29 April, Astrakhan. 266-kilometer special sector of the 3rd leg was laid along the right bank of the Volga river. In order to reach the start of the SS contestants passed a 100-km liaison to the north, in the direction of Volgograd. Landscapes of this part are extremely difficult – a strong shaking exhausted crews and were destructive for vehicles. Right steering damper was pulled out on Airat Mardeev’s truck. However, it didn’t prevent them to become first in the general classification. The crew of Eduard Nikolaev had to reach the finish with broken rear springs and shock absorbers that were torn off on one of the jumps.
Quotations
Andrey Karginov, #302, pilot: “Today we started third in the absolute, after Airat Mardeev. Then we lost a bit our way. At the start we saw Airat, then, while we were searching for the track, he drove away and we didn’t see him after. We drove alone the whole route. Today routes are killing, with lots of jumps and hills. You can’t pass them at a high speed and a slow drive for a long distance exhausts the organism and makes vehicles shake. There are a lot of solonchaks, we ran into one, but fortunately could drive out, otherwise we could get seriously stuck.
Tomorrow we will drive at our usual speed, as fast as possible. You cannot bite off more than you can chew. First of all, you need to save the crew, the truck and if possible get a good result.”
Airat Mardeev #301, pilot: “Hard impassibility was today and it must have been difficult for jeeps to go. At first there were fast curvy roads. Andrey Firsov started before us and we saw him for a long time, we could drive orienting on him. We understand that he is much faster on routes like that. When hard impassibility began, approximately 80 km before the finish line, we caught him up and he let us go. We are very grateful that he didn’t keep us. We realized that we could drive much faster on that ground and eventually it worked out. We had some problems – punctured a wheel, but didn’t change it and drove inflating the wheel. Also we had a problem with steering: steering damper was torn off. I had to grasp the wheel, a lot of impact went exactly to the wheel. We will work on it. Unfortunately, it wasn’t the first time when such a breakdown occurred in Astrakhan. It is hard impassibility, where not only people but also vehicles are under stress. Today I ‘exercised’ my arms, I was afraid that they will be torn off but I’m OK. The special sector was interesting: fast tracks and impassibility and a bit of sand. 260 km in general, but they included all types of landscape, and we are very grateful to the race officials for that.”
Dmitry Nikitin, #304, mechanic: “It is my first race as a crew member and second race day. But surprisingly I was even more comfortable today, than yesterday. Perhaps I put my mind to a hard stage, a lot of hills and holes or I have already adapted to such driving. According to my experienced crew members, Anton Shibalov and Robert Amatych, today we performed well. We outrun two MAZ and I hope that we moved up in the classification and got a good position. We will prepare for tomorrow.”
Hou Hongning, #305, pilot: “Today is my birthday and it’s hard to imagine a better present than an opportunity to drive a race KAMAZ. It is a great truck. I also like cooperation within our crew. We try to go in a stable way, to make the most of the competition and get prepared for the Silk Way Rally.
Shen Xin, #305, co-pilot: “The truck performs great on impassibility. I’m surprised by its features. My colleague Andrey Mokeev is also a navigator and he is a good specialist. I am happy for this opportunity to exchange skills.”
