“It is important for me to come back and defend my crown”

Lithuanian is Dakar mad so even if most people are into the cars, Arunas Gelazninkas still has a good following in his home country. Having already finished twice in the bike class to become the most successful Lithuanian in the category, for 2021 he set himself the challenge of entering the Original by Motul class, what used to be known as the Malle Moto category for riders competing without assistance. It means that every evening when you arrive at the bivouac, instead of having something to eat and maybe a massage from the team physio while someone fixes your bike, you have to do your own servicing, put up your own tent up, go and get your own dinner… you get the picture. People often compare it to climbing Everest without oxygen or sailing around the world singlehanded -hard men only need apply. And much to his delight not only did Arunas finish he actually won his class. If you look at his results throughout the 2021 edition some of his success must be down to his almost metronomic regularity. He finished his first stage in 42nd position and his last in 21st and his ascent of the rankings is impressively linear. But you can no longer win Malle Moto just by being consistent. Every year the category becomes even more competitive, with a hard core of Original by Motul specialists turning out on an annual basis to try and take that coveted top spot. To achieve class victory on your first outing is quite an achievement.

“The Dakar is always hard but definitely a little bit harder in the Malle Moto class. The effort it demands is maybe 25 / 30 % more than if you have assistance so you have to be fit and focused. You also don’t want to have any problems. Fortunately, I only had one crash in the dunes and no technical issues with my bike -just daily maintenance, air filter and oil changes and then a big service on the rest day. Obviously, I can’t actually do any better than in 2021 but it was important for me to come back and defend my ‘crown’. It won’t be easy -there’s some serious contenders to fight off”