MV Sport uses a Subaru floor, a Subaru sequential gearbox from Samsonas Motorsport and many other parts. The engine – 1.6 PSA with a turbo. The most interesting thing about this car, made by MV Sport is the suspension. This car has a specially designed double wishbone suspension that allows for much more tuning and performance than the normal McPherson suspension. With Samsonas Motorsport’s specially designed 3-way dampers for this suspension, this car has proven to be a rally winner in Baltic states. The idea is to get this type of suspension in the USA, and that’s how Mark and MV Sport came together. This suspension can be bolted to various Subaru Impreza or Mitsubishi Lancer models, significantly improving handling. In short, Mark had a really interesting and fast car that he got on well with.
After a brief introduction, we hope you enjoy reading Mark’s interview.
This is your first time in Lithuania, how did the settling-in process go for you? Were there any strange or unexpected things?
Before the rally, I made time to explore Lithuania a bit. My wife and I went to Vilnius, Trakai, Kaunas and Nida. I always find it important to explore and decompress before the rally circus begins. For me, it has a positive effect on my performance. We really enjoyed the food too! One funny thing I noticed is all the random bus stops along the roads with zero surrounding homes in sight.
How was the MV Sport Hyundai i20 car? How did the feeling change during the first and last kilometers?
I found the MV Sport Hyundai very easy to drive right from the first Km. And that’s really its biggest advantage. The previous R5 and N5 cars I’ve driven were difficult to drive unless you have the experience to push flat out. Anything below flat out, the car just doesn’t work. I was happy with my progress and even finished P6 overall on the last stage.
You drove on one of the fastest rallies in Lithuania with wide and flowing stages. How did you find them? What were your impressions after the reece and after the whole rally?
Yes it’s true, Zemaitija is extremely fast, but most importantly everyone has prior knowledge of the stages. I had no prior experience on such wide and sandy based roads. You have to literally point the car from ditch to ditch and just keep your right foot flat everywhere. It was certainly intimidating to think of the speed I needed to carry on some stages.
How is the organization / mood / atmosphere different here in Lithuania than in North America?
The organization was very good and you can tell that rallying is very popular in Lithuania. It’s clearly widely accepted by the community which is great. You guys literally closed down the center of a city to service on rally cars. In America, the vibe is much more relaxed and everyone helps everyone. It’s less “professional” let’s say and more adventurous, but in a way it’s refreshing too.
How did the whole rally go for you? Are you satisfied with your results and progress?
I’m extremely satisfied. To be honest, I wasn’t sure where I would stack up. I wanted to think I had what it took to be in the Top 10, but you just never know. Everything was new: new car, new team, new codriver, new country, etc. So to finish Top 8, I’m extremely happy.
I also owe a lot of my pace to my crazy Latvian co-driver Andris Malneiks. Although he had terrible jokes, he pushed me the whole rally and I trusted him 100%. We clicked very well and became good friends almost instantly.
Tell us three new things you learned during the Rally Žemaitija
Lithuanian rally drivers are fast, there are spectators on every corner and the speed limits in towns are 50 😂
And what‘s next for you in rallying? Back to Lithuania soon or some action across the pond?
The long term plan is to bring MV Sport products to America and do some events in the states. I’d definitely like to be back in Lithuania. Let’s see 😎
