I took my trusty Toyota Corolla 4WD wagon, a winter daily driver, to the Lithuanian Press Rally and finished last. It was a challenging but thrilling experience, and I'm glad I did it with my brother. The rally, organized by the Lithuanian Journalist Auto Club, is a weekend-long event held in late May, featuring 15 autoslalom stages around the country. It's a significant and popular event, attracting both professional drivers and media personnel. Registration is open in the spring, and the slots fill up rapidly. The press class costs 350 euros, while the sport class costs 770 euros. The cars that take part are typically hot stuff like BRZs, MR2s, Porsches, and tuned BMW compacts. I've done the rally three times before, and this year, I chose my Corolla because it was reliable and had a valid inspection. The car is a 2000 model, one of the last 4WD Corollas sold new in Europe. It has Toyota's Full-Time 4WD, which distributes power to the rear axle via a viscous coupling. The engine is a 110-horsepower, non-VVT-i 7A-FE, and the car handles well, even in asphalt driving. On the first day, we set out towards Estonia on a cargo ferry and made it to Molėtai, Lithuania, in time for final registrations and a demo drive. We started the rally and took last place in the first run, but improved in the second run. We didn't make any mistakes, but we were still slow. The second day started with a near-grave mistake, but we managed to find the road book and get back on track. We had to abandon the other Finnish team and hoped they would get a tow, as a towing company was one of the sponsors. We made it to the finish, taking the last place with honor. The Corolla performed superbly, and I'm glad I got to do the trip with my brother. It was a great experience, and I'm already thinking about what to bring next year.
