Lap of Medņi! Off-road celebration! Mud Run of Latgale! What’s the first thing that comes to your mind when you read these words? That’s right – off-road race in Rugāji! There are five weeks left till the event, which gives enough time to prepare yourself and your vehicle after having participated in last Latvian Open Trophy Raid Championship stage in Lithuania. If you already know that you will come to Rugāji, the organizers would be extremely grateful if you would register online in advance.
Rugāji race is the first of two remaining stages of the Latvian Open Trophy Raid Championship. If you take a look at the overall results of the championship it is evident that nothing is set yet and that every participant has a chance to reach the pedestal. Who will get there? It seems that we will get the answer to this question only after the last stage of the championship. The national sports code of Latvian Automobile Federation states that an automobile is a vehicle that is fully controlled by its driver, drives on ground on four wheels that are not positioned in one row. First two of the wheels must ensure vehicle’s movement and two wheels must ensure vehicle’s steering. In addition all the wheels must touch the ground while driving. Reading this before the race of Rugāji makes one wonder how it is possible not to break the rule of “all wheels must touch the ground” when you are literally “flying” through the Lap of Medņi?
REGISTRATION:
Championship – saite
Tourism cup – saite
Latgales cup – saite
ATV – saite
list of participants: saite
In June 19th – 21st 2015 Rugāji will host:
- 2nd stage of 4×4 NEZ Championship
- 3rd stage of Latvian Open Trophy Championship
- 2nd stage of Latvian Open Trophy Championship’s Tourism Cup
- 2nd stage of Cup of Latgale 2015
- 2nd stage of Can-Am Trophy Latvia 2015
Since last year the legendary Lap of Medņi is a NEZ certified stage. It underwent minimal changes and is more than ready for this year’s race. Due to the fact that multiple championship stages take place simultaneously a greater number of participants are expected in sports category. This season the off-road community gathered a notable number of ATV drivers who will compete in Can-Am Trophy Latvia 2015 and there are also a lot of participants in the Cup of Latgale 2015 (formerly known as Cup of Mud Eagles).The participants of sport category, Can-Am Trophy Latvia 2015, Cup of Latgale 2015 and Mud Run of Latgale will all get the chance to experience the Lap of Medņi.
Since early spring, even before the snow had melted away our loyal hosts of Rugāji race Mārtiņš Lilienfelds and Jānis Auziņš have been working hard in the woods to make sure that Lap of Medņi offers the best possible experience for race participants.
The Lap of Medņi will only be one part of what awaits them in this great 3 day off-road festival in Rugāji. A lot of care and energy has been devoted to preparation of special stages and orientation zones created for sports category participants.
For Latvian Open Trophy Championship’s Tourism Cup participants some very special treats are prepared. Before slamming your foot on the accelerator pedal you will have to devise your own strategy in order to obtain the maximum points possible.
A little reminder concerning the order of things in the race of Rugāji:
Sports category participants arrive in Friday (June 19th) evening, preferably not in the last minute to avoid causing long lines at registration and technical commission. At 21:00 o’clock there is going to be a briefing. After 30 minutes sports category Prologue (a small warm-up) will start. Estimated finish time around 23:00 o’clock. After finishing you should have enough time to get some good sleep or if necessary make some final last minute adjustments to your vehicle. The next morning at 8:30 o’clock you will gather for another briefing. Race will start at 9:00 o’clock and around 20:00 o’clock majority teams are expected to reach the finish line. After a day filled with of great off-road experiences the race hosts have prepared a fantastic party that will start at 22:00 o’clock. Everyone will be invited to the dance floor to enjoy the performance of Latvian singer Miks Dukurs.
Registration and technical commission for participants of Can-Am Trophy Latvia and Cup of Latgale will take palce on Saturday June 20th from 8:00 till 9:45. Frist team will start at 10:30. If necessary it is also possible to registrate and pass the technical commission on Friday June 19th.
Sunday June 21st at 9:30 first team start for sports category participants in the legendary Lap of Medņi. Finish time is estimated around 17:00 o’clock. Then there is going to be a small break to sum up the race results after which the winners will be awarded. And that will be the end of the race, but everyone is more than welcome to stay in Rugāji for the following 3 days andto join in for the traditional Latvian celebration of summer solstice Līgo on 23rd and 24th of June.
For the past several years the organizers of the Rugāji race are offering everyone to take part in Mud Run of Latgale, where you can test your physical abilities running through the muddy race track and while running you will have the opportunity to experience spa quality procedures such as mud peeling face mask, mud massage, mud bath etc. – absolutely free of charge! Mud race will take place on June 20th. Not a single participant has been hospitalized or has been in need of medical assistance after the run, therefore this event has been proven to be challenging, extreme but most importantly – very safe.
Dear participants of sports category, tourism, ATV class, we would like to invite you to our off-road festival in Rugāji in June.
Hope you will get an incredible off-road experience!