Only a few days are left before the start of the main rally-marathon in the world, and they become almost decisive in the fate of the legendary Dakar contestants. Yes, not every rider can be the fastest on the route and win the main prize of the race, but before going to the start, it is necessary to obtain the necessary permits.
Before the checks KAMAZ-master crews, like many other participants in the rally, went outside Jeddah for test drives. This is the last opportunity to prepare sports vehicles for administrative checks.
And already on Thursday, members of the KAMAZ-master team, who arrived in Saudi Arabia on December 27, were as busy as a bee – a usual procedure of administrative checks and scruteneering at first glance is always fraught with unexpected surprises. But first - passing mandatory PCR tests for coronavirus, without which none of those arriving at the Dakar 2022 will be allowed to participate in the race. In this regard all representatives of the team from Naberezhnye Chelny turned out clean.
Administrative checks for experienced participants are so usual that they are almost unnoted. And the sports commissars have already checked the trucks with particular care for compliance with the technical regulations of the race - not a single vehicle should go to the start with any deviations. The experts were especially interested in the new generation of the sports trucks - KAMAZ-435091 of the K5 family. The design of the truck, which is still unusual for many, attracts attention and arouses the curiosity of media and fans.
Crews of KAMAZ-master team - contestants of the Dakar-2022
No 500. Driver Dmitry Sotnikov – co-driver Ruslan Akhmadeev - mechanic Ilgiz Akhmetzianov.
No 501. Driver Anton Shibalov - co-driver Dmitrii Nikitin - mechanic Ivan Tatarinov.
No 505. Driver Eduard Nikolaev - co-driver Evgenii Iakovlev - mechanic Vladimir Rybakov.
No 509. Driver Andrey Karginov - co-driver Andrey Mokeev - mechanic Ivan Malkov.
The 44th Dakar starts in Ha’il on January 2 and ends in Jeddah on January 14, the rest day is scheduled in Riyadh for January 8. The starting podium and the prologue of the race will take place on January 1.
