The final high-speed special stage, which connected Wuhai and Hohhot, which is called the "Blue City", placed the last points in the general classification of the Silk Way Rally-Marathon.

Cyril Despres successfully held the lead in the SUV category, while the crew of Ayrat Mardeev retained the first line among trucks.

Taking a start at the Yellow River, the riders covered 261 kilometers along the deserted Ordos plateau, returning to the right bank of the "Yellow River". Taxiing tracks at the beginning of the stage, where the pilots were able to demonstrate all their skills, to the north were replaced by dunes - not very high, but extremely difficult to pass.

In the SUV category, the fastest on the final stage was Yazid Al-Raji in Mini. The second result was marked by the Peugeot racer Sebastien Loeb, who lost just over two and a half minutes, while Harry Hunt and Vladimir Vasiliev took the third and fourth places. This pair was separated by just ten seconds. The Dutch athlete Cornelius Kulen finished the race track with an excellent sixth time, ahead of Cyril Despres.

Despres, confidently leading in the overall standings, passed the stage in a calm mode and tried not to take risks at the last stage - victory was at stake. Cyril's plan worked and, despite not the best result of the day, the Frenchman retained the first line in the general classification. As a result, the gap between the winner and the second place was more than 25 minutes. For Despres, this is the first victory in such a major competition behind the wheel of a car.

“We came to complete the entire marathon, experience and experience the amazing journey from Moscow to Beijing,” commented Despres. - During these 17 days I fulfilled all my plans - we achieved victory and tomorrow we will receive the well-deserved Champions Cup in the form of the White Tiger. Therefore, we are happy. I have known the race management for a long time, and Vladimir Chagin is an outstanding professional in organizing competitions. He did his best to make the rally great and I can only guess how difficult it was. "

The brilliant third place at the Silk Way Rally was won by the Russian G-Energy Team consisting of Vladimir Vasiliev and Konstantin Zhiltsov. In 2013, Vasiliev took second place in this race and the current result is already the second finish of the rider in the top three.

“We reached the finish line, to the podium,” Vasiliev shared his impressions. - We passed the last special stage well, even finished first. The whole race was high-speed, the roads were for a buggy, so there is nothing strange in their victory. In general, I liked everything. "

Harry Hunt, the rising star of rally-raids from the UK, took fourth place in the race, while Kazakhstani pilot Aydin Rakhimbayev took fifth place in the final classification. The famous Chinese sportsman Han Wei became the sixth, Sebastien Loeb finished in the seventh line in the "absolute".

In the truck category, Ayrat Mardeev was the best in the final special stage, the only driver who covered the distance in less than four hours. With the second time the race was completed by the silver medalist of the race Dmitry Sotnikov, as well as Mardeev, who drives KAMAZ. Thus, the Blue Armada took the top two lines of the final protocols and won the fifth victory at the Silk Way Rally. Martin van den Brink finished third, both in the overall standings and at the 14th special stage.

“Today it was not easy, a lot of off-road, small stones, it was possible to puncture a wheel. We walked 70 kilometers purely on the sand, which is really impressive, ”summed up the day Mardeev. - Not for a second it was impossible to relax, we understood that we were bringing the result. The most important thing was not to make a mistake and get to the finish line. Thanks to everyone, thanks to the mechanics, to our entire team who prepared the car. It is a great joy that, despite the breakdown, when there was already such a lag that we thought that everything was lost, we managed. The main thing is to never give up. "

Eduard Nikolaev, driving the latest bonneted KAMAZ, ran into problems on the last sports day and broke through the radiator. Nevertheless, having lost about 40 minutes, the crew remained in the fourth position in the general classification.

“The last special stage was not successful for us,” he said after the finish. Nikolaev. - When we reached the middle of the distance at a good speed, the shock absorber broke. Shrapnel hit the fan. And the fan just thrashed. In addition, the radiator has broken through. I had to stop and get up for repairs. It took 45 minutes to fix the breakdowns, but even after such a downtime, we managed to win back decently. We caught up with almost all the trucks that passed us. "

Anton Shibalov took the fifth place before the start of the final stage, but his truck fell on the dune, which cost the crew two lines in the overall standings.

