July 2, the second stage of the rally-raid "Velikaya Step" started in Elista. On the eve of the briefing one of the developers of the race route Sergey Talantsev warned participants of the dangers on the 321-kilometer of the special stage: "The main intrigue of the Astrakhan region is that the steppe after spring now actively "blossoms". When we came for reconnaissance, there were still traces of rain, and now it is already hot there, the grass has risen, and the roads in some places seriously were grassed over. It will be especially difficult for the first three cars of leaders". The Russian master of rally has a gut feeling - tall grass and, as a result, low visibility caused withdrawal of Eduard Nikolaev’s crew.
The car at one of the "cutoffs" got into a series of hidden deep ruts in the grass. The wheel caused the pilot's hand injury. It happened after the first half of the distance. Despite the intense pain the pilot was able to drive to the service area. First aid was rendered by doctors in Elista. Preliminary diagnosis: displaced fracture and splinter. According to the decision of the team leader Vladimir Chagin, Eduard Nikolaev went to Kurgan in the Ilizarov’s clinic for a definitive diagnosis and further treatment.
Almost all participants spoke about artful character of the Kalmyk steppes today. And some were even able to demonstrate it visually. Sergey Vyazovich on MAZ for example passed part of a sports distance and a road section to a bivouac on three wheels. Ayrat Mardeev's crew became witness of this show, he saw how the Belarusian crew looks for the come-off wheel for 28 kilometers to the finish line, and then residents of Elista observed already the unusual car riding on three wheels.
Following the results of the day "KAMAZ" took the five first places of general classification, pushing down crews of traditionally faster car category. The best result has Dmitry Sotnikov's crew 02:56:29 (average speed at a stage – 109 km/h). Probably having in mind Dmitry's victory on recent race "Zoloto Kagana" and considering that today's stage Elista-Elista was a loop stage, journalists respectfully called him the Lord of a ring. The second - Andrey Karginov (+00:02:13), the third – Anton Shibalov (+00:07:10), the fourth – Ayrat Mardeev (+00:09:38), the fifth – Sergey Kupriyanov (+00:10:17).
Eduard Nikolaev, pilot: "All happened very suddenly. We had a good speed, the first half of the distance was already behind, and there were about ten kilometers to the service area. In one of turns we started to cut off the distance, but in the tall grass there were invisible deep ruts following one by one. Then there were sharp blows on the steering wheel. I only managed to understand that my right hand looks unnatural, I felt sharp pain and then I simply couldn't turn the wheel and change the gears".
Vladimir Rybakov, mechanic of Eduard Nikolaev’s crew: "Day began perfectly. We drove very fast, technically. The suspension settings are great, I had the feeling that we went for a walk! Closer to a service area, a strong shaking began, and I noticed that Eduard damaged his hand. Unfortunately, the pilot got hurt".
Anatoly Tanin, mechanic of Sergey Kupriyanov’s crew: "Interesting race. Fast rally roads. The steppe is a little another, than, for example, in the spring during a rally raid "Zoloto Kagana". After winter the soil is usually soft, now there is a heat, as a result the route is dry and much more rigid. But the suspension copes very well with roughnesses. There were some sections with very unpleasant shaking, but in general we had a good speed. Somewhere on the 40th kilometer we caught up with Alexander Vasilevsky's crew on MAZ and about 60 kilometers we drove behind him, without risking to overtake because of strong dust and poor visibility. Then we used a navigation mistake of the Belarusian athletes and bypassed them. I think that the pilot and the navigator worked as one team. At start we were at 15th position, we overtook four jeeps and one truck".
Ayrat Mardeev, pilot: "In 10 kilometers after a service point the left back wheel blew up from overheat. The speed was about 140 kilometers per hour and though it was not a front, but back wheel, we didn’t have a pleasant feeling. In such situations it is important to slow down and stop as soon as possible in order not to roll over at high speed. Wheel replacement took about 11 minutes".
