Lithuania pushes up the mercury for Rotax Nordic Challenge opener

Round 1 of the Rotax Nordic Challenge took place on the Siauliai karting track in Lithuania on May 12-13, where athletes from 10 different countries started their fight towards six available tickets to the Rotax MAX Challenge Grand Finals 2023 in Bahrain this December.

The atmosphere was very good, gaining the momentum to be better and better, year by year. It’s more like one big family supporting each other nowadays.  There were 108 participants from 10 nations who came together for the internationally-supported series opener. Compared to the last year, the Lithuania race was progressively well-organized, alongside the experience of Estonia and Latvia as the other two host nations. Plus the addition of a lot of drivers registered to compete from outside the Baltic region, which was a clear sign that competitors want to be part of the series.

There are several significant changes to this year's Rotax Nordic Challenge series, including the use of raffled rental engines supplied by the race organizer for the Micro MAX and Mini MAX classes.

Athletes from five different countries reached the podium in the close competition to begin the 2023 season. After three final races, the series is led by: 
Jokubas Vaskelis (LIT) in Micro MAX 
Nikita Ljubimov (EST) in Mini MAX 
Karlis Kirikovs (LAT) in Junior MAX 
Miska Kaskinen (FIN) in Senior MAX 
Tomass Birstins (LAT) in DD2 
Henrijs Grube (LAT) in DD2 Masters 

RESULTS

The next stage will take place on July 21-22 at the brand new Ropaz 333 karting track in Latvia.


Rotax Nordic Challenge 2023

May 12-13 – Siauliai, LITHUANIA 

July 21-22 – Ropazi333, LATVIA

August 18-19 – Aravete, ESTONIA

Text Guido Allmere  - Photos Justinas Kyga