As a result, the top five was closed by Hou Hongning, the pilot of the Russian-Chinese team One Belt, One Road Team, created on the initiative of PJSC Gazprom, the general partner of the Silk Way Rally, as a symbol of friendship and cooperation between the two countries. For Hou Hongning and his co-driver Shen Xin, this was the first international race behind the wheel of a truck, to which the athletes were helped by the Russian mechanic Andrey Mokeev.

The sixth place in the overall standings of the Silk Way Rally was finished by Sergei Vyazovich, an experienced pilot from the Belarusian MAZ-SPORT-auto team. The seventh place was taken by Anton Shibalov from KAMAZ-Master, and the eighth was the Dutchman Pascal de Bar, who, together with van den Brink, competes for the Mammoet Rally Sport. Two more MAZ drivers were classified behind him - Alexander Vasilevsky and Alexey Vishnevsky.

Despite the fact that the sports part of the rally has come to an end, the rally caravan has yet to make a final push from Hohhot to Beijing. In the early morning of July 24, the race participants will begin to leave the bivouac in order to reach the very center of the capital of the Celestial Empire after 507 kilometers of the liaison. There, the participants of the most difficult marathon will have a solemn ceremony of the finish and awarding of the winners. 16 days of the race and over ten thousand kilometers of distance are already behind, and now the athletes have the last step - to the solemn celebration of the participants in the Olympic Park in Beijing.

Off-road vehicle offset

Pos.	Pilot	A car	Time	Otst.
1.	Cyril Despres	Peugeot 2008 DKR	36:15.18
2.	Yazid Al Raji	Mini ALL4 Racing	36:41.09	+25.51
3.	Vladimir Vasiliev	Mini ALL4 Racing	37:05.04	+49.46
4.	Harry Hunt	Mini ALL4 Racing	38:10.05	+1:54.47
5.	Aydin Rakhimbaev	Mini ALL4 Racing	38:28.03	+2:12.45
6.	Wei Han	SMG ORC	38:53.46	+2:38.28
7.	Sebastien Loeb	Peugeot 2008 DKR	40:17.19	+4:02.01
8.	Jerome Pelichet	Toyota Hilux	40:44.02	+4:28.44
9.	Cornelis Colin	Optimus MD	41:08.30	+4:53.12
10.	Bauyrzhan Isabaev	Mini ALL4 Racing	41:23.27	+5:08.09
11.	Andrey Dmitriev	Toyota Hilux	42:31.42	+6:16.24
...
13.	Ivan Shikhotarov	Toyota Hilux Overdrive	45:22.22	+9:07.04
18.	Denis Berezovsky	Toyota Land Cruiser 155	50:58.49	+14:43.31
21.	Andrey Rudskoy	G-Force Proto NL	51:15.22	+15:00.04
24.	Victor Khoroshavtsev	Bmw x3	53:36.20	+17:21.02
25.	Marat Abykaev	Toyota Land Cruiser 200	55:08.09	+18:52.51

Truck offset

Pos.	Pilot	A car	Time	Otst.
1.	Ayrat Mardeev	KamAZ 43269	39:23.18
2.	Dmitry Sotnikov	KamAZ 43269	39:38.46	+15.28
3.	Martin van den Brink	Renault K520	39:56.44	+33.26
4.	Eduard Nikolaev	KamAZ 43509	40:56.11	+1:32.53
5.	Hou hunning	KamAZ 4326	42:42.14	+3:18.56
6.	Sergey Vyazovich	MAZ 5309RR	42:50.59	+3:27.41
7.	Pascal de Bar	Renault K520	45:15.46	+5:52.28
8.	Anton Shibalov	KamAZ 43269	45:57.56	+6:34.38
9.	Alexander Vasilevsky	MAZ 5309RR	46:04.04	+6:40.46
10.	Alexey Vishnevsky	MAZ 5309RR	48:25.18	+9:02.00
...
13.	Arthur Ardavichus	Tatra jamal	56:17.25	+16:54.07
14.	Pavel Ushakov	Man TGS 18.480	287:03.10	+247:39.52
16.	Andrey Karginov	KamAZ 43269	368:28.12	+329:04.54

