▷ The best driver of Lithuania 2018: Dominykas Danys

After passing 8 driving and theory competitions, Dominykas Danys was recognized as the best driver in Lithuania. He scored 166 points in the final and was 15 points ahead of runner-up Benediktas Bočkas. Kęstutis Pukas is third with 145 points, Tomas Benetis fourth (143), Deimintas Valiūnas (139) fifth and Edgaras Latiškevičius sixth.

Solveiga Dambrauskaitė won the title of best Lithuanian driver and Jokūbas Dargis the title of best young driver with up to 2 years of experience. This latest award is organized for the first time in the competition, and is already the second best driver title for Solveig.

“I feel the strongest in driving competitions, but today not everything went well here. The reaction test went well, but I didn’t feel the average speed. I tried everywhere not to make mistakes and the overall result shows that I succeeded,” said D. Danys from Vilnius, winner of the honorable title, for whom this is already the second such victory. He first became the best Lithuanian driver in 2014. In addition to numerous awards from event partners, he won an impressive prize – a start in 2019. Press Rally with an all-inclusive package. D. Danis will be provided with a Suzuki car, the rally entry fee, fuel and a professional navigator will be provided.

Various theoretical competitions

In total, the drivers had to pass 8 tests: 4 driving and 4 theory. The first theoretical task was a 10-question test about cars. This task is extremely difficult: it was necessary to demonstrate not only knowledge, but also intelligence, and some participants benefited from the experience gained in various brainstorming sessions. For example, it was necessary to choose from four options which car to put after Fiat Uno, Mazda2 and Tesla Model 3. The correct answer is Audi Quattro, because all models have the numbers 1, 2 and 3 in the name and Quattro means four. The best score in this event was only 7 correct answers and many participants answered 2 to 4.

Another theoretical exercise is the recognition of Blue Print details. At each selection stage, drivers tried to identify 7-9 parts of various car components: steering wheel, lubrication systems and suspension. In the final they had to select all the details of the three phases.

The third part of the theory tested drivers’ ability to recognize different liquids. Identical containers were filled with coolant, engine oil, diesel, winter windshield washer, Wolfs Engelman non-alcoholic beer, coffee and others – a total of 10. All drivers guessed where the beer and windshield washer fluid had been filled based on the smell and consistency of the liquid, and many were not mistaken in calling it coffee. However, almost four out of five participants made a mistake that later seemed strange to them: Neste used NEXBTL diesel produced from renewable sources with water. More than half of the participants thought that diesel fuel, which is colorless and has a slight odor, is the liquid that flows from the taps of every home. Here the girls performed well and S. Dambrauskaitė outperformed everyone – she even named 9 out of 10 liquids correctly.

In the last theoretical part, the reaction of the pilots was tested. Seeing different colors and hearing a sound, they had to make the right decision in the shortest possible time: press a certain button. This challenge proved extremely difficult for many and here D. Danys gave his best.

From off-road to moderate speed

There are also four practical driving events, the first of which is an off-road test in a SsangYong Rexton car. A special off-road route was prepared for the participants, which had to be covered as accurately and technically as possible, and each movement was evaluated by a judge sitting nearby. Not all participants managed to make friends with the difficult collapsed track: once even a tractor was needed to extract a stuck SUV.

A simple slalom track was prepared for the Suzuki Vitara, which had to be driven twice. The first – while writing an SMS message, the second – during normal driving, with both hands on the steering wheel. Competitors had a great opportunity to verify that distractions on the road reduce concentration and that driving with your phone in your hand is very difficult. This task is like an extension of the tasks in the selection stages: it aims to demonstrate that any action not related to driving is distracting and has nothing to do with road safety. This allows drivers to be more aware of the cost of such interference and perhaps to discipline people they know who do so.

The third practical task is a difficult slalom on slippery surfaces in a Suzuki Swift car. Vytautas Šakėnas, director of the labor market training center in Panevėžys, prepared a test marathon for the drivers, which not all of them passed. Here it was necessary to maneuver between the pylons, enter the garage on a slippery surface in reverse, and perform many other maneuvers that reveal driving skills. K. Puk performed better here.

In the final driving task, participants had to maintain a set speed of 35 km/h. speed when the car speedometer is covered. This task tested how well drivers could predict their speed without seeing the speedometer. Many coped with this task perfectly, and Laura Pliaugienė demonstrated exceptional accuracy: she lost only 0.3 km/h over a distance of several kilometers.

More than 1,000 people participated in the “Best Driver of Lithuania 2018” competition, and more than 200 people made it to the three selection stages at the Klaipėda, Panevėžys and Šiauliai racetracks.