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Journalist Valdas Valiukevičius has already participated in the Dakar Marathon. In 2000, he was the first Lithuanian journalist to be accredited at this event. Romualdas Beresnevičius and Arūnas Lekavičius reached the finish line in Dakar that year. They were driving this car, the Toyota Land Cruiser 71.
Valdas entered the marathon finish line in 2002 as a co-driver for Arūnas Lekavičius. Then he drove a Toyota Hilux. They did not finish that year due to a car breakdown, but success accompanied them in 2003 when they finished in Egypt. Valdas, like Antanas Juknevičius, who debuted and finished at the same time, remembers this marathon as very difficult, with many natural and technical trials. Valdas wrote the book “Dakar Warriors” about this race and about the achievements of other Lithuanian riders.
For Paul Kavaliauskas, this will be the first test in the passenger seat. He smelled the desert in 2020 as part of Edvinas Juškauskas’ support team. The crew gathered this year participated in a couple of off-road competitions in Lithuania.
“I think Paul will be a great co-driver,” says Valdas. – You have been working with aviation for many years, and precision and navigation are very important there. This year we organized a training session, which included sailing trials in the Lithuanian forests, as well as a couple of off-road competitions. He made very few mistakes in the perimeter marathon and we made it to the finish line successfully. I myself am not a perfect pilot of the desert, I cannot compare myself to any old man, I have overcome the sand dunes only as a co-pilot of Arūnas Lekavičius, but I feel that spirit, that situation and I hope that the gods of the desert will be favorable to us ” .
Asked why he thought of driving an old car in the Classic classification, Valdas opened that the class, which appeared only this year, is very promising, because it is possible to participate in old cars, which are neither very complicated nor very expensive. This class has a lower entry fee, requires fewer parts, fewer mechanics, tires, and fuel. Also, Valdas liked the idea of resurrecting the legendary Toyota and winning a marathon with it. “Currently, I drive from garage to garage, store to store, looking for various details, interacting with teachers. – says Valdas Valiukevičius. – Because the car restoration process requires many non-standard solutions. We were lucky that Juozas Čibiras, a very experienced Dakar mechanic, promised to restore the car. “
When asked if age wouldn’t keep him from running a marathon, Valdas said he would face a lot of physical challenges as he would have to drive an old, hard-to-control SUV in the heat, but he trusts his body.
“The leader of the Dakar, Carlos Sainz, is a year older than me. The Dakar is driven by much older riders who are over 70 years old. The key is to get your personal computer in order, said the journalist. – In Dakar, it is necessary to perform a series of natural and technical tests. I tell myself, if it is wrong, I know it will get worse soon. In this state of mind, one can endure the greatest hell. I remember falling asleep in an incredible place one night in Dakar: on the one hand, the mechanics constantly rattled the motorcycle’s engine, on the other, they cut the body of the SUV. I fell asleep as soon as I put my head on the pillow. “
The Heston airline crew will be assisted by mechanic Juozas Čibiras, who has so far won eight Dakar marathons together with Antanas Juknevičius. The crew will use the Antanas technical support base and truck.
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