- Gerard, what is the mood for the next “Silk Way”?
- First of all I want to get pleasure from the race. The last time I really enjoyed the rally was a year ago in Morocco. This is a very important point for me. Secondly, we have built a new truck, so just finishing on the Silk Way will be a difficult test. The rally will be a test for the truck. I think it's good in speed, but the marathon rally should be a test for reliability. I am ready to attack every day trying to win the special stages. I don’t think we will be able to win a common victory, because technical problems will surely arise.

In general, I think the best race in my career was “Transoriental-2008”, when we passed more or less the same places that we will overcome now. I think people will enjoy the rally, I look forward to it.

- Why are you waiting for reliability problems? Not enough trials?
- We started work on a new truck in November 2016, during the Dakar we received all the spare parts for it. After returning from the Dakar, we immediately started building the truck and tested it already in Morocco. Then we had no serious problems, only local ones. Tests are good, but in the course of races there are always more problems, because you go faster, you want to overtake your rivals. In a real race, with strong opponents, you drive closer to the limit of the possible. In my opinion, the truck is reliable enough to participate in the rally-marathon, but it is unrealistic to prepare a new car in just a year. My old truck is very reliable, but it is many years old. The first - "Torpedo" - appeared in 2012, so this project is already six to seven years old. That is why it is so reliable. I think it will take a new truck at least a year to become reliable. Least.

In general, I love driving in the dunes, looking for the right route to overcome any dune, but with the new truck it feels like I can just go straight!

- Is the new truck more likely an evolution or a revolution?
- It looks about the same as the previous one. But of the old parts, there is only the cab and the engine.

- Where is the secret? Maybe in a suspension?
- Yes, the suspension has become independent. This makes the chassis very different. We've taken some of the small parts from the previous truck, but all the big components are different. With the previous truck, we made minor changes every year. Every season you can do one or two big tests - with a new truck they will not show the real level of reliability, so this is like a new adventure. I believe that the new truck is faster than the old one, the question is reliability.

This year we have only one new truck, the rest of the vehicles of the old project are also good and reliable. Yes, they are not the fastest in the standings, but they are definitely reliable. For example, Renault has a very good truck, but it has technical problems. You cannot win with such problems now: you need a truck that continues to drive, does not let you down on special stages.

- Is the new truck faster on all surfaces? And dunes and fast pavements?
- Everywhere. Especially in the dunes. The difference there is incredible. All the mechanics who drove with me in the old truck noticed the difference. You know, I generally like to drive in the dunes, looking for the right route to overcome any dune, but with the new truck it feels like I can just go straight!

"Positions cannot be lost." What's new "KAMAZ-master" is preparing

The head of the KAMAZ-master team, Vladimir Chagin, talks about the Silk Way Rally 2017, new engines and an automatic transmission.

Taking into account your impressions, it is especially a pity that we will not see this truck at the next Dakar. You haven't given up, have you?
- I didn’t refuse. No Dakar. I will not change my plans and will participate in the "Africa Flight".

Two years ago they promised me to go to Peru, but two months before the race they said: no, Peru will not. I don't care what the reasons were. It's the same at Dakar-2017.

- Can you explain in more detail what does not suit you in Dakar anymore?
- In the last three or four years I had a feeling that our performances in South America are similar to the WRC, and not to the Dakar as it was in Africa. For these three or four years, my partners Petronas and Iveco were only interested in Dakar - because of the brand, because of the popularity in the world, but this season we made a great deal, and they allowed me to go to Africa with a smaller part of the team. Iveco and Petronas are increasingly represented in the African market, so they want to raise their own popularity both in Africa and in South America. So three trucks will go to the Dakar, and two, including me, will go to Africa. One service truck will go with me, we will have a small team.

