2025-07-17
Palanga Roared with Race Cars on Thursday – Super Sprint Opened the Race Weekend
On Thursday, July 17th, the first sounds of race cars filled Palanga as the traditional team presentation and Super Sprint races took place on Vytauto Street. Sixteen teams competed for the first victory of the year. Though the sun stayed behind the clouds, crowds of locals and city guests gathered to see the race cars up close and meet the teams.
Everyone Aiming for Their Own Victory
The 26th edition of the race was officially opened by Palanga Mayor Šarūnas Vaitkus and the main organizer of Aurum 1006 km powered by Hankook, Darius Jonušis. He thanked both the racers and the fans gathered in the heart of Palanga, who have kept the tradition alive for over two decades.
Although only 16 teams lined up at the start this year, the consensus was clear – the car lineup was worthy of the world stage: seven Porsches, three Audis, two BMWs, one Lamborghini, and one Mercedes-Benz. Also crossing the start line was the already legendary red Lada, and perhaps the most attention-grabbing vehicle of all – a rarely seen body type in racing – the Volkswagen Caddy.
One of the Caddy team drivers, Kristupas Šablinskas, competing in the Aurum 1006 km race for the first time, shared his upbeat mood before the start: “Our spirits are just like our race car – cheerful. We’re here not to win the race but to win the hearts of the spectators!”
Notably, Porsche’s dominance is no coincidence – in 15 of the 25 previous races, the winning teams were racing in Porsche cars.
Aurelijus Rusteika, head of one of the Porsche teams RIMO & LKU by EQUPAY.CH, said they came with one goal: “We’re here to win and will do everything to make it happen. The GT3 isn’t the fastest car on the track, so strategy will be key. Rain could also play to our advantage.”
One of the team’s drivers, Benjamin Barker from the UK, was happy to be back racing in Palanga for the third time and even called the 1006 km challenge “the Lithuanian Le Mans.”
As the teams presented themselves, motorsport fans gathered around the still-shiny, colorful race cars and had the chance to cool off with ice cream from event sponsor Aurum and non-alcoholic drinks from Volfas-Engelman Ice Non-Alco.
As in previous years, all teams will race on Hankook tires. This uniformity was temporarily lifted two years ago after an incident affected Hankook’s production, but has since been reinstated.
Event organizer D. Jonušis emphasized that using the same tires levels the playing field and adds even more intrigue for both racers and spectators. With unpredictable weather in the forecast, tire compound choices will play a big role in the outcome and may give team strategists some headaches.
First Trophies Awarded
Following the team presentation, Vytauto Street briefly transformed into a race track for the traditional Volfas-Engelman Ice Non-Alco Super Sprint competition. In this challenge, drivers had to complete a roughly 50-meter sprint and come to a full stop at the end of the straight.
The fastest team in this year’s challenge was Baltic Karting Academy with their Porsche Cayman Clubsport. Driver Vilius Reškevičius completed the sprint in just 5.82 seconds. In second place was Dovilas Čiutelė in a Lada 2104, finishing only 0.21 seconds behind with a time of 6.03. Third place went to the Bio-Circle & HSG by SWAG team with an Audi R8 LMS GT3 EVO II, where Karolis Jovaiša completed the task in 6.43 seconds.
Later in the afternoon, the action moved to the temporary race village and main Aurum 1006 km Race track. Members of the Porsche Club Lithuania held practice runs, drag race participants began their qualifying rounds, and racers set to compete for the main trophy on Saturday started their first practice sessions.
Photos by Vytautas Pilkauskas and Andrius Laucius