The speed is on! The fastest Baltic racers head to Kaunas

The Baltic Touring Car Championship season continues on July 4 with the third round, “STATETA BRO | PRO BRO Grand Prix”, at the Nemuno Ziedas racetrack in Kaunas. The event marks the midpoint of the season and will be crucial for drivers and teams in their battles for championship positions. More than 100 participants from Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Finland, Poland, Great Britain and France are expected across various classes. In addition to the regular programme, the event will welcome two very interesting guest series. The newly founded “Mitjet Baltics” will bring prototype-style cars with the same 2.0-litre engines and identical chassis — lightweight, great-sounding and fast on track. Something very special is also coming to Kaunas: after a 20-year break, historic formula cars from different eras will return, with around 20 unique open-wheel race cars expected to hit the track. One of the main attractions for spectators will be the “GT” class, where powerful cars will be a real sight on the newly resurfaced Nemuno Ziedas track. In the “BGT PRO” class, it will be a battle between two Lamborghinis: local driver Egidijus Gelunas against Latvia’s Arturs Batraks, with only 11 points separating them. In “BGT AM+”, championship leader Audrius Piktys will look to use his home-track advantage to stay ahead of his rivals, including Finnish gentleman driver Turo Levanen in his Porsche “GT3 CUP 997.2”. Paulius Urbonavicius has been the king of the “BGT AM” class this year, winning every race so far. But the battle remains tight — Rokas Kvedaras is second, closely chased in the standings by Aivaras Remeika, Vidas Samuolis and another racer from Finland, Harri Horto. There is one thing we know for sure about the “BMW 325 CUP”: the races will be action-packed and fun. The standings are so close that it is difficult to pick a clear favourite. Matiss Malinovskis leads the championship with 180 points after his double victory in Riga, but Laimonas Starkevicius is just 20 points behind. Dmitrijs Gornevs is third with 158 points, while Karol Wyka is fourth with 144. With 20 race cars on the grid, anything can still happen. The pressure is rising in the “BMW Turbo Cup”. Multiple-time BaTCC champion Aurimas Mistautas leads with 87 points after a hard but fair victory in the previous round. The 2025 inaugural champion, Artjoms Koclamazasvili from Latvia, is just 19 points behind and ready to claw back important points. Rolands Alfredsons, Mantas Jasiulevicius and Algirdas Gelzinis will also certainly be in the mix for podium positions. The budget “V1600” class has seen an increase in both cars and participants this season, and around 12 cars are expected to race in Kaunas. Mareks Matvejevs is still unbeaten, but with +60 kg of ballast it will be much harder for him to stay ahead. Championship vice-leader Nauris Agafonovs will carry +40 kg, while Kaspars Rudmiezis and Estonia’s Ruudi Reinumagi are sure to be among those challenging the leaders. In the “ABC Race” class, the fight is as tight as ever. The pressure is on Roberts Ozolins, who leads the standings with 90 points, but both Agnis Rozitis and Arturs Locs are close enough to challenge him for the champion’s crown. A mix of beautiful and heavily customized cars will feature in the “Baltic Touring Cars” class, where Estonia’s Sven Karuse leads the “BTC3” standings ahead of Atis Veismanis and Marta Starka. Agnius Narbutas has been the dominant force in “BTC2”, with four race victories from four starts. Orestas Burgaila is not happy about that and will try to stop his compatriot. Watch out for Tadas Petukauskas and Maris Simson as well — both have had technical issues, but they definitely have the speed. More than 25 cars are expected for the 2h Endurance race. In the “Hankook Endurance Challenge”, where GT cars compete, the overall leaders are “Smart Cooling by Flash Racing LV”, who have won both races so far and will try to do the same in Lithuania. “Reimpex by Capkauskas Autocentras”, with their Lamborghini “Huracan ST EVO2”, will be the main contenders for the win on home soil. “Porsche Latvia Racing Team” sit third in the overall standings but lead the “BGT AM+” class, while “Eagle Racing” from Finland lead the “BGT AM” class. Local team “Baltic Karting Academy” are very close behind and eager to secure first place in the standings. In the “Nankang 2h Endurance Academy” classification, “Ibiza” lead the “BMW 325 CUP” class among nine teams. “Contribee Racing” are first in the “BMW Turbo Cup” standings, “RS Racing Team” lead “BTC3”, and “MZGD” are the leaders of “V1600”. Besides racing, many activities for all age groups will take place on race day, July 4. Tickets are available online here: https://ticketshop.lt/lt/events/107660