Adrenaline roller coaster in DeWALT Grand Prix: a weekend where everything kept changing
One of the most stressful race weekends took place in Riga, where guests from Poland complemented the race series with numerous (and very strong) forces. Over 150 participants have gathered for this second event of the Baltic championship and races kept changing each other. It was a full day full of everything and actually reminded of a roller coaster: everything that could change changed – from the weather to the condition of the track or, finally, the results, when all the penalties were collected by the participants. The ‘DeWALT Grand Prix 2025’ was indeed full of dynamics – predicting what to expect seemed practically impossible.
The first guests for their starts were greeted on Grid Friday – those where guests from Poland competing in the ‘BMW 318is’ and ‘BMW 325is’ series were the first to test their cold nerves. They were followed by the participants of the traditionally large number of participants – of course, the drama series “ABC Race” and “V1600”, who were also replaced on the track by a large contingent of Lithuanian athletes competing in the “BTC1”, “BTC2” and BTC3 classifications. Those guys in the starting grid were supplemented by Polish guys, too. And after all this big number of racers, the eye-catching GT technique has lined up in on a grid, preparing for the first start.
True, Friday also gathered its own victims: Icelandic athlete Jón Pálmason racing in “BMW Turbo Cup” series involuntarily withdrew from the race after a painful incident on the track: the car simply had to be cut in half. Friday was also unsuccessful for Aivaras Remeika and Paulius Urbonavičius: due to a breakdown, A. Remeika’s car simply stopped on the track and P. Urbonavičius was the unfortunate one who showed up immediately after him: everything ended in a rather painful accident and both athletes did not start anymore.
Saturday promised a minimum amount of consistency from the very morning. The athletes, who had three runs during this stage, had to use an affective strategy for their tires, look at their tactics and expect a fun and safe race. Unfortunately, neither red flags nor the finish rolling behind the safety car were avoided.
The long Saturday began with the battles of the “ABC Race” and “V1600” technique, where Polish athletes also filled the spaces on the grid. The second race of Saturday was really unsuccessful for the participants of this group – just a couple of laps before the finish, after a big accident, the race ended with a red flag: it was quite difficult to calculate how many times Sandis Laube and his Toyota have rolled. As all the numbers kicked in, the results were calculated Janis Straupe took a third place among “V1600”. Second place was taken by Nauris Agafanovs and Mareks Matvejevs took a victory among those guys. „PRO“ group runs were victorious to Arturs Danilevskis followed by Roberts Ozolins and Kristers Salins. Among rookies, Rihards Zemnickis was the fastest here, keeping Andris Misins on the 2nd step of the podium and Arturs Locs on the 3rd.
Immediately after them, Lithuanian battles boiled over in their lineup in “BTC” groups: Tomas Jatkevičius and Artūras Kliobavičius grabbed everyone’s attention from the start of the race to the finish during both Saturday’s races. Although it seemed quite calm among other classes in other standings, it was quite far from the truth. The athletes actually got to sweat a lot to finally figure out which one was faster. After the race, the smiles on the faces of the participants did not fade: this time Tomas Jatkevičius, who had problems with the gearbox, managed to cross the finish line being in a first position, leaving Artūras Kliobavičius in second place among “BTC3” standings, and Arvis Putnins took the third place here.
In “BTC2” class, Kairo Kallas has been dominating since the start, leaving no chance for Lithuanians Kristupas Šablinskas and Tadas Petukauskas, who fought each other. Finally, Kristupas took the second place, Tadas finished third, and Orestas Burgaila, who showed excellent pace, won the fourth. Really interesting battles were brewing among the participants of the “BTC1” classification: Tomas Buškevičius triumphed here, leaving Valdis Kikusts on the second step of the podium, and Maris Bulans on the third.
Those guys were followed by the powerful “GT” cars lined up on the track and their start was not successful – after one lap a red flag appeared on the track: apparently, Rolandas Salys was pushed out of the track and this ended in damaging the car, so all participants were forced to restart. However, the race itself did not disappoint: Arturs Bartraks, who races on his home track, struggled with technical whims for the second day in a row and the result was not quite what he expected. Julius Adomavičius, driving at the front of the line-up, felt the calmest with a Mercedes Benz. 15-year-old professional racer Tomas Rudokas also performed very boldly with a Porsche car, winning the second place in the class and climbing the podium together with in the “BGT PRO” classification. Third place was taken by Martins Lukstins. Rokas Kvedaras, who drove calmly and carefully, triumphed in the “BGT AM” standings, Arturs Simins climbed the second step of the podium, and the third in the standings after all the points for all the runs were calculated was taken by Rolandas Salys, who has managed to return to the race. Meanwhile, Romet Reisin took the victory in the “BGT AM+” standings, leaving the second place to Egidijus Gelūnas with Ginetta and the third to duo of Egidijus Gutaravičius and Maserati. In Polish series class “GT3 Cup by Porsche”, the victory was taken by Jan Antoszewski, followed by Artur Paziewski and Amuno Pelette.
