For the first time this special stage of Africa Eco Race started straight in dunes of the erg Merzouga. This is a popular tourist place and therefore there were a lot of spectators and fans not only at the start but also during the first kilometers of the track. Moreover, people were waiting for us! There were owners of a small hotel, where the sportsmen рфв stayed last year during trainings in this region. The Moroccan came with “KAMAZ-master” scarves and welcomed heartily our crews.
As the organizers promised, the stage turned out to be varied, dynamic and quite challenging.
As Almaz Khisamiev said after the finish: “I liked the day! There were severe rain channels, stones, straight routes, sand. At the start dunes looked appalling, but the track was laid in the lower part and they didn’t give problems. During all the stage I thought about one thing: wheels, wheels, wheels! There were a lot of sharp stones and, eventually, we punched one. Fortunately it happened 3 km before the finish, and we endured to it on pumping. Of course, the navigation was challenging. There were a lot of places where one could easily choose a wrong direction”. It was just the case of Sergey Kuprianov’s crew, twice they lost time on difficult references in the road book.
According to the rankings, Anton Shibalov’s crew won in the truck category, Sergey Kuprianov’s crew was the second in the group.
Sharing his impressions, Anton Kuprianov remarked long parts of the track, which went through dry sand beds. It’s a great challenge for engines, but KAMAZ trucks, particularly gas and diesel one, showed themselves in the best light. Sergey Kuprianov remembered a motorcycle rider, who slipped in the loose sand, his motorbike was dug almost for half, only front wheel was seen.
Organizers prepared a special stage of 450 km long for tomorrow, they called it “hard and exhausting”. But New Year wasn’t cancelled!
|
400 |
SHIBALOV ANTON |
03:32:31 |
|
403 |
KUPRIANOV SERGEY |
+ 00:14:09 |
|
401 |
TOMECEK TOMAS |
+ 00:36:55 |
|
402 |
JACINTO ELISABETE |
+ 00:39:17 |
|
405 |
KOVACS MIKLOS |
+ 00:44:48 |
|
406 |
BENBEKHTI SAMIR |
+ 03:01:55 |
|
404 |
JO ADUA |
+03:15:45 |
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