- Are you already aware of three riders who will represent you at the Dakar? Will Arthur Ardavichus be among them?
- We will discuss everything with Arthur after the "Silk Road", while there is an agreement only for this race. Villagra and Tom van Genugten will definitely go. We will discuss the third candidate, Arthur among the options. I need good drivers, a good team. At the "Dakar" all will perform on the bonnet of the previous generation.

- Do you follow Formula 1?
- Well, now there is one interesting guy for me and for our whole country!

By the way, do you have any jealousy of Max Verstappen? Before him, Dakar was probably the number one motorsport discipline for the Netherlands, but now, perhaps, some sponsors go to Max, and not to you?
- No, no, this problem does not exist. If we talk about sponsorship contracts, then when talking about Formula 1, you can add one or two zeros! Without a doubt, it is good that we now have a driver in F1, because it generally raises interest in motorsport.

Our problem lies elsewhere: the official Dakar diaries hardly show trucks, so sponsors do not see themselves. In addition, they want to see beautiful dunes, a real struggle, like in Africa. Now, in winter, we will have a very interesting television network: for the first week the diary will only talk about Africa Flight, the second - about two races at once, and the third - only about the Dakar. I think it will be interesting for many sponsors.

- And yet the Dakar brand is currently much better known than Africa Flight.
- Yes, but I hope to attract more participants to Africa. And I think that every year the number of racers on the Africa Race will grow - and with it the number of journalists covering the race. Yes, it is difficult to reach the level of Dakar - the same applies to the Silk Road, by the way - but there is progress.

You know, I performed at the Dakar 10 times, so now I want to race for pleasure, fun. I know that many good riders and teams have similar thoughts. I think in two or three years they will also go to Africa Flight. I think in 2018 there will be more participants and more sponsors. In the Netherlands, there are about 25 participants in the cargo classification - and 7-8 of them will definitely go to Africa in 2018, and not to South America.

- Have you discussed with the organizers of the Dakar what does not suit you in the race?
- Of course. Two years ago they promised me to go to Peru, but two months before the race they said: no, Peru will not. I don't care what the reasons were. At the "Dakar-2017" the same thing: they waited for Peru, but a new government came there, and the "Dakar" again did not go there.

The organizers know the consequences of my non-participation. But I told them the same thing for three or four years, and now I was able to convince my own sponsors. If they had agreed two years ago, then even then I would not have been at the Dakar.

If we talk about maintaining concentration, it will be more difficult on the Silk Road: the race lasts two weeks, the surfaces are changing all the time, there are many strong rivals.

- In your opinion, which race usually has the hardest route - Africa Flight, Silk Road or Dakar?
- The Africa Race is going to be a tough race, because it's always tough in Morocco. It will also be difficult on the Silk Way - I know this from the first race and from Transoriental. It's not as hard for trucks there as in Morocco in terms of suspension work. If we talk about maintaining concentration, it will be more difficult on the Silk Road: the race lasts two weeks, the surfaces are changing all the time, there are many strong rivals. In this regard, the "Silk Way" will be more difficult. And for technology, the most difficult race is Africa Race.

Al-Attiyah: I performed poorly at the Olympics because I thought about the Silk Road

The famous rally driver and Olympic medalist in shooting Nasser Al-Attiyah - about the Silk Road, the main rivals and the weak result in Rio.

Once again, bad weather interfered with the Silk Way Rally. “Due to the storm warning in the city of Almaty, emergency helicopters could not take off, so the organizers had to cut the sixth special stage.

