Today the special was quite short, only 340 km long. The route Hami-Dunhuang consisted of dirt tracks and caves, sharp stones were the main danger. The temperature was high – around 40 degrees, but lower for 10 degrees than yesterday. At the end of the special the caravan moved up for 2000 metres above sea level - ears even popped on driving.
The major part is already behind – 7,5 thousand km out of ten. Five more stages are left, one of which is a liaison to Beijing.
The 10th stage crews of KAMAZ-master finished one by one, giving the lead to Martin van den Brink. Airat Mardeev #306 showed the best time, trailing the Dutchman by 3 minutes.
“In general, there were fast tracks and impassibility, - says Airat Mardeev. - It wasn’t so hot so we felt more comfortable. Our truck started first today because we were winners of the 9th leg. On the one hand – it is good, but on the other- it is difficult to orient the speed. Although our Dutch rival was faster, he seemed at the limit. Last section he finished on punctured wheels. But when your rival is strong it is more interesting to battle.”
Dmitry Sotnikov #300 took the third place and Anton Shibalov (#303) – the fourth. Eduard Nikolaev(310) closed top five. KAMAZ-racers took the same order in the general classification after 10 legs.
Now the future of Andrey Karginov’s crew (#314) is unclear. The sportsmen turned over on a dune on the 9th leg. The truck was pulled out of sands only at night, but the crew-members haven’t reached the bivouac yet. So now it is difficult to say if he continues the race.
As the manager of KAMAZ-master Sergey Savostin told us, “he stayed in the sand in order to help cars that were still stuck in the desert. The evacuation still continues. Now the truck of Andrey Karginov is being repaired after the accident. Then he will help to rescue cars.”
Despite that the crew of Eduard Nikolaev lost their position, they continue to fight and do all they can to improve the situation.
“Today suddenly on the 20th km steering damper bracket broke. On the bivouac mechanics noticed an internal crack. We stopped in order to repair it and lost 4 min. Unfortunately it affected the result. On the other hand it is good that we noticed it now during the tests. The unit was new, we drove only in Astrakhan, Kazakhstan and Karelia. All in all I find the car good, especially on impassibility. It is more comfortable for a crew. The engine is a bit weak in sands, I wish it had a higher performance. We drive at limit. It is also very sensitive for excess weight, even if you just overfill the tank a bit. The issue concerning the dunes is very difficult to solve. If you take the dune straight forward, then you can rely only on a good luck. Our rival Gerard de Rooy, who also drives a bonnet truck, tried to put cameras but then dropped the idea. When you drive on a dune you can’t even divert your attention to a tool, not to speak of a camera!”
Results of the 10th Leg of the Silk Way Rally. Trucks:
1. М. van den Brink / P.Willemsen / D. Kozlovsky (Renault) – 3h 36:13
2. А. Mardeev / А. Belyaev / D. Svistunov (КАМАZ) +2:51
3. А. Shibalov / R. Amatych / А. Khisamiev (КАМАZ) +3:55
4. E. Nikolaev / Е. Yakovlev / V. Rybakov (КАМАZ) +4:31
5. D. Sotnikov / R. Akhmadeev / I. Romanov (КАМАZ) +7:13
General Classification after 10 Legs. Trucks:
1. М. van den Brink / P.Willemsen / D. Kozlovsky (Renault) — 24h 37:14
2. А. Mardeev / А. Belyaev / D. Svistunov (КАМАZ) +4:32
3. D. Sotnikov / R. Akhmadeev / I. Romanov (КАМАZ) +9:20
4. А. Shibalov / R. Amatych / А. Khisamiev (КАМАZ) +23:00
5. E. Nikolaev / Е. Yakovlev / V. Rybakov (КАМАZ) +1h 01:01
