Next in the hot seat for the ‘Getting to Know’ driver feature is Mantas Janavicius, who has chosen the Fanatec GT2 European Series for his first season of international GT racing.
The Lithuanian driver joins Ebimotors alongside experienced GT2 racer Aurelijus Rusteika in the #5 Porsche GT2 RS CS Evo. The pairing has already proved their potential with a podium earned on debut at Monza. Impressive consistency and a further haul of fourth-place finishes put the duo third in the Am class title fight.
We caught up with Mantas ahead of the upcoming third-round championship battles at Dijon.
Firstly, a warm welcome to the series! How are you finding your debut season so far?
“Thank you very much for having us in your championship. At the Prologue in Dijon, I had the opportunity to meet the SRO personnel, teams, and our car for the first time. It was very exciting. I saw how the championship will be run and how high the level of quality is behind it. I was very much impressed.”
Together with Aurelijus, you have already achieved impressive results as a driver pairing. Did you expect to earn a podium on your series debut at Monza?
“Everything was new to me at Monza. Although we tested the car at Dijon, the new Porsche GT2 Evo kit was only fitted just in time for Monza. The car was rebuilt from the ground up, so it was a new beast that I had to learn to drive. And I mean beast in a good way!
“At the same time, all the circuits are new to me. I’ve only driven them on a racing simulator on Assetto Corsa Competizione and iRacing. Although the car, the track and the other drivers were new to me, the lap times were OK. And yeah, the podium was not expected.”
A further trio of fourth places puts you third in the Am standings. What’s been the secret of that consistency?
“My teammate, Aurelijus and I have been driving together for quite some time, but this is my debut season on the international scene. I am a cautious and consistent driver. I train on a SimRig in my basement and that helps a lot with time improvements. I also gained experience driving in local championships in the Baltics.”
Can you tell us a bit about your previous racing experience?
“I’ve been into cars from a very early stage. Back in Lithuania around 30 years ago, it was possible to participate in slaloms and rallies from the age of 14. So, without any karting or other experience, I started with junior gravel rally and asphalt slalom.
“After a huge gap, I started circuit racing with GT cars. It was totally new to me. I did quite a lot of local sprint and endurance races which have helped to improve my driving. In Lithuania, there is a famous event, the Aurum 1006 km, where around 40 cars compete in a 10-hour endurance race around a local regional highway intersection. We have won P1, P2 and P3 over the years, and won the Baltic Endurance Championship several times too.”
What attracted you to compete in the Fanatec GT2 European Series?
“Aurelijus, who is my teammate in other endurance racing series in the Baltics, invited me to join him in GT2. I agreed instantly as I was following him closely and knew what the series was all about.”
What has been your biggest challenge so far?
“As I was used to driving a Porsche 992 GT3 Cup car, the GT2 RS CS Evo was a new animal to me. It has a huge amount of torque and power; it has some aero downforce, so it behaves differently to a regular Porsche and more like a mid-engined car. So, to drive this heavy and powerful car at the limit is quite challenging.”
Coming up next, we’ve got a new circuit to the GT2 calendar. How are you preparing for that challenge?
“Dijon is a very technical circuit with lots of high-speed turns. It will be interesting to see how we and the car perform. We had trouble with gear shifting and overheating at the last round, so if we can get that sorted out, I think we can still be somewhere in the mid-field.”
What do you hope to achieve during your first GT2 season?
“Every racer wants to finish on the podium, that’s also a goal for us!”
Mantas and Aurelijus continue their Fanatec GT2 European Series campaign in the third-round championship battles at Circuit Dijon-Prenois, France, 16-18 June.
