“My biggest weak point is still the dunes”
CREW FACTS
V.J.
- Vladas Jurkevicius is gearing up for his second Dakar after reaching a last-minute agreement with the X-raid Team. The 32-year-old Lithuanian will once again be lining up in the Ultimate class in the new petrol-powered Mini JCW Rally 3.0i.
- Vladas made his debut last year with support from Benediktas Vanagas's Toyota Gazoo Racing Baltics team. He had consulted Benediktas midway through 2023 about a hand injury and ended up entering Dakar 2024, his first competitive outing in rally-raid.
- Vladas has no family links to the sport. He used to watch rallies when visiting his grandparents as a boy and fell in love with it. Later, in his mid-20s, he contacted the Lithuanian Automobile Sport Federation to learn more about rallying, and eventually began competing in domestic competitions.
- Since 2021, he and co-driver Aisvydas Paliukenas have been taking part in the Lithuanian Rally Championship in a Skoda Fabia Rally2 evo. After coming second in 2022 and 2023, they finally conquered their national title in 2024. Traditional rally remains their main focus although they are enjoying getting to grips with rally-raid.
- Vladas spent four years studying at the prestigious Cambridge University in England before setting up his own companies in cryptocurrency and online trading.
A.P.
- This will be a fourth Dakar appearance for Aisvydas Paliukenas, who did his first two editions as a co-driver for Edvinas Juskauskas. Their 2020 debut ended dramatically when their car caught fire on Stage 6, but they made it to the finish line successfully in 2021 (27th).
- Aisvydas is a highly rated co-driver in traditional rally and was only 17 when he made his competitive debut at the Vilnius Rally in 2012. He made his first WRC appearance at the ORLEN Rally Poland in 2017, alongside Jonas Pipiras, and since 2020 he has been competing with his "good friend" Vladas.
- In 2024, Aisvydas has also been working as a co-driver for Nouef Al-Sowaidi in the Qatar Off-Road Championship, competing for the Baja Trophy. With two rounds to go they were both leading their respective standings in Class 2.
- Aisvydas only had six months to prepare for his first Dakar with Edvinas in 2020, while he and Vladas did a limited amount of testing before Dakar 2024. The 29-year-old says he's looking forward to a smoother preparation for Dakar 2025, which will include taking part in the Dubai International Baja and testing in the Abu Dhabi region.
2025 AMBITIONS
V.J.: “The first week of Dakar 2024 was ok. We had minor suspension issues but overall, it was quite smooth. I was satisfied with our pace and we were getting better and better. But then we had a lot of technical problems in the second week and only finished three stages out of six. One day our rear diff was leaking a lot of oil, then another day we had a driveshaft issue, but changed the wrong driveshaft! And the third time our alternator belt snapped twice, and we didn't have a spare. It was unlucky. But I enjoyed my debut and gained a lot of experience. I feel good on most kinds of terrain, but my biggest weak point is still the dunes, so we're going to do the Dubai International Baja to prepare for the Dakar. Nobody believes me now, but we weren't actually planning to do Dakar 2025. I'd told Aisvydas I definitely wasn't coming this year. My goal was to focus on traditional rally, and we won the national championship so I was happy about that. Then a few weeks ago a friend asked how we felt about not going to the Dakar, and I said I was a bit sad to miss out! Aisvydas happened to be at the Qatar International Baja and went for a random chat with X-raid to see if they had a car available. It turned out they had a spare petrol car with no driver! So, a few days later we had a call and they told us more about the team and their plans. I got in touch with Vaidotas Zala, because he's a good friend and he's driven with X-raid. He recommended them, so after talking to my wife I said, 'Let's do it!' We'll be driving a brand-new car. I'm looking forward to it.”
A.P.: “We had a chance for a proper result at Dakar 2024, especially after our great first week. After the 48h Chrono I think we were 22nd or 21st overall, well placed in the standings. Vladas was really smart in the beginning, not pushing too hard. I know from our experience together in traditional rally that he's a very fast driver, so he had good pace in the rally-style sections. In more cross-country areas with stones and dunes he was managing the speed in a clever way, taking it step by step. The pace was getting there. But then it all went wrong after the rest day, with all our technical failures! Last year we didn't have any experience in the dunes with a proper T1+ car. Where we trained in Merzouga didn't come close to the Empty Quarter, so for first-timers it was kind of hard to adapt. But Vladas still did a really great job and at one point we were on track to make the top 20. Our first time with the new Mini for Dakar 2025 will be at the Dubai International Baja. We know from Zala that it's a really nice car, although it's a bit different now with the petrol engine. X-raid have a lot of experience in cross-country and we trust them, especially given all their past success. We've been fighting for the Lithuanian rally title for the past four years in our Skoda Fabia, so it felt really good to get it. The season went very well. No crashes or major mistakes, just keeping very good speed. Rally is different, a bit faster. The Dakar is a marathon race. We're still rookies here so we need to gain more experience. You can't come in your second year together and say, now we're chasing the win! You have to respect the discipline and respect the Dakar."
