On 25 April started the second stage of the Russian Rally-Raid Championship “Gold of Kagan” in Astrakhan. After the ceremonial start of the race and the first short special section, opening the race, will follow two days with full stages 266 and 313 kilometers long. Traditionally the organizers choose the most difficult off-road parts – cunning Astrakhan sands more than once became an obstacle for the most titled racers.
KAMAZ-master Team traditionally uses these spring competitions to check technical novelties after the January Dakar.
7 race crews applied for participation in the Astrakhan race:
No 300 NIKOLAEV Eduard – YAKOVLEV Evgeny – KARIMOV Bogdan
No 301 KARGINOV Andrey – MOKEEV Andrey – MALKOV Ivan
No 302 SOTNIKOV Dmitry – AKHMADEEV Ruslan – AKHMETZIANOV Ilgiz
No 303 SHIBALOV Anton – NIKITIN Dmitry – TATARINOV Ivan
No 304 MARDEEV Airat – SVISTUNOV Dmitry – VAKHRUSCHEV Sergei
No 305 KUPRIANOV Sergei – KUPRIANOV Aleksandr – GALYAUTDINOV Akhmet
No 306 USPENSKY Sergei – UPERENKO Oleg – LEONOV Igor
All in all the start in the 3-day competition was taken by 28 crews on cars and trucks. KAMAZ-master takes part in the race in expanded composition. As on the eve of the start the Deputy Director for Production and Development, the eight-time champion of Dakar Rally Sergei Savostin, who will act as a team-manager during the race, explained, 7 is connected with the fact that “a lot of objects need checking, they cannot be tested on any one-two trucks, they must be spread in order to get objective results that can be compared and used in the future. Apart from race trucks technical novelties are tested on assistance trucks. For example, KAMA PRO tires, produced by the partner company of KAMAZ-master Team KAMA TYRES, will get tested and checked on heavy assistance trucks”.
Four trucks that participated in the Dakar arrived in Astrakhan to participate in the “Gold of Kagan”, the bonnet truck will also take part in the race and it will be driven by Airat Mardeev. All five active drivers go with their objective of testing vehicles and running crews. Four young team members will try themselves for the first time in the role of crew mechanics.
Apart from KAMAZ two more crews will take part in the race. This is the crew of Sergei Kuprianov on the gas and diesel KAMAZ. The race truck, engine of which works on the mixture of traditional fuel and gas is a joint project of PJSC Gazprom, VTB Bank and KAMAZ-master Team.
Also Sergei Uspensky’s crew will take part in the race at the wheel of another KAMAZ. The most titled motor sportsman in the entire post-Soviet space, a multiple Russian Champion in the WRC, a professional racer shared his emotions: “I cannot briefly describe and share my impressions. Everything started when I set foot on the territory of KAMAZ-master Team in Naberezhnye Chelny and I drove on tests. And now, at the race in Astrakhan, this fantasy continues, further acquaintance with the truck - an unreal truck, because KAMAZ is not just a truck - it is KAMAZ master. Great impressions, I am very happy!”
The starting ceremony traditionally took place at the walls of the Astrakhan Kremlin. The governor of the Astrakhan region Sergei Morozov addressed to the rally-raid contestants with a welcoming speech. The prologue became a 23-km special stage. Contestants in the truck category estimated it as quite fast and curving, slippery in places because of the young grass, greening already on the vast Astrakhan steppe expanses. Danger was also posed by rather high “parapets” of winding and fast steppe roads, which threatened to “bite” the wheels and overturn. Nevertheless, the short track of the first day of the competition did not give any surprises.
The best not only among trucks, but also in the overall standings on the SS was the crew of Eduard Nikolaev with the result of 10 minutes 43 seconds. Only 14 seconds slower than Eduard Nikolaev was Dmitry Sotnikov (KAMAZ-master, 10 minutes 57 seconds). The third result was of the car category representative Vladimir Vasilyev, contesting on Mini Cooper Countryman (VRT team, 10 minutes 58 seconds). The fourth fastest time of the day was shown by the crew of Andrey Karginov (KAMAZ-master, 11 min 05 sec). Airat Mardeev took the 7th position in the overall standings (11 min 32 sec, 4th place in the truck standings), Sergei Kuprianov showed the 5th result among trucks (20th in overall) with time of 13 min 16 sec. Due to 3-minute penalization (they did not take the navigation point), the crew of Anton Shibalov took the 6th place in the truck category (13 min 21 sec). And finally, Sergey Uspensky, who was only trying himself at the wheel of a race truck, was still very fast and with the result of 13 minutes and 41 seconds became seventh in the truck classification.
On Friday, April 26, the sportsmen are awaited by a 266-kilometer- speed section laid on the left bank of the Volga.
Quotes:
Eduard Nikolaev, pilot of the crew No 300: “I always liked the Astrakhan tracks. Fifteen years ago, here was my first race in the crew of Vladimir Gennadyevich Chagin. I have very pleasant associations with Astrakhan - the beginning of the season, speed, the sun, spring! ”
Andrey Karginov, pilot of crew No 301: “Despite the fact that it was rather short, I really liked the prologue route with its variety of large ditches, ravines, narrow dikes, holes — you had to be careful.”
Anton Shibalov, pilot of crew No 303: “The race“Gold of Kagan” is a good opportunity to try the youth as crew members. This time four people at once joined the sports crews. In our crew Ivan Tatarinov tries himself out as a mechanic. All the guys are very diligent. It can be seen that it is very honorable and responsible for them to get into the cab of a race truck.”
Sergei Kuprianov, pilot of crew No 305: “It’s great to be back in KAMAZ.” This is a unique truck. But I had a quite long break. It is necessary to get used to it again. But the mood of our crew is combative. 2 days of competition are ahead. It will be interesting".
Sergei Uspensky, pilot of crew No 306: “KAMAZ has a very “chic” dynamics, it gathers its maximum speed in such a way that it is not even noticeable. It seems that you have just switched and you already feel that you are in the cutoff - this is all, the maximum speed. The truck is steered very well, I was easy to get used to its dimensions and weight. The truck is serious and I'm driving it for the first time on the race. The mood for this race - is first of all responsibility. ”
Airat Mardeev, pilot of the crew No 304: “A bonnet truck, which I am driving, is as if created for such fast tracks with hard surfaces like today’s. Seats for the crew, weight distribution contributes to pass the fast steppe route in the rally style. You get great pleasure. ”
Dmitry Sotnikov, pilot of crew No 302: “Races of the Russian championship have always been of great importance for the team. According to the results of the January Dakar there are always a lot of technical ideas. I would like to try them out soon so that the most successful ones finally and in the best possible way could be implemented on the trucks on the Silk Way Rally. The “Gold of Kagan” race is also good because the Astrakhan tracks, as it seems to me, are in some way similar to race tracks in Mongolia, where we will meet our rivals already in July. ”
