Vaidotas Žala about the victory in the “7bet Gravel Fest Rally – Lazdijai”: “I drove and Ivo sang”
Vaidotas Žala, who returned to the classic rally after almost a year’s break, is not only happy to be able to race on Lithuanian special stages again, but also to win the “7bet Gravel Fest Rally – Lazdijai” — the crew won 11 out of 12 SS’s. With Škoda Fabia and a new driver, the Latvian Ivo Pūkis, the dashing Lithuanian already wiped the noses of his rivals in the shakedown held on Friday. The crew did not lose their pace and first positions in Saturday’s stages.
The long-awaited start
V. Žala did not hide that he was waiting for the rally in Lazdijai like never before. Firstly – due to a rather long break in the classic rally, secondly – also due to the fact that “7bet Gravel Fest Rally – Lazdijai” can partly be called a new rally, which intrigued the racer. “I haven’t driven in a classic rally for almost a year, my last start was in the European Rally Championship last July. I really couldn’t wait to start this rally, already during the tests I realized that I miss the classic rally a lot, because here everything happens faster than in the desert rally. I was a little worried about the first start, because I knew that I would have to adapt after the break, and I am also driving with a new co-driver, but everything went like clockwork. I. Pūkis is a professional who has been riding with the fastest Latvian pilots for several years, so we managed to work together quickly and find a pace that was pleasing. It is also important that the Lazdijai rally is a new rally in the competition calendar”, said V. Žala.
The racer said that the Lazdijai region is particularly favorable for the classic rally, because in the SS’s you have to drive on fun gravel roads, and there is also no shortage of ascents and descents from springboards. Moreover, although the participants of the rally expected that some of the stages would be known to them from the previously organized Druskininkai Rally, V. Žala was happy that most of the special stages were completely new, which forced the teams to try harder. “In the new SS’s, you can no longer drive from memory, you have to follow the pacenotes and what the co-driver says, so the completely new speed courses brought even more intrigue. At the very beginning, I didn’t really trust the pacenotes I had, but after the first stage I calmed down, I realized that we can maintain the desired pace. Of course, it was necessary to get used to the new voice, but it didn’t last long either, and from the 3rd SS, Ivo and I were racing as a full-fledged duo – I was driving and Ivo was singing,” the racer said jokingly.
Fast stages and guaranteed kilometers
Although the team definitely did not lose to the rivals, the crew could not avoid a small mistake. The athlete said that he tried to experiment by changing the braking points, and as a result he missed one intersection, so the crew had to turn around in a wheat field. Nevertheless, despite the short adventure, V. Žala did not hide that this rally was really pleasing. “We managed to drive without major mistakes, only in one speed section we lost 10 seconds by overshooting a corner, but in general it went well. Here, perhaps, like riding a bicycle – once you learn it, the next time you only need to exercise your bones and you can run. On Friday, a slightly more technical part of the rally awaited us, and on Saturday, very fast tracks dominated, but also very fun and demanding in places. It left a very positive impression on the speed sections of the “7bet Gravel Fest Rally – Lazdijai”, it’s always fun for me when we can maintain a higher average speed”, V. Žala shared his thoughts.
The athlete said that every kilometer in the classic rally makes him happy, so he hopes that in the future there will be no longer such long breaks and that he will be able to start at least several stages of the Lithuanian rally championship every year.
73 participants from 6 countries started in the “Gravel Fest Rally” competition. This time, the organizers had prepared 12 special stages for the participants, during which the crews had to cover 102 kilometers at a sporty pace. The crew of V. Žalas and I. Pūkis was unbeatable in almost all SS’s and won the 1st place. Martynas Samsonas and Ervinas Snitkas took the second place, and Vladas Jurkevičius with Aisvydas Paliukėnas took the third place.
