“Stateta BRO Grand Prix” just heated the Nemunring!
A rainy Sunday in Kačerginė attracted not only a large number of spectators, but also countless sports incidents, powerful and diverse techniques and adrenaline-pumping battles on the track. Naturally, changeable weather puts a foot in the door not only when it comes to strategizing which tyres to use. In addition, the weather especially determines the pace of the race and the intensity of the fights: this is exactly what happened during the first stage of the Baltic Touring Car Championship.
The opening event of the “Stateta BRO Grand Prix” – the opening event of the championship season became a real car and motorcycle fiesta for all petrol heads and those who sympathize with them: it was possible to see motorcycles specially prepared for sport, SUVs found in off-road competitions or an electrically powered Škoda car prepared for cross-country competitions and, of course, a McLaren car that caught everyone’s eye. The event was furnished with 26 Porsche cars and parade rides of drifting European champion Benediktas Čirba: so for all motorsport enthusiasts, the lunch break did not even have time to extend. The Nemunas Ring track has truly become a Mecca for auto and moto sports for the weekend.
The changeable weather also impacted the mood of the participants in the paddock, and the races listing one after other non-stop became more and more interesting and it was difficult to predict what to expect.
The morning started with the qualifying runs of the participants of the 2-hour race, which were replaced by the first ABC Race and V1600 races. As always, very nice to watch races filled with drama and battles mixed with crashes. In ABC Race PRO group, the best performance was done by Arturs Danilevskis, as the 2nd place belongs to Roberts Ozolins. Among rookie racers, the Arturs Locs proved being a really fast driver, as Karlis Skirmanis was not able to catch him. Sandis Laube took the 3rd place this time. It was quite a run for V1600 racers: both, fun to watch and ride. Mareks Matvejevs did not give any opportunities to others and kept victory to himself, followed by Nauris Agafanovs and Viesturs Ozols.
After these charming little ones, BTC1, BTC2, BTC3 lined up on the track, fighting for victory in the standings. There were 15 cars in the starting line-up and after intense battles during the first race, Lelde Jukama was the fastest in the BTC 1 standings, leaving behind both Valdis Kikusts and Lithuanian Tomas Buškevičius. In the BTC 2 standings, after the first race, Kairo Kallas was happy with the leader’s place, leaving behind the Lithuanian duo – Agnius Narbutas and Kristupas Šablinskas. In the BTC 3 standings, the first race was won by Atis Veismanis, who managed to overtake Tomas Jatkevičius and Artūras Kliobavičius. After an intense and fun second race, the victory in the BTC 1 classification went to Tomas Buškevičius, Valdis Kikusts remained in second place, and Lelde Jukama in third place. In the BTC 2 standings, K. Kallas retained the leader’s place, while K. Šablinskas swapped places with A. Narbutas and climbed the second step of the podium. In the BTC 3 standings, the trio did not change during the second race either.
After them, a real drama boiled over on the track: of course, what else to expect, as 20 participants of the BMW 325 Cup series appeared on the track. Both, the first and second races were really intense and there was no shortage of action not only for the athletes on the track or the spectators watching them, but also for the decision-making judges. Sports incidents simply changed each other. During the first race, the qualification leader Leo Messinger was inferior to Aurimas Mištautas, who knows the nuances of the Nemunas Ring, and in all classes the results of the participants were separated by only a few fractions of a second. Although Leo won in the second run, there were not enough points, and A. Mištautas won the highest place on the podium, leaving L. Messinger and Povilas Bonkevičius behind him in the PRO standings. In the Rookie group, Ragnar Simuland was happy with the first victory of the season, Erika Arkušauskaitė climbed the second step of the podium, leaving Erikas Stefanovich in third place. In the Masters group, the third place was won by Girts Daugavins, the second place was won by Darius Gaidulionis, and Karol Wyka climbed the highest step of the podium.
The BMW Turbo Cup standings, which debuted at the event, also attracted special attention: although there were fewer cars competing here – only 7 – there was no shortage of intrigue, incidents and eye-catching sporting moments. After the first run, the leading position belonged to Algirdas Gelžinis, but in the second race the victory was won by Arturs Sarma. Finally, after summing up the results, A. Sarma became the winner of the stage, A. Gelžinis remained in second place, and Artjoms Koclamazasvili, who competed in an exceptionally bright BMW, climbed the third step of the podium.
The GT crew that decorated the event did not disappoint anyone. Unfortunately, Egidijus Gelūnas withdrew from the race early – a badly damaged car did not allow him to continue fighting. The first stage in the BGT AM standings was successful for Paulius Urbonavičius with the eye-catching GInetta. He left Vidas Samuolis behind, and Rolandas Salys, who discovered the Nemunas Ring after a long break, climbed the third step again. The tandem of 15-year-old athlete Tomas Rudokas and Porsche, who showed impressive pace, won the BGT PRO classification. This young man left Gediminas Bakšys in the second place, and Ramūnas Čapkauskas in the third.
We had even 17 teams competing in the 2-hour race, which promised the most drama and became probably the smoothest! And after two hours of fun on the track, where the rain was already starting to change and the sun was already changing, the “Stateta BRO Grand Prix” event ended with the first awards of this series. In BTC 1, the best was the “LDV Racing Team”, while in the ABC Race group, “JV Racing” remained in second place, giving up “Portmann Racing” the lead.
In the BTC 2 standings, the victory was snatched by “Osmo Racing Team by Baltic Maintenance”, in second place – by “Autokaslita” team, which left “Autokaslita Ladies” behind. Among the BTC 3 participants, the fastest was the “Reinup Motorsport” team, the “RS Racing Team” remained in second place, and the third step of the podium went to “Dvaras racing”. The “Rode Racing” team became the sole leader in the BMW Turbo standings, and the BMW 325 Cup group was dominated by very heated battles. Finally, the “RS Motorsport Jurmala” team secured the victory here, leaving behind “Dream 2 Drive” and “Daugavins Racing”. In the most powerful technique BTC 4 classification, the “Baltic Karting Academy” team was also happy with the victory, overtaking another Lithuanian
