Crews morally prepared to the hot fight. Any mistake or breakage can become a step down in the general classification.
To forecast the winner of a competition is an ungrateful task. Rivals go in step with each other and leaders change every day. Still yesterday Ayrat Mardeev's crew went with a big separation from the nearest rivals. For example from Sergey Vyazovich on "MAZ" which was the second following the results of five stages, the leader of trucks category was separated by 2 hours 27 minutes 10 seconds. And today everything changed.
- At first a spare wheel detached and we lost five minutes to fix it. Then sand got to the fan, and strong vibration appeared. It was necessary to turn off the engine to shake out sand, but the car wasn't started any more. Accumulators which were changed only yesterday were discharged. As soon as we removed all loading from accumulators, "KAMAZ" started. And we lost 15 minutes more. But then it was worse. Before 150 kilometers to the finish line we had problem with the engine, it was a problem of fuel injection pump drive. To cope with this problem and complete the stage we took another hour and a half.
Today it was interesting fight between three crews of "KAMAZ-master" team - Eduard Nikolaev, Anton Shibalov, Dmitry Sotnikov, "MAZ" team - Alexander Vasilevsky, Sergey Vyazovich and the representative of Kazakhstan Arthur Ardavichus who participates on TATRA.
Ardavichus passed first the control point, in 57 seconds the mark in the control card was put by crew of Nikolaev. On the second control point the situation changed. The first was the crew of Anton Shibalov who wasted a lot of time yesterday, then Dmitry Sotnikov’s crew. The last crew lagged behind the new leader for 55 seconds. And the Eduard Nikolaev’s crew came already with delay for 9 minutes 48 seconds. However on the third control point about one p.m. his crew showed already best time. At the same time, it became known that the crew of Ayrat Mardeev stopped for repairs.
- The special stage was hard – monotonous and exhausting, - Anton Shibalov says. - There are boundless steppes, hillocks and holes. Few times we were wrong in navigation, but we quickly oriented and took a right course. Today we had a task to overtake two crews of "MAZ" which entered in top five in the general classification.
Dmitry Sotnikov's crew had a similar task. This crew has a role of the fast assistance car, but today Ayrat Mardeev's crew refused his help.
- We risked a little, leaving Mardeev's crew, but guys let us go because understood that every minute counts as ahead there was a crew of Shibalov for which our help could be necessary. We caught up with him and further stayed a little behind. I can’t say that the stage was high-speed, it is rather on the contrary, and it seemed that it never will end.
As a result Anton Shibalov's crew came the first, the second at the stage was Dmitry Sotnikov's crew and Eduard Nikolaev crew was the third.
At the end of day organizers sounded sensational news – after the check of control points passing it was revealed by means of devices of satellite navigation that Ayrat Mardeev's crew didn't take one control point, for what they received a penalty of 2 hours. Thus, from the first place in the general classification his crew moved on the fourth line. And the Dmitry Sotnikov's crew which has a role of the fast assistance car of "KAMAZ-master" team became the new leader.
Now everyone is waiting for tomorrow when we will know final results. The last stage isn't long – only 87 kilometers, but is full of surprises. On an idea of organizers, it becomes the reduced copy of whole race. And competitors will put a final point of a marathon at the bank of Volga then will go to drink champagne to walls of the Astrakhan Kremlin. The intrigue remains till the end off the rally. Who will be winner, no one can predict.
