Rokas Baciuška
Lithuanian rally driver
- Rally raid
- Rallycross
- Rallying
- Kart racing
Rokas Baciuška (pronounced [ɾoːkɐs bɐtsʲʊʃkɐ], born 10 December 1999) is a professional rally driver from Lithuania. He has won the Lithuania Kart racing championship, the European Rallycross Championship in the Super1600 class, and the World Rally-Raid Championship in the T4 SSV class.
Racing career
Early career
Rokas Baciuška started kart racing. at the age of 7.[1] Multiple victories, including the winning of a national title, inspired him to pursue a professional motorsport career. Since then, R. Baciuška has competed in several motorsport disciplines, including rally, rallycross, and rally raid.
Rallycross
Rokas Baciuška competed in the 2018 FIA European Rallycross Championship season, and won Super1600 class title on his first attempt.[2]
Rally raid
At the age of 22 Rokas debuted in 2022 Dakar Rally as the youngest Lithuanian ever to participate in the Dakar rally. Rokas took 3rd place overall in T4 category, and was nominated as a Best rookie.
The 2022 Dakar Rally was the first round of inaugural 2022 World Rally-Raid Championship. Rokas completed the season by taking four podiums, winning 2022 Rallye du Maroc, and winning the championship title in T4 category.[3][4]
His results in 2022 gained him a spot in Red Bull Can-Am Team for the 2023 Dakar Rally. He finished 2nd in the 2023 Dakar Rally in the T4 category, winning 3 stages and leading at the start of the final day. However, he lost the rally in a cruel manner, losing around twenty minutes due to a broken suspension arm, which needed replacement. The time loss was enough for him to drop down to 2nd place in the general standings.[5]
Racing record
- 2010 Lithuanian Karting Championship: 1st place in Rotax Junior class
- 2012 WSK Euro Series - 60 Mini: 10th place
- 2012 2012 23° Trofeo Andrea Margutti - 60 Junior Trophy: 4th place
- 2014 25° Trofeo Andrea Margutti - KFJ: 9th place
- 2015 Andrea Margutti Trophy - KF: 8th place
- 2015 WSK Champions Cup - KF: 10th place
- 2017 2017 CIK-FIA European KZ2 Championship: 7th place
- 2019 German Kart Championship DSKM: 1st place
- 2019 24° South Garda Winter Cup - KZ2: 6th place[6]
- 2018 FIA European Rallycross Championship: 1st place in Super1600 class
- 2019 FIA World Rallycross Championship: 11th place
- 2021 Rallye du Maroc: 5th place
- 2021 Andalucia Rally: 4th place
- 2021 Baja Aragon: 4th in T4 category
- 2022 Dakar Rally: 3rd place in T4 class
- 2022 Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge: 2nd place
- 2022 Rallye du Maroc: 1st place in T4 category[7]
- 2022 Andalucía Rally: 2nd place in T4 category
- 2022 W2RC championship: 1st place in T4 class
- 2023 Dakar Rally: 2nd place in T4 class category[8]
Achievements and Nominations
- Multiple Lithuanian and Baltic States Karting champion
- Twice nominated as Lithuania best racing driver of the year - 2018 and 2019
- European Super1600 RX champion at first attempt - 2018
- First Lithuanian to participate in World RX Championship - 2019
- Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge: 2nd place - 2022
- Rallye du Maroc: 1st place in T4 category - 2022
- Andalucía Rally: 2nd place - 2022
- Dakar Rally: 3rd place in T4 category - 2022
- Dakar Rally: Best Rookie - 2022
- Dakar Rally: youngest Lithuanian to participate in series (22 years old)
- Dakar Rally: s10 and s12 stage winner - 2022 [9][10]
- Dakar Rally: 2nd place in T4 category - 2023
- Dakar Rally: Prologue, s5, s7 and s11 stage winner - 2023
Racing record
Dakar Rally results
| Year | Class | Vehicle | Position | Stages won |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | SSV |  Can-Am | 3rd | 2 |
| 2023 | 2nd | 3 |
Complete World Rally-Raid Championship results
(key)
| Year | Team | Car | Class | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | Pos. | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | South Racing Can-Am | BRP Can-Am Maverick XRS | T4 | DAK 2 | ABU 2 | MOR 1 | AND 2 | 1st | 176 | |
| 2023 | Red Bull Can-Am Factory Team | BRP Can-Am Maverick XRS | T4 | DAK 2 | ABU 1 | SON 1 | DES | MOR | 1st* | 189* |
* Season still in progress
References
- ^ "About me". rbaciuska.com. Retrieved 2023-01-01.
- ^ "Classifications - Super 1600". Federation Internationale de l'Automobile. 2018-10-24. Retrieved 2022-10-09.
- ^ "Rokas Baciuška – pasaulio čempionas". lrt.lt (in Lithuanian). 2022-10-23. Retrieved 2022-11-21.
- ^ "THE W2RC KINGS CROWNED IN ANDALUCIA - WRRC 2022". www.worldrallyraidchampionship.com. Retrieved 2022-11-21.
- ^ "Dakar 2023: A bumper crop of records". Dakar.com. Retrieved 2023-01-18.
- ^ "Rokas Baciuška". driverdb.com. Retrieved 2023-01-01.
- ^ "Rokas Baciuška pateisino Rokio pravardę – laimėjo Maroko ralio greičio ruožą". Gazas.lt (in Lithuanian). Retrieved 2022-11-21.
- ^ "Dakar 2023: A bumper crop of records". Dakar.com. Retrieved 2023-01-18.
- ^ "Rokas Baciuška: "Pedal to the metal"". www.dakar.com. Retrieved 2022-10-02.
- ^ "Profile of ROKAS BACIUSKA - SOUTH RACING CAN-AM - Dakar". www.dakar.com. Retrieved 2022-10-02.
External links
- Official website
- Rokas Baciuška career summary at DriverDB.com
- Driver profile on Dakar.com
