Tucuman-Salta: The Dakar rally is like a WRC

January 10, Tucuman-Salta.

Special stage Tucuman-Salta measuring 156 km is a light version of yesterday's route.  The task of all competitors in the trucks category was to protect the results in the general standings before the rest day, rather than try to improve their positions in the standings. Everyone drove very fast today, it was impossible to overtake on the very narrow tracks, and of course there was a lot of dust on the route. The overall standings weren’t significantly changed after today’s stage. Andrey Karginov managed to get closer to Gerard de Rooy for 2 minutes 55 seconds. The penalties for navigation mistakes of yesterday's stage appeared in the general classification and it affected the pilots’ positions in the overall. In particular the crews of Anton Shibalov, Martin Kolomy and Jo Adua got an hour on penalty.

 "I like the route of the Dakar-2014, it is interesting, difficult, and we were already in front of sands and off-road as yesterday. But today's special stage was more of a WRC special with a lot of gravel, not really for trucks. It was impossible to overtake any cars due to the narrowness of the road, and there is really no talk about how to overtake a truck " - says Eduard Nikolaev .

- You have already got used to the race?

- Yes, one week of the race is already behind. I want to note that we use new engines this year. We have in mind new emission regulations that will be imposed in 2016 and the volume of the engine will be limited to 16.5 liters. We must be ready for this and it is necessary now to perform this important work on testing innovations in conditions of the real race. To be honest it's not easy and it doesn’t completely allow me to concentrate on the route. I always think about the engine and its characteristics. But we must understand that the KAMAZ-master Team is not just a racing team, we are faced with the important task of vehicles’ modifications and their improving. We solve these tasks as between races, and directly during the competitions."

"I am really happy that today’s truck stage didn’t coincide with the route for motos. - Dmitry Sotnikov said after the stage. - Yesterday’s stage on a similar track was very tough and not safe. I personally saw that one of riders fell on stones when he let pass him other competitor."

Truck Race Deputy Clerk of Course Fabien Calvet answered questions at the bivouac of the KAMAZ-master Team. "Where are the wide and fast sandy tracks, the main characteristic of the real Dakar?" Fabien promised that they certainly will be in the program as soon as the race will pass through the Andes. Fabien Calvet acknowledged that a lot of narrow roads were in the first half of the race and it is not really for trucks.

The 11th of January is the rest day of the race. Ilgizar Mardeev who coordinates the work of mechanics organized the work on vehicles immediately after their arrival after the stage. "The sooner we finish all vehicles service, the longer will be the rest. We will try to do the best after sunset, as it is simply impossible to work at midday heat (today’s temperature was 47 degrees),"- explains experienced team member.

"It could be said that Gerard De Rooy (Iveco) controlled this stage with due diligence before the rest day. It is pleased that 3 our crews are behind him. All of them can aim at the podium in Valparaiso. According organizers, it's going to be hard on the second week; the crews will have more opportunities to show their skills, performance and experience. We will wait for the most interesting events of the Dakar - 2014", - said Vladimir Chagin.

6^th Stage of the rally Dakar. Truck standings.

Overall after the 6^th Stage