Starting from 2020, the Dakar Rally is changing its location. After 10 years spent on the routes of South America, the race organizers signed a 5-year contract with Saudi Arabia.
The 42nd Dakar starts on January 5 from the Red Sea coast from Jeddah. On January 11, the contestants will spend a rest day in the Kingdom’s capital of Riyadh, the finish of the race is scheduled for January 17 in the town of Al Qiddiya.
KAMAZ-master Team will apply 4 crews for the race. In the truck classification of the international competition Russia will be represented by: the current Dakar Champion Eduard Nikolaev, the winner of the Silk Way Rally 2019 Anton Shibalov, as well as Andrey Karginov and Dmitry Sotnikov. In total, 47 crews have applied for Dakar 2020 in the truck category (170 motorbikes, 134 car crews and SSV categories). In January, KAMAZ Team will defend the Dakar champion title in a tough battle with the main contestants in the truck classification: IVECO, TATRA, RENAULT, MAZ, MAN.
Saudi Arabia is the 30th host country of the race in the history of the Dakar Rally. According to the organizers, this is an ideal place where the variety of landscapes allows to make an interesting rally-raid route. The total length of the route will be 7800 kilometers, 5000 kilometers of which are special sections. At the same time, the length of five special stages will exceed 450 kilometers. Saudi Arabia stretches over two million square kilometers. The largest country in the Middle East, population of which is concentrated in cities and villages along the coasts of the Red Sea and the Persian Gulf, can boast a mosaic of landscapes that will test the Dakar contestants in driving, endurance and navigation.
A wide range of landscapes, including canyons, dunes, mountains, wadi (the Arabic name for dry riverbeds), and what is more, people and culture of the Middle East will undoubtedly bring a completely new color to the race. In the program there is a vast mountain region of Hijaaz on the border with Jordan with its highest point, Jabal al-Lawz Mountain (the Mountain of Almonds, 2500 meters). Here, in the labyrinth of mountain valleys, co-drivers will have to solve difficult navigation tasks. It is expected that the most interesting and intense in terms of sports events will take place in the Nefud and The Rub' al Khali deserts (lit. the Empty Quarter), where sandy landscapes extend as far as the eye can see, and the height of the dunes reaches 250 meters.
The race truck
For the racing KAMAZ-master Team will apply 4 sports trucks KAMAZ-43509 that have already proven themselves this year in the Dakar Rally in Peru and in the Silk Way Rally: Russia-Mongolia-China. In the new truck, which saw the light in 2018 due to changes in the Dakar regulations, restricting the maximum engine capacity in the truck classification with 13 liters, an in-line six-cylinder engine was used.
The team actually had to redesign a new truck, which became the carrier of the latest developments and modern sports technologies. For a year after its birth, this model went through more than one modernization.
Preparation of the race trucks for the Dakar 2020 was mainly aimed at improving performance of various systems, increasing reliability of units and parts, and reducing weight of some components. All changes were tested at the stages of the Russian Championship, the Rally Kazakhstan and the Silk Way Rally 2019.
Engine operating processes, as well as manifolds and elements of the inlet and exhaust systems were optimized. Good results were achieved in reduction of the inlet manifold resistance, the gas dynamics of the exhaust system were improved, due to which the temperature of the exhaust gases was reduced.
In recent years, following the trend of environmental protection, the race commissars have set high smoke requirements. Although today fixation of the soot content degree in the exhaust gases is not carried out by an instrumental method, but only by visual control, this is enough to make a comparison of the race contestants and apply sports penalties to someone up to withdrawal from the race. Over the past season, it was managed to improve the engine's operating processes, allowing to reduce the smoke of the exhaust gases without compromising dynamic properties.
Due to the increased demands of the drivers of the race trucks for steering, were implemented settings, allowing to reduce the effort on the steering wheel.
These events are still at the stage of the fatigue life expenditure, but have already shown themselves on the positive side. Tests have confirmed the time reduction of overcoming winding tracks, as well as increase of driving accuracy in sandy, dune terrain.
In order to reduce the truck’s tendency to roll-over, to make it more responsive to changes in driving direction and to increase the average speed when driving through winding tracks, a significant rearrangement of the body internal units was carried out. The center of the truck’s gravity was reduced by moving units of the intake and fuel systems, and the fuel tank was shifted closer to the rotation center of the truck.
Finishing works of the trucks and system adjustment were carried out during the Russian Rally Raid Championship Stage held at the end of September in Rostov, as well as during October tests in Kazakhstan.
KAMAZ-master Crews at the Dakar Rally 2020
500 Driver Eduard Nikolaev, co-driver Evgeny Yakovlev, mechanic Vladimir Rybakov
501 Driver Dmitry Sotnikov, co-driver Ruslan Akhmadeev, mechanic Ilgiz Akhmetzianov
511 Driver Andrey Karginov, co-driver Andrey Mokeev, mechanic Igor Leonov
516 Driver Anton Shibalov, co-driver Dmitry Nikitin, mechanic Ivan Tatarinov
The race calendar
5, 6 December - scrutineering of race vehicles and loading of the vehicles in the port of Marseille
1,2 January - recovery of the vehicles in the port of Jeddah (Saudi Arabia)
2-4 January - administrative checks and scrutineering
4 January - start podium, parking vehicles in parc fermé (Jeddah)
5 January - first speed section
11 January - rest day in Al Riyadh
17 January - last stage and finish podium
18 January - loading of the vehicles on the ferry in Jeddah
