Vaidotas Žala (born August 28, 1987) is a Lithuanian rally and rally-raid driver.[1][2] Žala won the Lithuanian Rally Champion winning the title in 2019 and 2020, both when driving for Agrorodeo racing team with Škoda Fabia R5. In addition to participating in various classic rally events Žala has been participating in Dakar Rally since 2016 with his start in 2021 being his 6th consecutive start at the Rally-raid marathon.[3] Žala is also the first Lithuanian to win a stage in Dakar Rally. Žala finished first in the opening stage of 2020 Dakar Rally.[4]
 | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Nationality |  Lithuanian |
| Born | August 28, 1987 |
| Height | 183 cm (6 ft 0 in) |
| Weight | 75 kg (165 lb) |
| Sport | |
| Country | Lithuania |
| Sport | Rallying, Rally-raid |
| Team | Agrorodeo |
Rally racing record edit
Rally Starts edit
Year 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 
Lithuanian Rally Championship6 5 7 4 6 5 3 4 6 4 
Latvian Rally Championship3 2 
Estonian Rally Championship1 
Belarus Rally Championship4 
Norway Rally Championship1 
European Rally Championship2 NEZ Rally Championship1
Rally Victories edit
# Event[5] Season Co-driver Car 1 Rally Ozerniy Kray 2013
2013 Dainius Alekna
Subaru Impreza STi N12 2 Rally Classic Druskininkai 2014
2014 Žygimantas Žala
Subaru Impreza STi N12 3 Rally Elektrėnai 2015
2015 Žygimantas Žala
Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX 4 Rally Classic Druskininkai 2015
2015 Žygimantas Žala
Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX 5 300 Lakes Rally
2016 Žygimantas Žala
Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX 6 Rally Žemaitija
2018 Andris Mālnieks
Škoda Fabia R5 7 Samsonas Rally Rokiškis
2018 Andris Mālnieks
Škoda Fabia R5 8 Rally Classic 2018
2018 Andris Mālnieks
Škoda Fabia R5 9 Rally Žemaitija 2019
2019 Andris Mālnieks
Škoda Fabia R5 10 Rally Elektrėnai 2019
2019 Andris Mālnieks
Škoda Fabia R5 11 Samsonas Rally Rokiškis 2019
2019 Andris Mālnieks
Škoda Fabia R5 12 Rally Classic 2019
2019 Andris Mālnieks
Škoda Fabia R5 13 Rally Žemaitija 2020
2020 Andris Mālnieks
Škoda Fabia R5 14 Rally Elektrėnai 2020
2020 Andris Mālnieks
Škoda Fabia R5
Championship Victories edit
Žala won Lithuanian Rally Championship title in 2019 and in 2020 Assisted by his co-driver Andris Mālnieks, Žala came first with his Škoda Fabia R5 in LARČ 1 as well as 4WD classes.[6]
Dakar Results edit
Žala has been regular participant in the Dakar Rally since making his debut in 2016. Žala and his co-driver Saulius Jurgelėnas failed to finish in 2016 and 2017 due to mechanical issues with their Lithuanian-built prototype rally car based on Seat platform. Žala's best result to date is 11th place finish in 2022. In 2020 Žala made history by winning the opening stage, and thus becoming the first Lithuanian to win a Dakar Rally stage.
Year Class Starting number Co-Driver Vehicle Position 2016 Car 390 Saulius Jurgelėnas
Seat Leon Dakar (aka Bitė)
DNF (10/13) 2017 Car 373 Saulius Jurgelėnas
Seat Leon Dakar (aka Bitė)
DNF (4/12) 2018 Car 349 Saulius Jurgelėnas
Toyota Hilux Overdrive OTB (aka Kamanė)
18 2019 Car 337 Saulius Jurgelėnas
Toyota Hilux Overdrive OTB (aka Kamanė)
12 2020 Car 319 Saulius Jurgelėnas
Mini John Cooper Works Rally (aka Mažylis)
26 2021 Car 325 
Paulo Fiuza
Mini John Cooper Works Rally (aka Mažylis)
DNF (2/12) 2022 Car 234 Paulo Fiuza
Mini John Cooper Works Rally (aka Mažylis)
11 2023 Car 213 Paulo Fiuza
Prodrive BRX Hunter
DNF (12/14) 2024 Car 214 Paulo Fiuza
Mini John Cooper Works Rally Plus (aka Mažylis)
DNF (9/12)
References edit
- ^ "Vaidotas Žala - Player Profile - Rally Raid". Eurosport.
- ^ "Vaidotas Žala". sport.de.
- ^ "Profil of VAIDOTAS ZALA - AGRORODEO - Dakar". www.dakar.com. Retrieved 2020-01-04.
- ^ "Price roars as Žala rises". www.dakar.com. Retrieved 2020-01-05.
- ^ eWRC-results.com. "Vaidotas Žala - rally profile eWRC-results.com". eWRC-results.com. Retrieved 2020-01-04.
- ^ "LARČ rezultatai". LASF.