Rockaway, New Jersey (May 22, 2025) - Six time American Rally Champion Mark Piatkowski will make his Lithuanian rally debut at next month’s Rally Žemaitija, the second round of the Lithuanian rally championship.
Piatkowski will be piloting a Hyundai i20 VRT prepared by MV Sport, a Lithuanian company specializing in rally chassis and suspension kits. The pair will work together to bring MV Sport products into the US.
“I’m ecstatic for this opportunity,” says Piatkowski, “Baltic gravel events are super fast and I’ll be up against the region’s best teams, but on the flip side, this is what I need in order to progress myself as a driver.
“It will be an honor to fly the American flag in this corner of the world and to partner with the MV Sport team!”
Rally Žemaitija
Landing on the weekend of June 13-14, Rally Žemaitija consists of over 112 kilometers of special stage roads.
Every year the rally draws thousands of fans to Kelmė, a city in northwestern Lithuania. The stage route consists of high speed gravel roads in the forests and plains surrounding the city.
”I’ve been told this is Lithuania’s fastest rally,” said Piatkowski, “I’ll need to be fully committed from the first corner!”
Piatkowski Teams Up with Experienced Latvian
Mark Piatkowski will be teaming up with experienced Latvian co-driver Andris Mālnieks.
Mālnieks has over 140 starts as a co-driver since 2013, six of which have been at Žemaitija. He has sat with drivers such as Mārtiņš Sesks, Nikolay Gryazin and Vaidotas Žala.
Andris Mālnieks
”I’m very much looking forward to drive with Mark" says Mālnieks. “In my 12 year career, Mark will be my first American pilot. I’ve had pilots from Turkey, Netherlands, Lithuania, Bulgaria, Germany and of course my own country of Latvia.”
“The roads in the Baltics are very fast and Žemaitija is no exception. It has proper stages with crests, jumps, narrow and wide road configurations. I will use my experience to help Mark bring the best result we can.”
A Partnership with MV Sport
The car Mark and Andris will be piloting is a Hyundai i20 VRT built by MV Sport. It is a unique “Proto” car that utilizes MV Sport’s double wishbone rally suspension, and numerous Subaru drivetrain components.
Mark’s Hyundai i20 VRT for Rally Žemaitija
“At MV Sport, we continually seek new ways to push our engineering forward and align with the dynamics of international rallying” says Mindaugas Varza, owner of MV Sport.
“Our chassis utilizes many Subaru products, so it’s a natural step to explore opportunities in the US market- where Subarus are a dominant force. Collaborating with skilled international drivers allows us to gather performance insight and demonstrate the potential of our products.”
The VRT concept has proven very successful with several overall wins against modern Rally2 machinery.
“This whole concept is very enticing to me,” says Piatkowski. “While Rally2 cars are the pinnacle of the sport, the running costs make it unattainable for most competitors. MV Sport has created a competitive recipe that matches Rally2 performance while keeping maintenance costs at a fraction.”
“I think this concept is very well suited for the American market. I look forward to working with the MV Sport team and to help bring their products stateside. But for now, my full focus in the coming weeks is on Žemaitija.“
Follow Mark’s Lithuanian rally journey at: www.MAP-Rally.com/Lithuania2025