Next on the track is the line-up of 18 “BMW 325 Cup” participants with countless unknowns. Both runs were different and the names of happy athletes with victory in their hands have changed. This season’s championship leader Aurimas Mištautas even did not try to hide his indignation over the weekend: his technique seemed to protest and technical problems kept interfering with his desire to bring home the second victory in a row. The athlete was not able to show full potential and had to satisfy with some very important championship points. Among all participants, Matiss Malinovskis celebrated the victory, managing to simply escape from all the drama during the race – it seemed that he was driving alone. The second place went to Janis Horeliks, third to Darius Gaidulionis.
Darius Gaidulionis’ performance in both, the overall and the Masters standings attracted attention: he really became the epicentre of all races. Darius won the third place overall and the second place in his standings, leaving only Janis Horeliks ahead. Karolis Wyka did not manage to overtake Darius in any way and remained in third place. The rookie group – newcomers – was dominated by Arturs Danilevskis, the second place was won by the guest from Poland Szymon Goska, and the third step of the podium was climbed by Laimonas Starkevičius.
The “BMW 325 Cup” forces on the track were replaced by the “BMW Turbo Cup” participants: even though the number of participants was quite smaller and it seemed as less drama, it was really nice to see these good looking cars on the track. The first place was confidently taken by Mantas Jasiulevičius, who was happy to see his teammate Algirdas Gelžinis crossing the finish line right next to him. The third place was won by Artyom Koclamazasvili. It was the last sprint series on the track and 34 teams were lining up in a straight for their start.
The Mercedes Benz AMG GT3 EVO, represented by Polish guys which faced technical problems, did not appear in a pole position for the line-up, so the Radical SR10, which started from second place, had to dictate the pace of the race. Immediately behind him was the Lithuanians with Mercedes Benz, which demonstrated excellent race pace and very quickly took over the leading position, with Julius Adomavičius at the wheel. Next to them – the black shadow of Lamborghini with Arturs Bartraks behind the wheel. The short rain before the race shuffled everyone’s cards and it all started with a red flag and a restart. Finally, when the track dried up, the first half of the race seemed to go smoothly, but after the mandatory pit stop and the change of participants, the pace of the race was slowed down: on the second lap after the start, there was a major accident between “ES AMG Customer Racing” team with Karolis Stasiukynas behind the wheel and the Polish duo with Radical. Finally, the pouring rain mixed up the cards even more and a couple of other crews withdrew from the competition – some due to technical problems, and others due to slippery track. Finally, those who managed to cross the finish line in good health did not hide their joy: among them was “Flash Racing Latvia” team with Lamborghini: they took the victory in two classifications – “BGT PRO” and the Polish championship “D4 + 3500”. “Baltic Karting Academy” triumphed in the “BGT AM” standings, while “Porsche Latvia Racing Team” was happy with the victory in “BGT AM+”, leaving Egidijus Gelūnas – “REIMPEX by GSR” – on the second step of the podium. In the “BTC3” standings, “RS Racing Team” was really happy with a result, the second place went to “Dvaras Racing”, and the third place was taken by the “NSM Racing 1” team. Ramūnas Čapkauskas, who started at the back of the grid and managed to reach the podium in the “D4 3500” standings, also performed well. Even though he had run out of fuel, the podium was reached. In the “GT3 Cup” standings, it was also possible to meet a Lithuanian on the podium – Darius Gaucius, who climbed the second place step. Tomasz Lach has snatched the victory.
Faster cars were replaced by another group of endurance race participants: another 24 teams were excited about their start. Unfortunately, the ride was not remarkably successful for them. It seems that during the long day of racing, the tired technique began to show whims and some teams already faced technical problems from the start. At the middle of the race, the “Osmo Racing Team by Baltic Maintenance” Honda car caught fire on the track and left an infinitely long oil streak behind it and a safety car rolled to the front of the line-up. And that is how the big racing day has ended – rolling right behind the safety car. Watching the results, the representatives of the teams did not hide their joy, unfortunately, all the cards were shuffled by the penalties received by practically all participants during the “FCY” phase and the final results looked quite differently.
After adding up all the points and summing up the penalty seconds, the victory in the “ABC Race” group was celebrated by the “Portmann Racing” team, and the second place went to “JV Racing”. The “VipTuning Team” from Latvia triumphed in the “BMW Turbo” standings, while “Binny Racing” with the only athlete from Iceland climbed the second step of the podium. In the large “BMW 325 Cup” group, “LIK Racing Devision by KTK” was sincerely happy with the victory with the girls’ duo behind the wheel: here the team was represented by Emilija Ulvydaitė and Patricija Varžaitė. “Baltic Motorsport Promotion”, the newcomers to the series from Latvia, climbed the second step of the podium, while the third was taken by “Degviela Motorsport”. The fastest “BTC1” team was the Estonian “ACAP Racing by Joujaam”, and the “BTC2” victory was celebrated by practically the same team: the first place was won by “Autokaslita” and the second by “Autokaslita Ladies”. In the Polish “RN 2” classification, the victory was won by Marcin Miziak, the second place went to Radoslaw Kierznowski, and the third place went to Antonis Derebeckis.
The next event of the Baltic States Championship will invite you to gather at the Porsche Ring in Pärnu, Estonia, in a month’s time. The results of the season and the galleries of photos and footage are available on the organizers’ website batcc.eu.
