Mykolas Paulavičius‘ effort to make the Dakar Rally is one step closer to completion. On Wednesday, he confirmed he has received his acceptance letter from the Amaury Sport Organisation to take part in the 2025 race.
While 2025 will be his first time competing at Dakar, he previously ran the 2022 edition as a crew member for the SSV of fellow Lithuanian Tomas Jančys who finished sixteenth in class. The experience inspired Paulavičius to set racing it on a bike as his next goal, already well established on two wheels as a three-time Lithuanian Enduro Champion who has competed in events like the Red Bull Erzbergrodeo and Red Bull Romaniacs.
Paulavičius made his rally raid début at the 2022 Fenix Rally in Tunisia, where he finished sixth. The following year, he entered the World Rally-Raid Championship‘s Rallye du Maroc and finished forty-third in Rally2 (twenty-third among Road to Dakar registrants) with a best stage run of thirty-fourth on the opening leg; he fell twice during the second stage and unknowingly ran the full distance with COVID-19, which a team member also tested positive for though neither realised until after their return to Lithuania.
He effectivel yclinched his Dakar ticket with a sixteenth in class at the W2RC’s Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge in February and March. Riding for DUUST Rally Team, he notched three top-twenty stage finishes including a fifteenth on the final day despite a malfunctioning gearbox.
In early July, shortly before the ASO began accepting Dakar riders, Paulavičius was the co-driver for Ignas Udra at the Rallye Breslau in Poland. The duo finished twelfth in SSV.
“After three years of preparation and hard focused work, I received an official invitation from David Castéra to participate in the 2025 Dakar,” wrote Paulavičius. “It is very fitting that when I stand on the starting line in 2025, I will also celebrate my eighteenth anniversary in professional motorcycle racing. This coming of age will be the time to prove to myself what I can do in the world’s toughest marathon race.
“The entry fee has already been paid to the Dakar organisers, but the full budget required for the race has not been collected yet and the title sponsor of the team has not been found. We are actively working on these issues and moving forward step by step. We will be able to breathe a little easier only after resolving these.”
“Thanks to everyone who has been and is with me on this long journey! Although there are six months of extremely intensive preparation for the start of the Dakar ahead of me, I believe that with such a background everything will be successful.”
He won’t be the only Lithuanian rider in Saudi Arabia come January. Gediminas Satkus, who finished three spots behind Paulavičius in Abu Dhabi, confirmed his acceptance on Thursday as well.
The 2025 Dakar Rally runs on 3–17 January.