This was the final special stage, where the fate of the awards at the stage of the Russian Championship was decided. The information about a significant reduction in the special stage was most painful for those pilots who planned to recoup. First of all, this concerned the crew of Aldis Viltsans / Vladimir Makarenko (Mitsubishi), who had to close the gap of 21 minutes with Mikhail Kostrukov / Oleg Nezhnov (Gazelle NEXT) to win in the Raid-Sport category. Despite the 2/3 shortened route, the Latvian-Russian crew attacked, as they say, "all the money", but for such a short distance managed to win back almost only 10 minutes. When the riders go to the start, they wish them good luck, today she was on the side of the crew of the GAZ Reid Sport team.

Winners of the Silk Way Rally in the Raid Sport category

Mikhail Kostrukov / Oleg Nezhnov (GAZelle NEXT)
Aldis Vilcans / Vladimir Makarenko (Mitsubishi)
Alexander Kostrukov / Ramil Zamaletdinov (GAZelle NEXT)

No less interesting was the fight for the third place in the Production standings between the Italian Pietro Fogliani (Toyota) and the Australian-Russian crew Adam Martin / Alexey Kuzmich (Ford). Before the decisive round, the rivals were separated by only 8 minutes in favor of the international duo. In such tense situations, as a rule, the one who makes a mistake first loses. This time the nerves turned out to be stronger for the driver without co-driver Fogliani - 25 minutes of advantage at the finish - a significant result.

Few doubted the victory of Alexander Terentyev / Alexey Berkut (Ford). The champions of the country put a beautiful point by winning the final special stage, proving to everyone that at the moment they have no competitors in the category of serial SUVs.

Konstantin Ivanov / Alexander Gorkov (Toyota) should be happy with the second place - they won it in a fair fight, which was not easy to do, because the crew spends its first season in rally-raids.

Winners of the Silk Way Rally in the Production category

Alexander Terentyev / Alexey Berkut (Ford)
Konstantin Ivanov / Alexander Gorkov (Toyota)
Pietro Fogliani (Toyota)

In the overall standings, the World Cup winners Vladimir Vasiliev / Konstantin Zhiltsov (Mini) are out of competition in the modern history of domestic rally-raids. Only the reigning champions of the country Evgeny Firsov / Vadim Filatov (Toyota) were able to come closer to the World Cup holders, having lost a little over 23 minutes to them. Unfortunately, due to technical problems, Viktor Khoroshavtsev / Roman Elagin had to stop for a long time today, which cost the fast crew the loss of the third place, which he held throughout the entire rally. Andrey Dmitriev / Dmitry Pavlov (Toyota) did not fail to take advantage of this, having spent the race at a good pace. Due to errors and equipment failures, it was not possible to show a good result, the pilots included in the top six of the national championship - Andrey Rudskiy (G-Force Proto) and Dmitry Ievlev (Nissan).

Winners of the Silk Way Rally in the overall standings

Vladimir Vasiliev / Konstantin Zhiltsov (Mini)
Evgeny Firsov / Vadim Filatov (Toyota)
Andrey Dmitriev / Dmitry Pavlov (Toyota)

Despite the fact that the leader of the truck standings Eduard Nikolaev had an impressive 20 minutes ahead of the final stage, today he made his fans jittery, finishing only 12th. He lost to the winner of the stage Ayrat Mardeev for over 11 minutes. All the fault was two wheels punched on the reinforcement, for which the organizers of the race fastened the restrictive tape. Andrei Karginov also broke the wheel about the same reinforcement, the replacement of which cost him very dearly - the crew lost not only the second place, but also the prize podium.

Winners of the Silk Way Rally in the Trucks category

Eduard Nikolaev / Evgeny Yakovlev / Vladimir Rybakov (KAMAZ)
Anton Shibalov / Robert Amatich / Almaz Khisamiev (KAMAZ)
Dmitry Sotnikov / Ruslan Akhmadeev / Ivan Romanov (KAMAZ)

Congratulations to the crew Maria Oparina / Alexander Terentyev (Polaris) - the only one to finish in the T3 category. It is not their fault that the rivals were unable to overcome the most difficult track, with which they fought uncompromisingly.

The awards ceremony for the participants of the Russian Championship will take place at 12:30, July 15, on the territory of the bivouac in Almaty.

