The Rally Albania competition continues in Albania, where the Lithuanians - the CFMOTO Factory Racing Team - also participated this year. Today, the racers managed to avoid more serious incidents, but the punctured tires exhausted both the crew of Darius Biesevičius and Audronė Kanopkinienė racing a SSV and ATV driver Antanas Kanopkinas.
On the fifth day of the rally, the organizers presented the participants with a 120 km speed section. And although before the start it seemed that participants who were already accustomed to twice or even three times longer distances would have an opportunity to breathe easier this time, this did not happen. The speed section was really challenging. It contained a huge amount of stones, so any serious mistake or carelessness immediately cost them a flat tire.
"It was a really difficult day. Six hours on the track, one and a half hours repairing a flat tire. I managed to fix it. I had to sacrifice a lot of time and effort. Half of today's track was really easy, and the other part was real suicide. In reality, it was similar to the Hunt The Wolf competition in Romania - diagonal slopes, stones, rubble. A real Enduro track. I am glad to have reached the finish line with the team, because I feel very exhausted, ”said ATV pilot Antanas Kanopkinas.
Once again, the crew of the SSV- Darius Biesevičius with Audrone Kanopkinienė, who rode a large part of the track together with the ATV driver Antanas Kanopkinas, also punctured a tire.
"The day was not easy. The pace was average, not bad. It was only at the end that I seemed tired and hit the stone with the front wheel. I punctured a tire, and Antanas helped to fix it, "said Darius Biesevičius.
Audronė Kanopkinienė, a co-pilot, also agreed to Darius Biesevičius about the complexity of the route. True, she was glad that this time they avoided more serious technical problems and are preparing for tomorrow's start.
“The speed section itself was very interesting and terrain varied a lot, as there were both fast straights and narrow serpentine roads , sharp ascents and descents on rocky terrain. Somewhat 40 km from the start we met Antanas, who was repairing the tire. He later joined us and we continued our journey together. It was really hard for Antanas to ride behind us, we raised a lot of dust. Apart from the flat tire at the end, we didn't seem to have any other problems with the buggy. Of course, mechanics will have to check everything, "said Audronė Kanopkinienė.
On the sixth day of Rally Albania, the participants will have the longest stage. They will have to cover 420 kilometers in speed sections.