2022-07-01
"Aurum 1006 km powered by Hankook" will see the youngest team in its history
"JR Motorsport" team from the Netherlands that submitted the first foreign entry for the “Aurum 1006 km powered by Hankook” race in Palanga is registering another team.
A second team, will also start under the Dutch flag even the drivers, chosen by the JR Motorsport team manager Joost Ursem, are all from Lithuania.
It is no secret that the "BMW M4 Silhoutte", prepared by the Dutch masters, will be driven in Palanga by the talented Lithuanian drivers Rokas Baciuška, Justas Jonušis and Vilius Kibildis.
Before even hitting the track, this trio has become the youngest ever "Aurum 1006 km powered by Hankook" racing team.
The eldest, Rokas, will turn 23 in December, Justas recently celebrated his 20th birthday and the youngest, Vilius, is only 19.
But the three young drivers are not new to motorsport. The most notable professional driver, R. Baciuška, became the "European Rallycross Champion" in 2018, achieving something no other Lithuanian has ever done yet before.
This year, he again achieved an extraordinary feat, finishing third in his class for the first time and bringing the Bedouin trophy back to Lithuania from Dakar.
Justas has the most experience in long-distance races; this year's start in Palanga will be his fifth.
Although Justas has likely achieved the most impressive successes on the country's and many of Europe's most famous karting circuits, he has also successfully raced in the long-distance racing. He and his teammates have won the TCR class twice and finished second in the same class last year. His most significant achievement in "Aurum 1006 km powered by Hankook" is the third position in the overall standings in 2020 with the "NOKER racing team", whose drivers also drove a TCR class car.
Nineteen-year-old Vilius Kibildis also came to circuit racing from karting, where he started a bit late. Usually karting drivers starting in a very young age. Vilius started in the most powerful and challenging KZ2 class, where the most experienced competitors compete. Despite this, he has stood on the second and third steps of the podium.
Photos by Vytautas PILKAUSKAS and organisers