Few days are left before the debut of the race team “KAMAZ-master”. It will be represented by two crews of the young pilots – Bogdan Karimov and Almaz Akhmedov.
The history of “Takla-Makan” comprises two decades and hundreds of participants can prove its harsh level of participation. In 2026, the competition will take part from May 16 to June 3 by Aksu and Urumqi distance and will contain 14 stages, whereas 8000 km off-road routes, by 4200 km of special stages.
As Head of the team Eduard Nikolaev states, the team spent 3 years for fact-finding and preparing for “Takla-Makan” rally. In 2025, the members of “Blue Armada” visited the race as spectators, studied the route and later the race crews held training sessions in China, increasing the experience of young athletes, testing trucks at extreme conditions, working out overcoming sand dunes, getting to know the density of sand, topography of area and key points of the rally. The result of meticulous work was decision to participate at rally 2026.
It was in 2019 when KAMAZ team participated in China last time – the crew of Anton Shibalov, Dmitry Nikitin and Ivan Tatarinov won the rally. This time Dmitry Nikitin will take place at the truck of Bogdan Karimov with whom they became the champions of Russia, and highly-experience Anton Shibalov, as mechanics who started its race career in 2010
Co-pilot Dmitry Nikitin will take his place in the cab of the truck driven by Bogdan Karimov with whom he won the Russian championship in 2025, while the highly experienced Anton Shibalov, who began his racing career as a mechanic in 2010, will return to that role in the crew of young pilot Almaz Akhmedov; for Akhmedov, this long-distance marathon will mark his first major test behind the wheel of a racing truck. Anton Shibalov—who boasts tens of thousands of competitive kilometers under his belt, along with victories and podium finishes in the world’s premier rally-raid events—will serve as a mentor to the novice pilot; his experience will help hone Almaz Akhmedov’s skills. Developing young talent is a top priority for the KAMAZ-master team, and invaluable experience is best gained in actual race conditions while competing against formidable rivals.
The list of KAMAZ-master crews at rally “Takla-Makan 2026”:
- pilot Bogdan Karimov, co-pilot Dmitry Nikitin, mechanics Ilgiz Alkmetzyanov;
- pilot Almaz Akhmedov, co-pilot Ivan Malkov, mechanics Anton Shibalov;
Kamaz crews will take part at upgraded K5 trucks. These trucks have recommended themselves at Russian and foreign routes, won at prestigious competitions, as well as at Dakar rally marathon. During preparation to racing season, the engineers of the team did a great deal of work of modernization of race vehicles, bringing them into compliance with technical regulations of international race.
In spring, work continued on reducing the truck’s overall weight, alongside testing of KAMAZ’s in-house developed transfer case. To enhance handling control and maintain the truck’s ride smoothness, the weight distribution was modified. This solution had been successfully tested last year and now is implemented across all the team’s racing machinery. Additionally, the damping characteristics and overall suspension stiffness were adjusted, and the exhaust system was refined. To increase crew safety, specialized in-cab fire suppression systems were installed during the off-season.
Exterior modifications were also made to the K5 trucks. Specifically, the front-end design was redesigned, ensuring that all KAMAZ racing truck models feature a unified styling for the 2026 season. Spectator could witness the updated machinery in Astrakhan at the “Zoloto Kagana” Baja – the opening round of the Rally-Raid Championship.
Except of the KAMAZ-master team Russia will be represented by URAL-MOTOSPORT at truck category. The team sent two crews by guidance of Yuri Naiman and Ivan Korolev. The Chinese athletes, including those competing in European truck brands, will compete for top results in one’s of the world’s largest and most arid deserts. According to the organizers, the 2026 edition of the “Takla- Makan” Rally will feature a record-breaking at total distance route and special stage length. For the first time in history, a marathon stage has been included in the race itinerary. Hardships and trials have never been an obstacle for many generations of KAMAZ-master pilots. Despite China’s treacherous sands, which are full of surprises and traps, the team is fully ready for the rally.
Photo by D.Galchun
