Vaidotas Žala
| 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 |
Vaidotas Žala (born August 28, 1987) is a Lithuanian rally and rally-raid driver.[1][2] Žala is the Lithuanian Rally Champion winning the title for the first time in his career in 2019, driving for Agrorodeo racing team. In addition to participating in various classic rally events Žala has been participating in Dakar Rally since 2016 with his start in 2020 being his 5th consecutive start at the Rally-raid marathon.[3] Žala is also the first and only Lithuanian to win a stage in Dakar Rally. Žala finished first in the opening stage of 2020 Dakar Rally.[4]
Rally racing record
Rally Starts
Year 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 
Lithuanian Rally Championship6 5 7 4 6 5 3 4 6 
Latvian Rally Championship3 2 
Estonian Rally Championship1 
Belarus Rally Championship4 
Norway Rally Championship1 
European Rally Championship2 NEZ Rally Championship1
Rally Victories
# 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
Championship Victories
Žala won Lithuanian Rally Championship title in 2019. 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
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 12th place finish in 2019. In 2020 Žala made history by winning the opening stage, and thus becoming the first Lithuanian to win a Dakar Rally stage.
Year Class Vehicle Position 2016 Car Seat
DNF 2017 Car Seat
DNF 2018 Car 
Toyota Hilux
18th 2019 Car Toyota Hilux
12th[7] 2020 Car 
Mini John Cooper Works Rally
26th
References
- ^ "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.
- ^ "Official Dakar rankings - bike - quad - car - SxS - truck". www.dakar.com. Retrieved 2020-01-04.