Rokas Baciuška returns to the buggy – set to start the second World Championship stage in Abu Dhabi

Although only a month has passed since the Dakar Rally, the Tauragė-born racer Rokas Baciuška is back in the buggy. The two-time world champion arrived in the United Arab Emirates yesterday, where he will start in the "Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge" rally in the Challenger class tomorrow.

On Sunday, Rokas, along with co-driver Oriol Vidal Montijano, participated in tests organized by the "South Racing" team, trying out the Can-Am T3 buggy prepared for the Abu Dhabi race, the same vehicle that helped the crew secure third place in this year's Dakar.

"We have plenty of experience with this vehicle and in the dunes, but every kilometer covered allows us to understand both the tracks and ourselves as drivers even better," R. Baciuška said after the tests.

The world champion, who won all stages in a lower category in Abu Dhabi last year, added that the goal for this rally is to achieve the best result and collect points to quickly catch up with, and perhaps even surpass, the current leaderboard leader, Mitchell Guthrie.

"I’m not sure why, but M. Guthrie won’t be participating in this stage, so I’ll have a chance to pull ahead in the overall standings. Nevertheless, our class will still be highly competitive, with teammates like Austin Jones and other excellent racers present," R. Baciuška explained.

The "Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge" competition will include a prologue and five stages, with a total distance expected to range between 2000 and 2500 kilometers. Including the formalities days, participants will spend more than a week at the event.

Several other Lithuanians also plan to compete in the race, including motorcyclists Mykolas Paulavičius, Nerimantas Jucius, Gediminas Satkus, Saulius Klevinskas, and Edvard Sokolovskij.