Karting Championship Winners to Be Decided in the Final Race of the Season

Competitors in the Lithuanian Karting Championship battled for points in the penultimate, fourth round of the season at the legendary Plytinė Karting Track in Vilnius. The venue also hosted Round 4 of the Baltic Karting Academy Cup. The track, which will celebrate its 60th anniversary next year, put both the youngest drivers in the “Baby” class and experienced competitors racing historic machinery in the “Retro” categories to the test — some of whom began their racing careers at Plytinė itself.

Although this year’s championship has not stood out for particularly large grids, there was certainly no shortage of high-quality and exciting racing. For example, in the “Briggs Junior” qualifying session, the results of as many as 10 drivers were separated by just 0.573 seconds. Meanwhile, in the second points-scoring race of the “Briggs Mini” category, the best lap times of the leading drivers differed by only one thousandth of a second. With fewer rounds remaining before the end of the season, the battles continued right up to the final corners — sometimes with contact proving unavoidable.

In the Lithuanian Championship “Micro” category, Ąžuolas Kasperavičius (“Dream 2 Drive”) claimed victory ahead of his teammate Benediktas Gražys. The Lithuanian champion will be decided between these two drivers in the final race of the season, as the points gap remains small enough to give both a realistic chance of taking the title.

The “Mini” final featured two exciting battles between talented young drivers. Gordey Dulev and Aras Paskalis Bagatyrius fought for the lead, while Bernardas Anusauskas and Leonas Žarikov battled for third place. However, with two corners remaining, race leader G. Dulev was unable to avoid contact and eventually finished fourth. A. P. Bagatyrius (“Dream 2 Drive”) took the victory, followed across the finish line by B. Anusauskas and L. Žarikov. These four drivers currently occupy the top positions in the championship standings and are the strongest contenders for medals — although only three places are available on the podium.

The largest category, OK-NJ, promised an intriguing battle, but much of the suspense disappeared on the opening lap when two serious podium contenders were forced to retire following an accident. Championship leader Emilis Juozaitis (“NSL Racing”) won the round, finishing ahead of Gustas Radavičius and Aronas Rimkus (both representing “Baltic Karting Academy PRO”).

In the OK-N category, Matas Balčius (“SJMotorsport”) crossed the finish line first. Andrius Muckus (“Paške Racing”) won the “KZ2 Masters” category, while Nemunas Volbekas (“Paške Racing”) took victory in KZ2.

The “Baltic Karting Academy” Cup “Briggs Junior” final was stopped following a multi-kart accident. An exciting battle had been expected in the largest class, but when the race was eventually restarted, only four of the ten competitors reached the finish. Jokūbas Kaminskas claimed victory, Vėjas Buchincevas finished second, and Igor Labutin took third place.

Kipras Valiulis won the “Briggs Master” race, with Kristijonas Survila finishing second and Meda Mickeliūnaitė taking third.

In the “Briggs Mini” final, the closest battle was between brothers Kajus and Leonardas Žukas. This time Kajus crossed the finish line first, Leonardas finished second, while Domantas Gylys completed the podium in third place.

As usual, the “Retro” category races proved highly unpredictable. In the “Retro 100” class, Robertas Kupčikas led for two-thirds of the final but was forced to retire due to technical problems. Victory went to Tadas Vaitkevičius (“ARTkart”), who had shown remarkable consistency throughout Saturday. Mindaugas Samušis (“SR Autosportas”) finished second, while Arnedas Dovydaitis (“Paške Retro”) took third.

The winner of the “Retro M-125” category was decided by just 0.128 seconds. Saulius Antanaitis (“Motorsport LT”) claimed first place, narrowly beating his teammate Virgaudas Viliūšis, while Naglis Juodpalis (“Paške Retro”) finished third.

In the “Retro ČZ” final, Gediminas Udras (“ARTkart”) proved untouchable. Vladas Germanavičius (“Paške Retro”) finished second, while Remigijus Linortas (“NSL Racing”) crossed the line in third.

The fifth and final round of the Lithuanian Karting Championship will take place at the Anykščiai Karting Track on September 12.

Photo gallery: kartingas.lt/media/