Cold weather in the Bolivian capital was over and above compensated by warm welcome of La Paz citizens, greeting today contestants of the Dakar Rally. The number of people on the street was impressing. There was “alive” corridor from the city suburbs to the bivouac of the race.
After start in Peruvian Arequipa the crews had to pass Andes, then there was a special section along famous Lake Titicaca, procedures on the Peru-Bolivia border and last part of the special.
Unlike the previous days, the top-10 placed approximately within 10 minutes in the stage results. Dmitry Sotnikov’s crew was on the fourth position, Nikolaev – on the sixth, Mardeev – on eigth and Anton Shibalov finished the special eleventh.
KAMAZ-master team leader commented the results of the day.
- Vladimir Gennadyevich, how did today’s stage go?
- The weather changed sharply. When we climbed on the height of more than 4,5 km, it was as if we got into a Russian winter. It was snowy, hailing. Slippery curvy roads awaited the contestants, and therefore they were very dangerous as on the right and on the left there were cliffs, canyons. Today it was important to hold out and adapt to the changed conditions, not to lose positions. You can’t win today – you saw how packed the finish was according to the results table. Everyone waited for the rest day, however, it met us with cold weather. But the main thing is that we had a good day. I would not say that we could improve some positions, but the most important is that we did not lose them.
- Are Heights of the Bolivian Altiplano a new exam after Peruvian sands?
- Now serious heights have begun. They are difficult not only for vehicles but for people as well. You feel the lack of oxygen. Sportsmen are hard to breath. And, of course, engines. Engine preparation to the heights is of a great importance. Especially on Bolivian parts. And the pleasant fact is that our new inline six-cylinder engine on Dmitry Sotnikov’s truck performs well. We hope that in the further days the engine will work in the same stable way.
- What tasks does the team have on tomorrow’s rest day?
- -A big maintenance and repair day is planned. Parts, that due to their resource may go out of order in the second half of the race, need to be changed. It is important to take into consideration that first after rest day stage La Pas – Uyuni is a marathon stage. Therefore we need additionally load necessary parts, check everything thoroughly. Assistance team will prepare the trucks for two days, as on the bivouac in Uyuni assistance team will have no access to the trucks. From La Pas they will straightway go to Tupiza.
1.VILLAGRA FEDERICO ( IVECO) 03:22:23
2.KOLOMY MARTIN (TATRA) +00:02:46
3.VAN GENUGTEN TON (IVECO) +00:02:58
4.SOTNIKOV DMITRY (KAMAZ) +00:03:38
5.MACIK MARTIN(LIAZ) +00:04:03
6.NIKOLAEV EDUARD (KAMAZ) +00:05:25
7.VIAZOVICH SIARHEI (MAZ) +00:06:21
8.MARDEEV AIRAT (KAMAZ)+00:12:24
9.VAN KASTEREN JANUS (RENAULT TRUCKS)+00:15:56
10.VAN DEN HEUVEL MAURIK (SCANIA) +00:16:31
11.SHIBALOV ANTON (KAMAZ) +00:20:35
12.VISHNEUSKI ALIAKSEI (MAZ) +00:23:24
13.HUZINK GERT (RENAULT) +00:23:30
14.ARDAVICHUS ARTUR (IVECO) +00:26:02
15.SOLTYS MARTIN (TATRA) +00:34:23
16.SUGAWARA TERUHITO (HINO)+00:46:18
17.KADSHAI AVIV (DAF)+00:47:44
18.ROTSAERT STEVEN (MAN) +00:47:55
19.INGELS DAVE (MAN) +00:56:43
20.BEHRINGER MATHIAS (MAN ) +00:59:00
21.SABATE PEP (MERCEDES) +01:36:08
22.VASILEVSKI ALEKSANDR (MAZ)+01:45:03
1. NIKOLAEV (KAMAZ) 19:27:27
2.VILLAGRA (IVECO) +0:52:40
3. VIAZOVICH (MAZ) +2:29:42
4. MACIK (LIAZ) +3:14:18
5. SOTNIKOV (KAMAZ) +3:59:13
6. SUGAWARA (HINO) +4:05:01
7. MARDEEV (KAMAZ) +4:18:14
8. VAN GENUGTEN (IVECO) +04:29:59
9. ARDAVICHUS (IVECO ) +04:43:59
10. VAN DEN HEUVEL (SCANIA) +5:25:58
11. HUZINK (RENAULT) + 05:39:56
12. SOLTYS (TATRA) +05:44:36
13. SHIBALOV (KAMAZ) +7:13:00
14. KOLOMY (TATRA) +08:35:03
15.VASILEVSKI ALEKSANDR (MAZ) +11:10:47
16.VAN KASTEREN JANUS (RENAULT TRUCKS) +18:55:54
17.BEHRINGER MATHIAS (MAN) +21:10:51
18.VISHNEUSKI ALIAKSEI (MAZ) +30:16:30
19. ROTSAERT STEVEN (MAN) +61:21:44
20.INGELS DAVE (MAN) +65:25:44
21.KADSHAI AVIV (DAF) +67:03:54
22.SABATE PEP (MERCEDES) +108:57:03
