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As the race weekend in Palanga approaches on July 15–18, more and more teams are submitting their entries. Among the participants are both newcomers and familiar faces that have become well known over the years. One of them is last year’s “Aurum 1006 km powered by Hankook” winning team, which will return with the same "Audi R8 LMS GT3 EVO II" and the same driver lineup as in 2025.

“I won’t lie—after winning last year, I had all kinds of thoughts. Of course, I wanted to race in Palanga again, but I considered whether I really needed to assemble my own team or if I should simply join another car...

In motorsport, the work of officials often remains behind the scenes, yet sometimes it is precisely their decisions that determine not only the course of a race, victory or defeat, but also multi-million expenses for teams. This year, such decisions at Formula 1 rounds are being made by Lithuanian Kipras Aleknavičius, who has received the highest-level FIA official’s licence – the Super Licence. And on 15–18 July, he will bring this experience to Palanga, where he will work at the “Aurum 1006 km powered by Hankook” race.

The first and only Lithuanian to receive the FIA Super Licence

“At first ...

During this year’s “Aurum 1006 km powered by Hankook” race weekend in Palanga, spectators will enjoy even more racing action, as the Mitjet Baltics 2026 series has been added to the event program. From July 15–18, fans will be able to watch practice sessions, qualifying, and two sprint races featuring identical French-built Mitjet 2L race cars.

The Palanga event will serve as the third round of the Mitjet Baltics championship. Prior to that, competitors will race in Riga and Kaunas, while the season finale will take place at the Pärnu circuit in Estonia. The opening round of this year’s champi...

Team-building events today are no longer limited to dinners at restaurants or a few activities in conference rooms. More and more companies are looking for experiences that naturally bring employees closer together – through emotions, shared decisions, and unexpected situations. That is exactly why the “Women’s Challenge” rally, sponsored by “OlyBet” and taking place during the “Aurum 1006 km Race” festival, attracts an increasing number of corporate teams every year.

On July 17, female crews will line up at the starting line in Palanga, with more than 80 teams already registered. Since the nu...

Over more than two decades, the “Aurum 1006 km powered by Hankook” race in Palanga has seen it all – from famous stage celebrities behind the wheel to a race-prepared VW Caddy tackling the endurance marathon.

However, this year spectators and competitors alike will witness something never seen before in the event’s long history.

The entry list now includes the “RTW – Ready to Win” team, where two out of three drivers have mobility impairments. Darius Kliaudaitis, well known from slalom and rally competitions, has a mobility disability, while Vaidas Šipaila walks with a prosthetic leg.

The team...

In mid-July, Palanga will once again become a hub of motorsport as the traditional “Aurum 1006 km powered by Hankook” race returns.

Alongside the action on the track, another beautiful tradition has taken shape: for nearly a decade, hundreds of women have been gathering to take part in an orienteering-style competition. This year, the OlyBet-supported “Women’s Challenge” will take place for the ninth time, as women’s crews from across Lithuania will cover more than one hundred kilometers on the roads of Western Lithuania while completing a variety of tasks.

A community born from the event

Orga...

The “Aurum 1006 km powered by Hankook” race in Palanga has long outgrown the boundaries of a national event. Over more than two and a half decades, this endurance marathon has become one of the most prominent motorsport events in the Baltic region, attracting not only Lithuania’s strongest teams but also competitors from abroad every year.

Over the years, the starting grid has featured drivers from the United Kingdom, Latvia, Estonia, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Belgium, Germany, Poland, and even more distant countries such as the United States and Australia. In 2012, drivers from the Republ...

Lithuania is still gripped by winter cold, but in racers’ garages cars are already being prepared for the upcoming season. The organizers of the “Aurum 1006 km powered by Hankook” race, which will take place for the 27th time on July 15–18, have announced several rule changes this year that will allow smaller teams to breathe a little easier and compete with a lower budget.

Small yet important changes

The updated supplementary regulations, technical requirements and sporting rules have already been published on the race’s official website. When reading the documents, a number of changes can be...

At the beginning of January the organizers announced the start of registration for the 27th endurance race in Palanga, and very soon the first team application arrived. The organizers of the “Aurum 1006 km powered by Hankook” race say that some things do not change for years and that is certainly pleasing, since the first team to submit an application to participate has been the same for many years.

Rimas Cesiulis, driver and leader of the “Antėja Racing Team”, says with a smile that it has become a certain habit: “Probably it’s a habit to be first since long ago. Previously, we weren’t alone ...

Back in early December, the race organizers, VšĮ “1000 km lenktynės,” announced that the biggest and most prominent endurance race in Palanga would take place on July 15–18 this year. Now, participant registration is officially open.

Starting today, January 7, teams are invited to submit their applications and secure the right to be among the first to choose more convenient spots during the race. Applications can be submitted through the organizers’ website: https://racing.lt/lt/1006km/registracija

“We truly want to see as many competing teams as possible in the race, and the level of motorspo...