History lessons at the Historic Car Rally

While the judges counted the results, the participants of the event, after covering an interesting route of 151 kilometers on the roads of three districts of Aukštaitija – Širvintos, Molėtai and Anykščiai, remembering the complex turning points of the country’s history, shared their impressions of the race live, as if the fatigue of the journey was not present at all.

History lessons at the Historic Car Rally

“If I didn’t like the historic car rallies organized by this organiser, I certainly wouldn’t participate in them for the fifth time,” said one of the favourites, Erdvilas Ališauskas, who had already won the previous similar rally, this time driving a 1979 Porsche 911 with his wife Rima, who was only three years younger. “Unlike other similar events, where owners of historic cars only display their four-wheelers parked on the lawn in an attempt to create a feast for spectators, here the celebration is created by allowing event participants to challenge themselves not only by performing special tasks, but also by competing on slalom courses and other events.”

According to the Erdvil crew, another exceptional value of these gatherings is the opportunity to learn about the region’s most picturesque areas and places of interest, not to mention the opportunity to sample culinary heritage dishes.

“Once was enough to make rallies of historic cars not only demand attention on the road or on special parking lots, but also make us more interested in the history of the country and the people who created it,” said Grigas Šukys, the debutant of the Radvili event, who, together with local resident Gytis Gineika, chose a ZAZ 968 M car that looked good, as if it was not weighed down by the weight of 31 years and had passed all the test

“This is the most interesting and fun place of all that I have seen and been to!”, as if a well-learned lesson was expressed by another rookie of the rally, its youngest participant, 10-year-old Viltė Majauskaitė, who, together with her father Arūnas, completed the entire route with the pride of the former Soviet army – in 1984. Production SUV UAZ 469.

“I am happy to know that you liked the event. It means that the work and efforts were not in vain. I sincerely thank all four dozen participants – veterans and rookies of the rally, hoping to see you again at our historic car rallies,” said Valdas Juozas Vilūnas, one of the main organizers, head of VšĮ “Saugus Ratas”.

At the end of the historic car rally, not only the good organization, but also the audience’s eye-catching historic cars and the enthusiasts who cherish them satisfied the audience.

The “true American” 1978 Ford Bronco with a 6.6 liter petrol engine, driven by Virginijus Narauskas and his daughter Ieva, made its rally debut.

“Looking at how and where you drive, 20 liters of gasoline per 100 km of road may not be the limit,” joked V. Narauskas, as if to scare the curious.

Tomas Alvydas Skėrys, Chairman of the Board of Directors of UAB Autotoja, together with his wife Aistra, drove a rare Toyota Crown car.

“In 1971, the Toyota company exported the first 100 cars of this model to Europe. Mine is one of them,” says TA Skärys.

Famous masters of sport Linas Vaitekūnas and Audrius Šoš surprised with a rare Opel Ascona B produced in 1977, father and son Valdas and Paulius Valiukevičiai from Vilnius with a Datsun 280Z one year younger, and Artūras and Evaldas Kirmons from Ute with a VW Kaefer.

Long-time participant in numerous rallies, judge of the country’s motor sports and veterans club “Startas”, Edvardas Zujus together with his wife Jolita drove an impressive 1986 “Mercedes Benz 560 SL”, the wheels of which are set in motion by a petrol engine with a displacement of 6 liters.

“However, the biggest attraction of historic rallies is not the impressive displacement or the power flowing from under the hood,” said Voldemars Aišporas, president of the “Ekipaž” club from Bizerze, which has an interesting collection of historic cars and motorcycles, but together with his son Ramūnas chose a VAZ 2101 for this rally.

Šiauliai Vytautas Kazeliūnas, a participant in four “Around Lithuania” rallies, two of which he won, drove a shiny new 1970 GAZ 21 Volga. At first glance, it seems like an insignificant exhibit, but his story is worth a small book.

The Volga is my and my father’s first car, the one I learned to drive and got my license for. For this reason I still feel great nostalgia for this brand,” says Vytautas.

However, the first Vytautas “Volga” has long been demolished. And this he bought from a former Soviet army officer, whom he brought from distant Afghanistan.

“This ‘Afghan’ immediately caught my attention in exceptionally good condition. I didn’t joke, I didn’t find the slightest grain during the restoration. This means youth without salt on the knees,” assures Vytautas, who, together with co-driver Raimondas Mikėnas, surprised us with an extremely high speed, unusual for this brand, already in the first slalom race, which took place at the Molėtai airport.

The spectators who came applauded L. Vaitiekūnas and A. Šoš, who won the fast slalom with the aforementioned “Opel Ascona”, which covered the distance in 42.90 seconds.

43.08 seconds time guaranteed second place to E. and R. Ališauskas with the Porsche 911, while third place was taken by Edgaras Latiškevičius and Paulius Balčyčius who skillfully drove a Ford Sierra (43.79 seconds).

The slalom was only the first event that aroused so many emotions.

The crews were still waiting for darts, two precision guidance and several additional events, which required not only ingenuity, but also additional knowledge about the past and present of the country and a specific region.

After summarizing the results of the historic car rally, the faces of Vidmantas Kažukauskas and Saulius Vilčinskas, driving the Mercedes Benz W123, shone with the widest smiles. The duo won not only the Youngtimer car class, but also the overall rally classification and the top prize: a set of the latest Bridgestone tyres.

Second place winners in the “Youngtimer” class were E. Latiškevičius and P. Balčyčius (Ford Sierra), ahead of brave debutants Gytis Gineikas and G. Šukis (ZAZ 968M), who to the surprise of many took third place.

Vējūnas Toleikis and Gediminas Girčius driving the Volvo 242L were recognized as the winners of the older, “Oldtimer” class, which was one step lower in the overall rally classification.

Surprisingly, the entire podium of Oldtimer winners was occupied only by Volvo cars. Rolandas and Aistė Masiulioniai (“Volvo 1800S”) took second place in this class and third place in the overall classification, while Andrius Dementavičius with Andrius Vaitekūnas (Volvo P1800) took third place.

Class winners and winners are rewarded with sets of Liqui Moly oils specially adapted for historic vehicles, special Autoparts covers and other prizes.

At the end of the rally of historic cars dedicated to the centenary of restored Lithuania, participants will not only be delighted by the experiences on the tracks, but also by broadening their horizons to learn more about the history of the country, by short hours of rest on the estates of Šešuolėliai, Alanta and Burbiškis and by tasting the unique Highland snacks, which can also be found in the menus of the former owners of these estates.