To the second day of the rally, the Organizers prepared the participants of Baja “Zoloto Kagana 2024” the special stage of 320 km length. In spite of that, the race track was mapped at the well-know territory of the Narimanov region, including the famous dunes Big Brother, Redsandy and Africa, its configuration had some significant changes. Cross-country roads connecting the sand massifs after spring and snow melt were very hard, with dangerous barriers on the corners, but at the same time the track was already “inflated” by the applied sands. In general, it was a fast taxiing track, where you had to find a balance between piloting skills and the resource of the equipment, and, of course, a lot depended on the co-pilots today.
The most complete picture of today comes from the quotes of the participants.
“It was a very difficult section to start the race. It would not have been easy even for the middle of Baja,” said Andrey Karginov at the finish line.
- 320 kilometers of such track, of course, made themselves felt: it was very hard to the trucks, on the organisms, plus very strong heat in the cabin. It was very hard to drive, but we tried to keep the pace. We caught up with Dmitry Sotnikov's crew, overtook them, saw Sergey Vyazovich in the distance, started to approach, but there was one difficult place, we couldn't orientate ourselves correctly, we went far away and for a long time.... We thought we were going correctly, but we had to go back. Lost a lot of time navigating. The rest of the ride was challenging as well. Got through, but unfortunately the time was already lost. There are two more days of racing ahead, we'll try to make up some time”.
Sergey Kupriyanov, due to his employment at his main place of work, was able to take part in only two days of the race, but he was satisfied with the crew and the preparation of his gas-diesel truck: “A good stage, it was what we expected. Almost all of them, with a few exceptions, were very bumpy Astrakhan roads, partly sandy, partly off-road. We drove a little bit into Kalmykia. It was hard enough, because we haven't driven for a long time, 300+ kilometers at once, and it was hot. In one place we circled a bit, where many people also lost time. We also stopped to help the Mironenko-Mokeev crew. They got stuck, it seems they were already without front wheel drive, we pulled them out, everything was fine.
The manager of the team KAMAZ-master Eduard Nikolaev also left glad with its and the rest race KAMAZ crews:
"Today it was an interesting special stage and the weather conditions as at rally, it was 30 degrees above zero, it was hot. It was quite a long time we did not drive at such weather. Firstly, it was hard to adapt to such weather. The special stage has begun not bad, but there were technical questions at the bonnet truck of our crew. We try and search every time. Today we didn’t manage to adjust to the suspension settings. The race track was not quite what it was set up for. There was a bumpy, slow road, the so-called “rough terrain” for distance of 70-80 km. And these first km were so long. I understood that something was not ok with suspension, it needed to concentrate in order to make a pace. And when I saw that Bogdan Karimov was approaching at the 40th km, I realized that I do not have a suspension. I have to reset the settings connected with shock absorbers, springs and it has to find a balance. It is difficult right now. But we have a solution for the future.
After 50 km, the front transmission axle of the left wheel was broken and as a result, the truck was only at three gears. It influenced for acceleration and for backing off. When I slowed down, the truck was always at the side. It was dangerous and it had to throttle down earlier. I focused to find an optimal pace and to finish. We succeeded. I have not receive satisfaction, that I wanted, but it is a technical type of sports. Ahead, there are two days of race, I hope, that we will adjust settings tomorrow and drive at good pace.
We saw today that our competitor Sergey Vyazovich overdid, it was obvious that he was rushing. It was noticeable even by the bumps that he flew over them and apparently landed badly. It is said that that the frame broke and you could see the bonnet of the truck, it was a little folded. When we drove by, we throttled down, he showed us two crossed arms, that it was over, it was a wipeout. Somewhere, he's gone full throttle. Unfortunately, apparently Sergey Vyazovich is going off the track, but that's sport... Of course, it is not very good for us, we would like to have a strong rival before the finish. But Ural is coming, Gaz raid... Their pace is a bit weaker, but it is important for us that we are moving, we have our own tasks for the team. These are tests in each car, which we conduct before the “Silk Way” rally. I am satisfied with the result of Bogdan Karimov today. It was obvious that it was hard for him, he is not used to such heat, plus he has a new car of K5 family, it is necessary to keep the pace. At the neutralization we talked, he was all pale: he said he drank 4 liters of water, it didn't help, then he poured water on his head. I told him that the main thing is to get there now. We started behind him and I saw that he kept the pace and at the finish line he already said that it was easier for him.”
Bogdan Karimov approved at the finish that the day was not easy: “Physically it was difficult to drive in Astrakhan steppes, there were a lot of off-roads, it was very hot. There was a problem with navigation, we did not pick up the point, many participants did not succeed. So, we had to go back and we lost 2-3 minutes. There were no other problems. The truck is well and it did not fail. I am glad with a day".
Preliminary results of the second stage
1. 305. Karimov B. 4:34:01
2. 304. Nikolaev E. +04:23
3. 302. Sotnikov D. +05:49
4. 303. A. Karginov +08:53
5. 307. Kupriyanov S. +27:23
6. 306. Nayman Y. +56:46
7. 308. Shklyaev M. +2:30:46
