Antanas Juknevičius (born ) is a Lithuanian rally driver. He is one of the most experienced and successful professional

Rally-raid Rally raid, also known as cross-country rallying, is a form of long distance off-road racing that takes place over several days. The length of the event can be as short as 2–3 days for a cross-country baja to as long as 15 days with marathon ra ...

drivers in

Lithuania Lithuania (; lt, Lietuva ), officially the Republic of Lithuania ( lt, Lietuvos Respublika, links=no ), is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea. Lithuania ...

. Juknevicius is the only driver from the

Baltic states The Baltic states, et, Balti riigid or the Baltic countries is a geopolitical term, which currently is used to group three countries: Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. All three countries are members of NATO, the European Union, the Eurozone, ...

to participate in every single stage of the FIA World Cup for Cross Country Rallies.

Career

Juknevičius debuted in his first Dakar Rally back in 2003 as a co-driver for Aurelijus Petraitis. In 2009, Antanas Juknevicius and Aurelijus Petraitis crossed the finish line of the Dakar Rally in the 25th position overall which at the time was his personal best result. In 2018 Juknevicius improved his personal record by finishing the Dakar Rally in 12th position, after gaining four places during the penultimate stage of a rally. Overall, Antanas Juknevicius has participated in the Dakar Rally 11 times, 8 times as a driver and his first 3 rallies as a co-driver. This does not include the rally in

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

, where he was also at the start line but rally was cancelled. Juknevičius is also one of the few Dakar Rally participants who took part in this event in all three continents this rally marathon has been held over the years. In addition to his racing career Juknevičius spent five years working for Astana Racing as a general team manager. In 2019, Antanas Juknevicius was officially granted status of Dakar Rally legend.

Dakar Rally

Juknevičius has reached the finish line in 11 out of 12 Dakar Rallies he has started at with his personal best result being 12th overall in 2018. Since the introduction of T1+ class in 2022 Juknevičius sought to upgrade to a T1+ vehicle for the

2023 Dakar Rally The 2023 Dakar Rally is a rally raid event held in Saudi Arabia and the 45th edition of the Dakar Rally organized by Amaury Sport Organisation (ASO). The event takes place between 31 December 2022 and 15 January 2023. This is the fourth time Saud ...

. After failing to secure one, he opted to skip the event.

Career achievements

* Dakar Rally 2018 - 12th place overall *Rally Kazakhstan 2017 – 6th place overall *Rally Kazakhstan 2016 – 3rd place overall, 1st in T2 category *Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge 2011 – 6th place overall *Dakar series / Silk Way Rally 2009 – 10th place overall *Libya Desert Challenge 2008 - 1st place overall *BAJA (LT) 2007 - 1st place overall *BAJA (LV) 2007 - 2nd place overall *BAJA (BY) 2006 - 1st place overall *Optic Tunis 2006 - 8th place overall *PHARAONS Rally Egypt 2006 - 7th place overall *24 Heures de FRANCE 2006 - 4th place overall *Oman Desert Challenge 2006Oman Desert Challenge 2006 - 2nd place overall
/ref> - 2nd place overall *UAE Dubai Rally 2005 - 9th place overall

References

External links

Official site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Juknevicius, Antanas 1974 births Living people Dakar Rally drivers Lithuanian racing drivers