On the press-conference, that took place in KAMAZ-master team’s sport center on 10th October, the team leader Vladimir Chagin announced the crews that will go to rallies DAKAR-2017 and Africa Eco Race-2017.
Pilots – the silver winner of Dakar-2016, the current winner of the Silk Way Rally Airat Mardeev and the winner of Africa Eco Race-2016 Anton Shibalov – did test drives for the mass media and showed their race skills. The team leader Vladimir Chagin told about preparation for the main races of the upcoming year.
Both rallies will take place early next year at the same time – from 2 till 14 January. Currently the preparation process of the team is on the finishing stage. A bit more than a month has left before the trucks leave for the South America. On 25 November vehicles of European contestants will be boarded on the boat for 21-day trip over Atlantics. They will start a 9000-kilometre journey on 2 January from Asuncion, the capital of Paraguay, to Buenos Aires.
Africa Eco Race will start in Monaco and finish in the capital of Senegal Dakar (it takes place on the old African Dakar route) will also last for 2 weeks. KAMAZ-master trucks will start their travel in the second half of December.
The main news of the press-conference were changes of crews going to the rallies and the information about the new bonnet-truck that showed good results on the SWR. The bonnet truck will not participate in January.
“Partially we managed to solve our financial problems that we faced with early this year. Partnership agreements with Rostec company, Total and Mercedes helped us to overcome them, - said Vladimir Chagin, - Modernization works and improvement of race trucks’ characteristics, that we carry out annually in order to keep up with our rivals, were continued, but in a less volume than planned in the beginning of the year. Also a difficult financial situation slowed the preparation process of the new bonnet truck and it will not participate in the upcoming competitions. The Silk Way Rally-2016 showed that the transmission and chassis development is successful, but we need to make a decision on our own engine. It also concerns our ordinary cab-over-engine trucks, as from 2018 the Dakar Regulations forbid usage of more than 13-litre engines. This is the first-priority issue that requires immediate start to settle. Notwithstanding all difficulties, we try to prepare to the max to the upcoming Dakar and Africa Eco Race. We will do our best not to upset our fans.”
KAMAZ-master will continue the ‘gas-engine’ project, created together with VTB and Gazprom. Traditionally gas-and-diesel KAMAZ of Sergey Kuprianov will participate in Africa Eco Race-2017. And the second crew is a real surprise –the winner of Dakar-2014 Andrey Karginov, and the three-time winner of Africa Eco Race Anton Shibalov will go to the South America.
KAMAZ-MASTER CREWS ON RALLY DAKAR-2017
Pilot E.Nikolaev; navigator E.Yakovlev; mechanic V.Rybakov.
Pilot A.Mardeev; navigator A.Belyaev; mechanic D.Svistunov.
Pilot D.Sotnikov; navigator R.Akhmadeev; mechanic I.Leonov.
Pilot A.Shibalov; navigator R.Amatych; mechanic I.Romanov.
KAMAZ-MASTER CREWS ON AFRICA ECO RACE-2017
Pilot A.Karginov; navigator A.Mokeev; mechanic D.Nikitin.
Pilot S.Kuprianov; navigator A.Kuprianov; mechanic A.Tanin.
INFORMATION
Dakar-2017: Paraguay, Bolivia, Argentina
The route Dakar-2017 will go from 2 till 14 January on the territories of three countries – Paraguay, Bolivia and Argentina. Paraguay will become the 29th country that Dakar will cross throughout its history.
Rally participants will have to overcome 9000 km, half of which consist of new roads, that the participants have never driven before, says the official Dakar site. After the start in the capital of Paraguay Asuncion, the sportsmen will have to go to Bolivia through the territory of Argentina, from where they will head to Bolivia, where 5 marathon-stages will be held. The participants will drive along Lake Titicaca and spend the rest day in La Paz, at the height of 4000 meters above the sea level.
The second week of the rally-marathon will go in Argentina with finish in Buenos Aires. It will be the fifth time when the Dakar finishes in the capital of Argentina.
The Race calendar
23 November - Press-conference in Paris
24, 25 November – Scrutineering and boarding on a boat in Le Havre port. Crossing the Atlantic Ocean for 21 days
27, 28, 29 December. Contestants in the car and truck category must outrun vehicles after deboarding from the boat in Buenos Aires (Argentina) to the start in Asuncion (Paraguay). Moto and quadro vehicles will be delivered by the Organisator.
30, 31 December, 1 January – Administrative checks and scrutineering in Asuncion.
1 January – Briefing of participants and the ceremonial podium in Asuncion (after 12:00)
2 January – the first special section
8 January – Rest day in La Paz (Bolivia)
14 January – Finish in Buenos Aires (Argentina)
AFRICA ECO RACE-2017
The Race Calendar
5 stages in Morocco, 6 stages in Mauritania and 1 in Senegal
29, 30 December – Administrative checks and scrutineering in Monaco.
From 2 January - 5 stages in Morocco, 6 stages in Mauritania and 1 in Senegal
14 January – Finish at Lake Lac Rose in Senegal
15 January – Boarding on a boat