RESULTS:

1st place, crew # 306, pilot A. Mardeev; navigator A. Belyaev; mechanic D. Svistunov

2nd place, crew No. 300, pilot D. Sotnikov; navigator R. Akhmadeev; mechanic I. Romanov

ABOUT THE RACE:

ROUTE

3 countries crossed

15 stages

1 day off

PROGRAM

CARS / TRUCKS

The long-awaited trophies of the Silk Way Rally-Raid were given to the crews of Airat Mardeev's 306 and Dmitry Sotnikov's 300 for winning the race. Now the collection of the "blue armada" will be replenished with bronze heads of white tigers. The new symbol for the race was not chosen by chance. The white tiger is found in both Russia and China. In the mythology of the Celestial Empire, the tiger symbolizes courage and a strong inner spirit. And this talisman should inspire and protect the race participants throughout the exciting adventure.

The awards ceremony took place in the Olympic Park of Beijing against the backdrop of the famous national stadium, known as the "bird's nest". A storm was predicted in the capital of China, so the organizers rushed to congratulate all the winners and participants as soon as possible. But the ceremony dragged on for more than three hours.

According to tradition, when the winner of the race in the truck category was awarded - the crew of Ayrat Mardeev (navigator Aidar Belyaev, mechanic Dmitry Svistunov) and the crew of Dmitry Sotnikov (navigator Ruslan Akhmadeev and mechanic Ivan Romanov), who took second place, the whole team joined them on the podium to congratulate and take a picture. It took a lot of effort to make the KAMAZ-master crews the leaders of the marathon.

It was a very difficult race for everyone - for the crews and for the mechanics, - says team manager Sergei Savostin. - We had mistakes, but in general I appreciate the team's work very well. The mechanics did a great job. During this race, due to the long liaisons, there was almost no time for sleep - we slept only 3-4 hours. The guys were tired, but they did their job flawlessly. Our cars were turned over several times during the marathon, and they were restored overnight so that the next morning the crews could start at a new stage.

Throughout the race in the truck category, there was a struggle for a place on the podium between the crews of the Blue Armada and the Dutch driver Martin Van den Brink, who was testing the new Renault bonnet truck at the race. And this confrontation had a good effect on the mood of the Russian team.

Brink has the third place, and this suggests that our opponent is very serious, - says Savostin. - He is well prepared, he has excellent technique. In the bonnet there is an automatic transmission, a new transmission. Previously, no one drove a car in a race. But he did it. When there are such rivals in the race, intrigue arises, there is a desire to conquer other heights.

During the Silk Way Rally, the KAMAZ-master team also tested a new bonneted car. The crew of Eduard Nikolaev 310 (navigator Yevgeny Yakovlev, mechanic Vladimir Rybakov) rode in an unusually black "nose" truck. Despite the fact that Edward did not manage to climb the podium, the crew fulfilled their primary task - to test the car in harsh conditions.

We have tested it before, but not in such an extreme mode, - says Sergey Savostin. - We wanted to see its advantages and disadvantages, compare with our previous cars. It is too early to draw final conclusions about what we have succeeded and what has not. One thing is clear - we still need to master driving a bonnet car. According to Edward, he is uncomfortable in the dunes due to the lack of visibility. Therefore, you will have to develop various techniques. I am sure that we will soon forget about this shortcoming.

This race was not so successful for the crew of 303 Anton Shibalov (navigator

Robert Amatich, mechanic Almaz Khisamiev) and the crew of 314 Andrey Karginov (navigator

Alexander Kupriyanov, mechanic Igor Leonov). Shibalov finished the race in 8th position, Karginov - in 16th.

At the last stage, Andrei Karginov, as the closing one, had to help restore Eduard Nikolaev's car after a breakdown, after which Andrei's own car broke down. But the day didn't end there. Andrey saw how Anton Shibalov's truck lay on its side in the sand and helped to lift it.

