[ad_1]
The guy sits behind the wheel of a huge MAN three wheel drive every day. Your task is to drive a truck full of equipment safely from one bivouac to another. And in his spare time, A. Žitkevičius joins other jobs that need to be done.
A. Žitkevičius says that in a few years he has managed to overcome more than 10 major endurance competitions, such as the Morocco or Kazakhstan rally. And in Dakar, its story began in 2017, when a guy was sitting behind the wheel of a truck belonging to the Antanas Juknevičius “Kreda” crew, carrying spare parts and mechanics.
The Lithuanians do not hide that acquaintances also came through A. Juknevičius, who even brought a three-year contract with the representatives of Polaris. Initially, A. Žitkevičius met representatives of the European Polaris, who told them that the US plant has plans to start at the 2021 Dakar Rally and that they would need an auxiliary truck. The kind the boy had.
“The Americans were looking for a truck to defend the team, I called it 6×6, I had one and I agreed to rent it. We immediately signed a three-year contract, says A. Žitkevičius. “Also, they offered me to drive that truck and I accepted.”
Andrius Žitkevičius and Polaris
© Dina Sergijenko
Millions of budget
The guy does not hide the fact that he was seduced not only by the salary he does not speak of, but also by the opportunity to see up close how the factory equipment works, the budgets of which probably do not even dream of private equipment. What is worth it is that when the truck needed equipment, everything was bought new.
“The team’s budget for this year is US $ 3 million. This is incomparably higher than that of private teams. The Americans have an ambitious goal: to overtake the perennial ‘Can-Am’ competitors as well as the factory team, and get on the winners’ podium, “says the Lithuanian.
Ambitions are reflected in team preparation. Polaris then travels from bivouac to bivacu with three auxiliary trucks, and there is another Spaniard with whom a rescue contract was signed, if anyone divisions occurs in the speed range.
It is true that a team of more than 30 people takes care of two race cars driven by a husband and a wife. And already at the beginning of the Dakar Rally, one of the crews had bad luck.
One of the drivers jumped dangerously off the dune and hit the ground so badly that both Bagio wheels Since the auxiliary truck could no longer help here, A. Žitkevičius, whose truck had all the necessary parts for the car, went to the speed section to rescue the drivers.
“We took the crew off the track and repaired it. Unfortunately, they could not return to the general classification, so they are now competing in the Dakar Experience category,” recalls the interlocutor.
All that’s missing is a masseuse
In addition to the three trucks that serve the team, the American Polaris brought a wheeled office to Saudi Arabia, where team leaders and chief engineers spend their days. In addition, there are three mobile homes where the pilots and other team members rest. Finally, there are several tents where the mechanics sleep.
And that’s not all. In the truck belonging to A. Žitkevičius there is a washing machine, where all the team’s clothes are washed, in the other, a fully equipped kitchen.
“We have two chefs who cook for the whole team, because Americans don’t really like local food. And if something is in bad taste or inappropriate, you can always go to the bivouac dining room,” says the interlocutor, joking that the team you just need a masseur.
It is unclear how the Americans will triumph in this year’s Dakar Rally, but the message is one, they are not yet in the lead. As A. Žitkevičius said, they did not appreciate the fact that this competition is accompanied by enormous fatigue.
“They have endurance competitions in their country, but they last a day or two. So in Dakar they drove a couple of days and are already very tired, and before their eyes another thousand kilometers. Fatigue and lack of sleep are really visible in their faces, ”says A. Žitkevičius.
It is strictly prohibited to use the information published by DELFI on other websites, in the media or elsewhere, or to distribute our material in any way without consent, and if consent has been obtained, it is necessary to indicate DELFI as the source .
[ad_2]
