The 11th stage of the rally should have become second with neutralization zone, but the first special section was cancelled as it ran through the protected nature reserve. In the very cancelled part there were dunes, so long-awaited by all participants to test their trucks and themselves. The second part went through canyons along vast sandy tracks and that allowed the sportsmen drive at the maximum speed.
In the trucks the situation changes every day. Martin Kolomy plays hard. The Czech is not going to lose, and every day shows excellent pace, today he was first in his category that allowed him to get the third position in the general classification, pulling Airat Mardeev back for 2 minutes 36 seconds. The second on the stage was Anton Shibalov, being 49 seconds back. 18 minutes separated the overall leader Dmitry Sotnikov from Shibalov. Airat Mardeev and Eduard Nikolaev make top five in the trucks, and the latter is 3 minutes and 40 seconds off the pace.
In the car category it was Stephane Peteransel who showed the best time, and his teammate Cyril Despres lost him only 1 minute and 13 seconds. The third position was taken by X-Raid Mini Yazeed Alrajhi. In the general standings he still leads confidently and has an advantage of almost an hour from his closest rivals. The second place in the serious fight was taken by Bryce Menzies, who is 2 minutes and 23 seconds ahead of Han Wei. Christian Lavielle is in ten minutes from this couple and Eugenio Amos finishes the top five.
Quotations:
Anton Shibalov, pilot of KAMAZ-master Team, crew #312:
“Today was a typical Kazakhstan special: fast, curvy roads, a lot of stones, and I would say, landscapes weren’t very beautiful. Generally, the special was fast. As for our rival Martin Kolomy he is “staking everything” now. He has a good speed - and on curvy fast roads too. We thought that impassibility wasn’t his cup of tea, but he shows excellent result. He is a strong rival. It is good for us that he starts first tomorrow, we will go behind and will attack him.”
Airat Mardeev, pilot of KAMAZ-master Team, crew #300:
“The special was short, it is a pity that the first part was cancelled. The second half was the same as yesterday: curvy roads, plenty of stones, river- bed was already swampier. At first we caught Anton, drove in the dust but we became slower on curvy roads. We don’t have intarder, the brake slower, so we had to release the brakes and everything that we had won was lost while slowing down. But in general everything is Ok, we understood that we wouldn’t lose much but you could get into trouble, because there were many dangerous tones each of which could cause loss of time. We decided not to risk, and went at a steady pace. Two more challenging days ahead, sands. We should pass them well and not lose anything. The last day doesn’t promise hard fight but we need to be very attentive.”
Eduard Nikolaev, pilot of KAMAZ-master Team, crew #307:
“In fact I expected a better result. But apparently, you really lose when you are first, because you are like an opener for the rest crews. So, we started first in trucks and jeeps ahead never cut because they are low and have a worse view. And we are on a truck and have a better view of the road and see where we can cut. Of course, when you go first you need more time to cut and then other pilots see this cut from a far distance and it becomes easier for them. Today we didn’t make mistakes as in pilotage so in navigation, therefore we thought our result would be better. On the finish we saw that we lost three minutes and a half to the leader. It is even hard to imagine where we could win the time back.”
RESULTS OF THE 11TH STAGE
Cars:
1. PETERHANSEL Stéphane (Peugeot Sport) – 2h17:41
2. DESPRES Cyril (Peugeot Sport) +1:13
3. ALRAJHI Yazeed (X-Raid MINI) +2:08
4. MENZIES Bryce (X-Raid MINI) +4:58
5. AMOS Eugenio (Two Wheels Drive Ford) +6:52
Trucks:
1. KOLOMY Martin (Tatra Buggyra Racing) – 2h29:28
2. SHIBALOV Anton (КАМАZ-master) +0:49
3. SOTNIKOV Dmitry (КАМАZ-master) +1:07
4. MARDEEV Airat (КАМАZ-master) +3:18
5. NIKOLAEV Eduard (КАМАZ-master) +3:40
GENERAL STANDINGS
Cars:
1. DESPRES Cyril (Peugeot Sport) – 32h16:55
2. MENZIES Bryce (X-Raid MINI) +55:06
3. HAN Wei (Geely SMG) +57:29
4. LAVIEILLE Christian (Baicmotor Racing Team) +1h07:08
5. AMOS Eugenio (Two Wheels Drive Ford) +1h48:52
Trucks:
1. SOTNIKOV Dmitry (КАМАZ-master) – 33h58:25
2. SHIBALOV Anton (КАМАZ-master) +14:54
3. KOLOMY Martin (Tatra Buggyra Racing) +29:23
4. MARDEEV Airat (КАМАZ-master) +31:59
5. ARDAVICIUS Artur (Astana Motorsport De Rooy Iveco) +1h54:59