Shibalov's crew left for the race in a new car, it had breakdowns that threw it to eighth place, says the team manager. - After the coup in the sands, Andrey Karginov had a mission to help the organizers rescue the off-road vehicles stuck in the dunes. To the detriment of his time, he helped the athletes, and returned to duty only after the organizers, according to the regulations, allowed him to do this, imposing a large fine. Despite the results, neither Anton Shibalov, nor Andrey Karginov got off, survived and finished this race, which will surely be remembered forever. It was a good experience for all our guys.

Driving past the KAMAZ-Master bonnet, which, however, had lost the KAMAZ inscription, they wanted to be friendly, but already driving into Kazan they saw the outlines of this "Warlock" in the rear-view mirrors. Damn, it's scary!

In general, as you understand, the rally-raid "" has started and the story begins, which, I hope, will be interesting and exciting for you. Go!

Ceremonial start

So, the official opening on Red Square is, in fact, a marafet before the big start. Show yourself, a selfie at the walls of the Kremlin, a smiling Chagin, the police who don't know how to get through, a bunch of familiar faces and, of course, cars taking off onto the podium.

I'm not sure about the overwhelming emotions. Rather, it smacks of a social event, but the Silk Road even without the Kremlin walls - nooo, it doesn't happen!

The GAZ Reid Sport team entered the start with a full complement. The Russian stage of the Russian Rally-Raid Championship rides a T1 prototype based on the GAZelle Next and the usual GAZelle Next, plus the GAZon Next trucks and the famous "Flying bread truck" Sadko.

In the Silk Road standings, two crews are GAZelle Next and Sobol 4x4. Two gorgeous monsters Ural Next appeared in the technical team.

But the main thing started today - July 9th. More precisely, yesterday, since the clock is already one in the morning the next day. Firstly, this is a crazy 800-odd liaison along the M7 highway to Kazan.

Those who traveled this road will understand that it will simply not be possible to fit into the control 12 hours without breaking the rules. And you cannot exceed - the devices monitor the behavior.

Some of the combat vehicles went by auto transporters, and some jerked off on their own, including press crews and technical vehicles. We must pay tribute to the fact that emergency services were stationed along the entire length of the liaison, and the police turned a blind eye to the roadsides, and in some places even let them go to the red line or let them go around accidents in the oncoming lane. Thanks to them for understanding everything that is happening.

Kazan

It would be fine just to get to Kazan, but then the first SS immediately followed. The prologue, 2 kilometers long, turned out to be a box with a surprise. After the finish, Vyacheslav Subbotin said that he almost got stuck in one place and only from the side it seems that the sand is light. In fact, one mistake in the choice of the trajectory - and hello.

Hello crept up to our girls, sorry and insulting, just insulting. Tanyusha did not choose the right trajectory and went along the outer radius where she caught a sandy "snowdrift" and could not leave on her own. As a result - a tow truck and the finish line on a leash.

By the way, this was the first and real combat test of the RIF dynamic line. Not a ride, but the evacuation of a combat vehicle from the track. Tanya renewed the sling immediately on the first SS, but I hope and want to wish her that more lines are not needed in the race and that she and her co-driver Elena Pravdina get to the finish line only on their own.

The leader of the day was Stephane Peterhansel, who took first place both on the Prologue circuit and in the general classification of the race. Stefan drives a Peugeot 3008 with the support of Total.

Vladimir Vasiliev finished second in MINI, but his second place in the overall standings of the ShP did not affect the distribution of places in the standings of the Russian championship, where he confidently climbed to first place.

On the tail of Vasiliev sat Sebastien Loeb, also driving a Peugeot car. I think it is worth writing about the cars of these eminent racers, as well as the equally famous motorcycle race Cyril Despres, and I will definitely do this a little later.

The team of our partners and friends Suprotec Racing has reigned in the "Boy Scout" mode. Everyone is running, doing something, filming something, twisting something, they still haven't returned the screwdriver. From the outside it is very funny and today bloggers will find out what an overnight stay in a tent on a bivouac is.

