“You need to have that passion!”
CREW FACTS
G.P.
- Gintas Petrus is one of the most experienced drivers from Lithuania, a country that is passionate about rally-raid and the Dakar. Now 59 years old, Gintas made a pioneering debut at Dakar 2002, becoming just the second Lithuanian driver to complete the rally alongside Viktoras Kastelionis, in a basic Toyota Land Cruiser. He took part again in 2003 and 2007, then returned in 2020 when the Dakar switched to Saudi Arabia.
- Gintas helped to pave the way for a host of talented Lithuanian drivers who have starred at the Dakar in recent years. In 2025 there will be four of them in the Ultimate class: Gintas, Benediktas Vanagas, Rokas Baciuska and Vladas Jurkevicius- while Vaidotas Zala switches to the trucks.
- Gintas has done all five editions in Saudi Arabia in a two-wheel drive Optimus buggy, prepared by French manufacturer MD Rallye Sport. At Dakar 2024, he took his best overall result to date (28th) with co-driver José Marques, and he hopes to do even better in 2025.
- Gintas originally planned to do Dakar 2025 with Laisvydas Kancius, a former W2RC champion in the quads. However, Laisvydas was forced to pull out with illness, instead recommending his friend Darius Leskauskas as a replacement co-driver.
D.L.
- Darius Leskauskas has been working as a co-driver since 2015, having started out at domestic offroad events in Lithuania. In 2018 he teamed up with Vaidotas Paskevicius in a car and guided him to victory in the national rally-raid championship, a feat he repeated with Merkys Saukevicius in 2019.
- In 2021 he competed in the Open SSVs at the Rallye du Maroc with Tomas Mickus, and they returned to win that class in 2023. The duo has also finished on the podium of the Fenix Rally in Tunisia.
- Dakar 2025 will see Darius compete with Gintas for the very first time, as he only replaced Laisvydas in November.
- Darius has set up an online blog for co-drivers on Facebook, called Sturmanas (Lithuanian for 'co-driver'), where he shares stories and tips from a co-driver's perspective. With his team BroRacing, he also runs training sessions for rally-raid beginners. As he explains: “Most Lithuanian Dakar participants drive with outsourced navigators, but I wanted to prove local guys can also reach that level!”
2025 AMBITIONS
G.P.: “I'm looking forward to the annual gala event that is Dakar! Unfortunately, Laisvydas couldn't come in the end, so I had to change co-driver. Laisvydas knew Darius personally, and I've met him on a few occasions. It's hard to start from scratch at the Dakar, you need to do some smaller rallies first. Darius did some co-driving with some of my old friends at local competitions in Lithuania, then moved onto SSVs and gained some experience in Europe and Africa. He's quite eager to go to Dakar and the motivation is a very big factor. If somebody has eyes that light up when you mention Dakar, it's a good sign. You need to have that passion! If someone is very experienced but they say, 'I have to think about it', then I wouldn't go with them. Darius is a younger guy and works as an IT professional, so he's also familiar with the electronic roadbook. I think he will do well at the Dakar. We'll see after January if we want to continue together, but I usually do no more than two races a year. I can't take more time away from my family, otherwise I get in trouble! The cars are getting more capable every year, so you have to keep up. I've already talked to the MD Optimus guys about upgrading. They have a new EVO 5 which I've got my eye on, maybe for Dakar 2026. For Dakar 2025 we will have the same car as last year, with some improvements. We've tried to fix a few issues. There are lots of two-wheel drive Optimus buggies like ours competing this year, I've counted 13. So, there will be a bit of internal competition between our crews! We did well to come 28th in 2024 but it's not like we did a perfect job. There's always room for improvement...”
D.L.: “I had absolutely nothing to do with motorsport until 2015, when I started participating in various adventure-type offroad events as a navigator. In 2018 I replied to a Facebook post from Vaidotas Paskevicius, who was looking for a co-driver to take part in the Lithuanian Rally-Raid Championship. We had one test session, which wasn't very good, but during the season we did a great job and became champions! Since then, I've done various rally-raid events in Lithuania, Poland, Spain, Morocco and Tunisia, with five different drivers. I know the Dakar is the most difficult race of all, but with 40+ starts in my pocket I feel ready for it! The Dakar has long been one of my dreams. That's why I started my career as a co-driver nine years ago. I'm finally here! I can remember watching the Dakar on TV when I was five years old, so I've been following it for 30 years. Gintas is a Dakar legend in Lithuania, so I've known who he is for a long time. We only actually met 50 days before the start of Dakar 2025. He was looking for a new co-driver, because Laisvydas Kancius had to pull out because of health issues. So, the Dakar will be the first time we race together. It will be a 10th Dakar for Gintas and the first for me. Hopefully we will both have a great time and a memorable adventure as a new team.”
