LEGENDS OF WINDING ROADS
2023●Documentary●4K●Sterotek Film
LEGENDS OF WINDING ROADS – A DOCUMENTARY ABOUT LADA VFTS’ AND RALLY DRIVERS BACK IN THE 80S
A NEW FILM FROM THE MAKERS OF OTT TÄNAK – THE MOVIE!
One of the golden decades of 100-year-old Estonian autosport was the 80s. Estonians were such great rally drivers that several of our crews raced in the ranks of the USSR team every season. The status of a member of the Soviet Union team was the peak, and it was every driver’s dream to get there because it was the door behind the Iron Curtain. They drove a Lada VFTS with Group B homologation, which has become a cult object among Lada fans today. The cars were produced in Lithuania under the leadership of honored USSR Rally ChampionStasys Brundza at the Vilnius Vehicle Factory, in Russian Vilnjusskaja Fabrika Transportnõh Sredstv, hence the abbreviation VFTS.
The VFTS was supposed to show the world how good the Lada is. In the late 1970s, the Soviet Union began to market the Lada outside of its own country, and it was advertised through autosports. The Soviet Union rally team was sent to compete in the European and World Championships in countries overlapping the Lada markets.
Estonian autosport enthusiasts have found our drivers’ former cars and breathed new life into them. The film shows the rebirth of four rally cars driven by Ilmar Raissar-Rein Talvar, Vello Õunpuu-Aarne Timusk, Vallo- Soots, Toomas-Putmaker, and Hardi Mets-Udo Mets. The rally cars are restored by experienced ESSR champions and their mechanics and the younger mechanics of the RedGrey Team. The goal is to maintain the authenticity of the vehicles, up to the nuts and bolts.
The rally legends have many untold stories about life as top rally drivers in the absurd Soviet system and on the world’s rally stages.
You can keep up to date with the film by following the FB page: facebook.com/vftsfilm
The film will premiere in April 2023.