However, the team has something to boast about - Alexander Potapov and Pavel Miloserdov, who are on the prototype based on the Niva, took 7th place in the Russian championship standings, and in the Raid-Sport category they took the first line of the table.

The first place according to the results of the first day of the race was presented to Sasha and Pavel by the category leader Aldis Vilcans, who did not reach the finish of SS1. Two kilometers of sandbox turned out to be a fierce surprise for the riders, but the more excitement will be enough for the next days.

We should also mention our acquaintances from the Can-Am Trophy Russia race Sergey Karjakin and Anton Vlasyuk, who took first place in the T3 standings at the Polaris Ranger wagon. Somewhere behind them is another representative of the Suprotec Racing team, Maria Oparina. We will follow her during the race.

But in the standings of trucks, the alignment after the Prologue looks more than cool. In first place is Martin Van Den Brink in Renault, followed by Sergey Vyazovich in MAZ and Pascal de Baar in Renault. And only after them came the KamAZ trucks of Hou Hongning and Eduard Nikolaev.

It would seem that in Kazan - in the heart of Tatarstan - Nikolaev had to gnaw off his hand, but finish effectively and take the first line of the protocol. However, the team's strategy is not conducive to this or technical problems have affected. Was it because of them that the kapotnik stood on the sidelines !? Let's try to clarify later.

Tomorrow is a new day. According to preliminary data, SS2 will be canceled due to bad weather, so we can calmly eat vegetables on the way to Ufa and take a movie photo on the way about the composition of our press crews, what we carry, what we eat, what we live.

Maybe we'll find a puddle and adventure. It will be interesting, don't go far.

Kazan - Ufa - Kostanay

The cancellation of yesterday's SS2 due to weather conditions upset, but did not cool it down, and today's third day of the race proved it. The third special stage in the Chelyabinsk region presented an excellent viewer's point on the ford and a lot of wet emotions for the audience and good shots for photographers.

The third day of the race is over. Tomorrow is the start of the Kostanay - Astana stage. We are getting closer to Alma-Ata, where the stage of the Russian rally-raid championship will end and much less participants will go further.

First steps in China

At the border we are greeted by a plague downpour and the border guards do everything very quickly. A few minutes and the police are already showing us the direction of exit from the border zone. We are in China!

Compared to the roads of Kazakhstan, China is a paradise. There are few cars, but the roads are great for them. We leave for a toll highway in terms of quality and duration that exceeds the Odintsovo detour twenty times, and the price is approximately the same. Is there a catch here? I generally keep quiet about the M11.

The bivouac is just over 200 kilometers away. We go and feel like monkeys in the zoo. Everyone here already knows about the Silk Way Rally, but we are the first to go, which means there is a lot of attention to us. Everyone is taking pictures with us, with our Sables, trying to speak Chinese, but we traditionally do not understand.

We remember all the previous movement in Kazakhstan as a quiet horror. The roads were killed to death, inherited from the times of the USSR, which seemed to be trying to repair, but this did not bring positive results. The car then jumps, then strives to leave the bridges in the pit, and go forward with the body. Or fly away.

Steppe special stages are another matter, there you can accelerate and you just have to watch so as not to fall into a bump. Athletes are driving at full speed, only columns of dust around and roaring motors. An adrenaline rush and an injection to the butt - me too, I also want. Therefore, you sit in your Sable 4x4 and gas to the floor. You have to catch a photo and get to the camp, which is 600-700 km a day.

From the outside it will seem like nonsense, but in a racing environment, these 700 are perceived very differently. In some places the speed drops to 40-50 km / h. In some places, the limit is 30 km / h and cannot be exceeded - Tripy's "collar" writes everything and for exceeding a fine of 500 euros. The police here nervously smoke with their fines.

Naturally, we cannot be without adventure. In the morning I will start in the direction of China, and Subbotin starts playing Timur and his team and we set off with three crews to evacuate Niva Potapov. Ural Next joins us. Show in two parts: liaison and evacuation.