Nikolay Gryazin

Otepää talveralli

At least in one of the Baltic countries, the rally season has finally started. Lithuania and Latvia have to wait for it for almost a quarter of a year. The roads of the first event of the Estonian Rally Championship not only welcomed the local people but also became a training ground for many crews from all over the world. So it is – Otepää talveralli.

Samsonas Rally Rokiškis ’20

Posted on August 6, 2020 by Vilius Šaltenis 2020 Europe Interview Lithuania Weekly post's

Last year there was also an article from this Samsonas Rally Rokiškis. A very famous guest, Tonni Gardemeister was visiting Lithuania at that time. Unfortunately, technical problems stopped his rally with Samsonas prepared BMW M3. This year there was no Tonni, but there was his company (TGS Worldwide) car, Škoda Fabia Evo2 in a field, driven by a 2019 Finland champion Teemu Asunmaa. He was one of three main candidates to take a Samsonas trophy. The second one – last year winner, Lithuania rally champion and Dakar rally star – Vaidotas Žala with the older version of Škoda Fabia R5, serviced by SRT. And I mentioned Sports Racing Technologies not without the reason. 5 years this company was the main companion for a third contender to win a Rally Rokiškis. Now, – Nikolay Gryazin is a Hyundai factory team driver.

Barum Czech Rally Zlin ’19

Posted on October 3, 2019 by Vilius Šaltenis 2019 Czech E-Rally ERC Europe Weekly post's

Barum Czech Rally Zlin is one of the most famous and iconic rallies in Central Europe. For thirty-five years, this event has been immovable in the European Rally Championship calendar. At the same time, it is the Czech Championship round. It is special for its roads, located in the southeastern part of the Czech Republic, in the outskirts of city Zlin. Those roads are very narrow, twisted in hills, forests, and villages with very variable quality of tarmac, which often gots dirty when drivers cut the corners. Every turn there requires maximum accuracy, and for the co-drivers, it is not easy to read the pace notes under these conditions. Alongside these extremely challenging roads, thousands of rally fans gather to watch the spectacle and cheer their favorites.