On Tuesday April 28, the final fourth special stage of baja «Zoloto Kagana» and the first stage of the Russian championship of rally raid took place. A team member of KAMAZ-master Dmitry Sotnikov, following a thrilling battle won the victory. All the team crews successfully completed the race.
The general standings was headed by MAZ representative Sergey Viazovich before the final stage, and Sotnikov, less than two minutes behind, had the best chance of challenging him for the win. The Belarusian would be opening the track for everyone, leveling the odds for the final victory.
By the 74th kilometer of the special stage, Sotnikov had taken the virtual lead in the rally, but the lead was mere seconds. By the 131st kilometer, Vyazovich was once again virtually ahead of his main opponent, albeit by just five seconds! But the end of the special stage, the KAMAZ-master team had clearly won: Sotnikov caught up with his competitor’s MAZ, better dealing with navigational challenges, and overtook Vyazovich, essentially guaranteeing the overall victory – barring any technical issues or penalties before the finish.
Ultimately, it was Belarusian crew that ran into trouble: Vyazovich suffered a puncture and was forced to slow down. At the finish, Sergey lost six minutes to Sotnikov and nine and half to Bogdan Karimov. This surge on the final day allowed the young KAMAZ pilot to take second place from Vyazovich in the overall standings, pushing the MAZ-SPORTavto representative down to third.
The best time of the day was set by Eduard Nikolaev at KAMAZ bonnet. As it is said in motorsports, Nikolaev’s crew managed to put everything together on the final day: no technical issues, proper setup, flawless piloting and excellent navigation.
In overall standings, Eduard Nikolaev remained at the forth place, approximately six minutes behind Sotnikov and just one and a half minutes behind Vyazovich. That’s how long it took KAMAZ-master to secure the podium.
Almaz Akhmedov performed well on the final day, posting the fourth fastest time. Dmitry Avdeev finished seventh in the truck category, and Sergey Kupriyanov finished eighth. Akhmedov, Kupriyanov, and Avdeev finished fifth through seventh overall, meaning none of the KAMAZ-master crews encountered any serious technical issues during the rally, and all successfully completed the rally.
QUOTATION
Eduard Nikolaev, the Head of the KAMAZ-master team, pilot of crew N 301: «The race was challenging, the rival is very strong and powerful, the intrigue was keeping till the last minute.
I am very glad that for the KAMAZ-master team this day is successful and the crew of Dmitry Sotnikov did not let the rival to win. After yesterday’s incident, the crew of Bogdan Karimov proved that they are real marathon runners. The rule was proved, that one has to fight till the last meter at rally-raids!
I am also happy for my crew, finally, we managed to drive well and enjoy the track, and the truck. Both co-pilot Evgenii Yakovlev and our rookie mechanic Vlad Glukhov did a great job. In the previous days, we struggled to find our rhythm, and our machines did not allow us to keep up the pace, but today everything worked out. Our bonnet truck won the special stage, and I am very happy that we found the technical solutions that allowed us to get fast.
I am also pleased with the performance of Almaz Akhmedov’s crew. We followed him today and he did well. Both he and we know what we still need to work on.
Also I would like to mention Serhey Kuprianov’s crew, who drove the entire race without any mistakes. Despite a long break from competition, Segey was able to adapt and drive consistently, thanks in part to Andrey Karginov. Thanks to Andrey, who spent this race as a mechanic – sitting in the right cockpit, let me tell you , is very difficult! D
The “new” crew Dmitry Avdeev and his co-pilot Yuri Korolev worth to mention, assisted by “sensei” Vyacheslav Mizyukaev. Dmitry did a great job without no mistake. Yuri was overexcited these days. It was obviously seen how he was worrying. We are going to help then and sooner. This is cool, that out youth generation goes forward.
I congratulate all the team with excellent result. Also, I would like to thank the Organizers for the 15th edition of the rally and Astrakhan Region Governor Igor Babushkin for finding the opportunity to hold such a race in these difficult times».
Dmitry Sotnikov, pilot of the crew N 303: «Today’s special stage was more or less familiar from previous years, but it was different from previous days – smoother and tougher, with a great emphasis on navigation and attention. We started with Sergey Vyazovich, and the goal was to get to at least close to him, knowing that the gap was only three minutes and we needed to make up a minute and 44 seconds. We had to stay close to him. It all started out tough: the instrumentation was not working and we lost a little bit. I was thinking that we were falling behind, but then we realized we were slowly catching up with Sergey. We were able to find shorter track and to act proactively, then at some moment we were mistaken by a navigation point and we had to return, so Sergey was able to drive away. Later fast section roads appeared and we passed them at maximum speed. We had to drive on the edge – we saw Sergey’s tracks, we saw them pushing hard, but in the second half of the special stage there were 90-degree turns, and we managed to get close. Then there was some confusion, they started circling and we managed to get right up to Vyazovich. We were driving about ten meters behind him, signaled so as not to risk getting caught in the dust behind him. His truck was seen at 10-15 kilometers in the mirrors, but at 30 kilometers there was nothing. That is why I just had to finish the job».
Bogdan Karimov, pilot of crew N 300: «Special stage was very interesting. Today the landscape of the track has changed, it was speedy. There was not so much off-road, as at previous days. You had to drive carefully and not to make navigational mistakes. In fact, we succeeded. We drove steady, stable, but fast without technical problems and navigational mistakes. At finish we approached to Sergey and he let us pass. Probably, some technical issue appeared and he slowed down rate. Loads are very serious, and KAMAZ once again proved that it is more reliable and it reaches the finish!».
Almaz Akhmedov, pilot of crew N 305: «Today it was good and fast special stage as in Kalmykia. We started after Dmitry Sotnikov and tried to drive fast. At 120 kilometers, Bogdan Karimov reached us, we let him go and we were driving after him. At finish Bogdan passed Sergey Viazovich, we also tried to outrun him, but we did not have much time. Overall, our crew did not perform well at this race. There were technical problems, but we gained a good experience, trained and we will be ready at “Taklamakan Rally”, where we face a serious challenge».
Dmitry Avdeev, pilot of crew N 307: «We enjoyed today's special stage: it was high-speed, with some pretty rough roads. The cuts were quite tricky: we tried to cut in a couple of times, hit some ditches, and realized we had to be more careful. Overall, the race was a positive experience for our crew; we gained new experience. The toughest stage was yesterday; it was rougher. We gained experience that will help us in the future. Our co-pilot is now more confident, and I'm driving more confidently and have a better feel for the road and the truck».
Sergey Kupriyanov, pilot of crew N 306: «We’ve had a very long break – almost two years since the Silk Way Rally two years ago, so we drove the prologue very slowly and carefully. We spent the first day getting into the swing of things, having a good starting position. We drove the special stage very well. The second was a bit tougher – the road was already quite bumpy, requiring much more physical preparation. Today, there were mostly high-speed special stages, high-speed roads, but quite treacherous ones – with ravines and old roads. We started off well, catching up with the Cherkesov brothers. Then we followed the road book, and everyone else seemed to be following the track. We got our bearings, returned to the road, and continued driving, watching Dima Avdeev. We were happy to be back at the race and perform as a great crew. It was Andrey Karginov and I who started competing for KAMAZ-master in 2012. It was unforgettable, as always! The team achieved a hard-fought victory; we showed good pace and consistent driving – we're happy».
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KAMAZ-master will soon face a new challenge: Bogdan Karimov and Almaz Akhmedov will represent the team at the 2026 Taklamakan International Rally, which will take place from May 16 to June 3.
