“From football to rally-raid, now it’s time for Dakar”
Crew facts
- Saulius Klevinskas will make his Dakar debut after a three-year journey through major rally-raid events such as the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge, Rallye du Maroc, Breslau Rally, Fenix Rally, and the Dubai Baja.
- A former professional football player, he won the Lithuanian Championship, Cup and Supercup, represented the national team, and later transitioned into off-road riding, a discipline he began only five years ago.
- Most of his early experience comes from the Lithuanian Cross Country Championship, before expanding into international rallies and intensive training camps with AG Rally Dubai, which he considers the best rally school.
- An entrepreneur alongside his wife Simona, he runs Alfafence, a steel manufacturing company and his main sponsor, support he credits as essential in getting him to the Dakar start line.
Ambition
S.K. : “My main goal for this Dakar is simple: to reach the finish line. It’s a race, so, of course, I want to show fighting spirit and push for the best stage times I can, but the priority is to ride clean, minimise mistakes and get to the end. My road to Dakar has taken three years. I’ve raced in Abu Dhabi, Morocco, Breslau, Fenix, and now the Dubai Baja, and I’ve spent countless hours training with AG Rally Dubai, the school that taught me everything and pushed me to believe I could one day be here. Their support, together with the strength I get from my family, is what makes this dream possible. I don’t have a long history in rallying. I started riding only five years ago, after ending my football career. Dakar was always a quiet dream in the back of my mind. With encouragement from my wife Simona, I made the switch to off-road bikes, and each year since then I’ve tried to learn, progress and take on new challenges. Now the dream becomes real: it’s time to stand on the Dakar start line and give everything I have.”
