The gap of KAMAZ crews from the main rivals formed at yesterday's stage Copiapo - Antofagasta didn't reduce heat of fight in trucks category on today's special stage Antofagasta - Iquique. 277-kilometer special stage divided by a 22-kilometer zone of neutralization represented the whole set of various coverings: fine dust fesh-fesh, stony roads and sandy dunes. Race remains rigid and uncompromising, and speeds only increase. For 2 kilometers to the finish line Andrey Karginov's crew breaks down. His car at high speed went in a narrow sandy canyon. The pilot passed one of turns in controlled skidding, but rear wheels were caught on the viscous sand parapet. There was a rollover, but fortunately the car after shock got on wheels and the crew could continue the movement with loss about 10 minutes of time. The bent right side of the car - the body, a cabin and the need to replace a windshield became additional pressure on the team's mechanics for the forthcoming night. They have already enough work, after all they have to prepare for so-called marathon days which begin for trucks category tomorrow. From the 10th to 11th January sports crews will spend the night on a special bivouac with no access for other members of the team, but even for journalists. An essence of an organizing idea – racers have to cope with possible technical problems independently. They can use spare parts and tires only those which are available on their sports cars. Refueling during these two days isn't allowed. According to the estimates the full fuel is enough. Therefore crews will take it to the maximum, as the capacity of fuel tanks will allow. In a case with KAMAZ it is 1000 liters for each car.
Eduard Nikolaev who became the first today (2 hours 24min 28 sec), commenting on results of day said: "The first 70 kilometers of a stage was solid fesh-fesh, I don't envy those who went behind – it was almost impossible to overtake. After neutralization zone our beloved hummocky destructive route began, the same dust, but it was rather wide to go more confidently. There were hummocks and pits of two signs. Closer to the end of a route there was a zone of dunes. We had to act and think very quickly".
Sand is loose; because of the heat it is very friable. Experienced Ales Loprais got in such sandy traps. Dmitry Sotnikov’s crew saw him hanged on a crest of the dune. Dmitry himself is worthy of praise. He is stable while managing to be useful to his more experienced teammates. Today, he is fifth (+12:44) immediately after Gerard de Rooy (+11:31). Ayrat Mardeev showed the second result (+05:37), Andrey Karginov despite his misadventures is third (+10:40).
Four KAMAZ crews of E. Nikolaev (18 hours 10 min 46 sec.), A. Mardeev (+13:38), A. Karginov (+38:16) and D. Sotnikov (+58:41) head the table of general classification after 6 stages. Belarusian Sergey Vyazovich (MAZ) – on the fifth line, conceding to D. Sotnikov 19 minutes, further there are Czech Ales Loprais (MAN) and Dutch Hans Stacey (IVECO), with lag from Eduard Nikolaev 1 hour 33 minutes and 1 hour 43 minutes respectively.
Start of the stage Iquique – Iquique 1 (so organizers designated the isolated marathon bivouac where sports crews will spend the night) is appointed for tomorrow at 9 am. The team will see crews only the day after tomorrow on January 11 in the evening, but before the start of a marathon stage there is hot sleepless night ahead on preparation of cars for exhausting days in the Chilean Atacama Desert. Many who saw the forthcoming volume of work there is a fair question if mechanics of "KAMAZ master" team will cope with it till the morning.
