2026-07-18
Aurum 1006 km winners crowned after a battle that tasted until the final lap
The 27th edition of the Aurum 1006 km powered by Hankook race turned into one of the wettest in the event's history, with teams taking both the start and the chequered flag on wet-weather tyres. Although almost every crew reached the finish, the drama began almost immediately when last year's champions, who had started from pole position, were forced to return to the pits on the opening lap and continue the race from the back of the field.
After 8 hours, 41 minutes and 57.8 seconds of racing, the RIMO Adero & LKU.LT team completed all 373 laps to claim overall victory. Managed by Ignas Abečiūnas, the team's Porsche GT3 Cup was driven to the win by Mantas Janavičius, Marius Bartkus and Benjamin Barker.
After the finish, Mantas Janavičius admitted it was difficult to fully realise what the team had achieved.
"Right now it's still hard to believe. Every one of us dreams of winning, but it feels so far away that reaching it takes an enormous amount of work. Many things happened during the race, but we were the ones who managed to take advantage of the circumstances. The car was reliable while others encountered problems. Four years of consistent work towards this goal, and now we've finally achieved P1."
Second overall, after completing 371 laps, was the RINVEST by Juta Racing team. Simas Juodviršis, Jonas Karklys, Leonardas Diržys and Oskaras Naujokaitis shared driving duties in the Audi R8 LMS GT3 Evo II under the leadership of Haris Aleksandravičius.
After crossing the finish line, Simas Juodviršis reflected on the result:
"I feel I gave absolutely everything for the team, so I'm genuinely happy. Of course, second place isn't exactly what you want because everyone wants to win, but that's racing. We'll come back stronger next time."
Third overall went to Porsche Lietuva Racing. The No. 91 crew of Robertas Kupčikas, Tautvydas Rudokas and Audrius Piktys, managed by Edvardas Grabliauskas, completed the podium.
After the race, event organiser Darius Jonušis described the successful and safe running of the event as a major victory for the organisers as well.
"We stood together at the finish line watching the drivers celebrate, and we realised that in many ways we had won an even bigger victory ourselves. Being an organiser means constantly walking a fine line and dealing with countless responsibilities, so it's incredibly rewarding when everything comes together. The race ended exactly as we always hope it will.
"The competition was fantastic and once again proved that nothing comes easily here. More than one team has said after the finish: 'Finally.' Nobody wins this race on their first attempt."
Class Winners
GT3
The GT3 category was won by RINVEST by Juta Racing after completing 371 laps.
Second in class were last year's champions, Bio-Circle & HSG by SWAG. Managed by Mindaugas Valiūnas, the Audi R8 LMS GT3 EVO II was driven by Mantas Matukaitis, Karolis Jovaiša and Egidijus Gražys, completing 362 laps.
Third place went to Energija by RD Signs Racing.
Their Lamborghini Huracán GT3 was the only car that failed to reach the finish after a heavy accident on lap 123 while leading the race overall. The team was managed by Eugenijus Andrulis, with Paulius Paškevičius and Šarūnas Vaškelis sharing driving duties.
GT Open
Overall winners RIMO Adero & LKU.LT also claimed victory in the GT Open category.
Second place went to Porsche Lietuva Racing.
Third in class was LIK Racing by KTK. The team's Porsche 992.1 was driven by Povilas Bonkevičius, Laimonas Starkevičius, Julius Kiršis and Romet Reisin under the management of Tomas Liutkus.
GT4
Baltic Karting Academy won the GT4 category after completing 328 laps.
The winning line-up consisted of Vilius Reškevičius, Saulius Jonaitis and Vidas Samuolis, managed by Giedrius Reškevičius.
Second place went to DHR Racing, with Drew Holland and Mick Holland driving under team manager Andris Kalkis.
Third place was claimed by BMW KESTAUTO–TELŠIŲ STATYBA after 312 laps. The team was managed by Andrius Ramanauskas, with Kęstutis Ikanevičius, Mindaugas Rudys, Eugenijus Misiūris and Marius Galdikas behind the wheel.
TC4
The largest class on the grid saw a clean sweep for BMW G20 Turbo Cup cars.
Anjesė by Route67 claimed victory after completing 317 laps. Aurimas Mištautas, Darius Gaidulionis and Gediminas Bilinskas shared the driving, with Indrė Senkutė serving as team manager.
Contribee.com Racing finished second with Markas Šilkūnas, Vanesa Šilkūnaitė and Tomas Rudokas driving under the leadership of Dominykas Graudinis.
Third place went to LIK Racing by Delphi. The crew featured Emilija Ulvydaitė, Tadas Kaminskas, Arnoldas Pukys and Matas Valiulis, managed by Jonas Ramanauskas.
SP3
ConnectPay-BMW Kestauto Powered by Sonax won the SP3 class after completing 337 laps.
The winning crew consisted of Max Tubben, Kelvin Ursem, Justas Jonušis and Dovidas Najus under the management of Joost Ursem.
Second place went to KADO AUTO – EGPX.LT. Egidijus Gutaravičius and Tomas Jatkevičius completed 298 laps under the leadership of Jolita Gutaravičienė.
Third place was secured by STATOMENAS by KAUNO ASK. Team manager Vaidas Morkūnas oversaw a driver line-up of Dovilas Čiutelė, Paulius Novakas, Maksim Avdejenkov, Tadas Jonaitis and Tomas Baranauskas.
Fastest Lap
For the second consecutive year, Karolis Jovaiša received the Fastest Lap trophy. He set the quickest lap of the race on lap 280, recording a time of 1:06.794.
Photos: Vytautas Pilkauskas and Andrius Laucius.