A fiery start to the year: On January 2, 2017, hundreds of the best racers from all over the world took to the start of the largest South American rally raid, the Dakar. According to the organizers, this start promised to be one of the most difficult in the history of the competition. Two weeks later, it became not only the most difficult, but also the most successful in the history of our country.
Russian racers competed in all five race classes (motorcycles, quad bikes, SUVs, ATVs, trucks). In two offsets, the Russians won, in another they took bronze. But first things first.
Already at the first stage in Asuncion, Paraguay, on a short 39-kilometer special stage, participants and experts realized that this season the Dakar would definitely be unpredictable. Outsiders from the start began to push the leaders and seized the initiative, the cars were on fire, the route surprised the navigators. All this meant one thing: the off-road marathon would be interesting, and therefore it was definitely worth following the rally online. Moreover, all the brightest news from South America was published on the VTB Bank website - vtbrussia.ru, since the Bank has been the general sponsor of the KAMAZ-Master rally team since 2005.
"Dakar-2017" will be remembered, first of all, by what the competition was like at the first stages. A number of crews claimed the podium, the first place. The competition was very high. Also this year, the emphasis was not on the tracks of the classic rally, as in the previous two years, but on real, real off-road. Indeed, at each finish of the special stage, the pilots and the crews have interesting impressions. "Dakar" turns out good. I think that the organizers have prepared well,” said Vladimir Chagin, head of the KAMAZ-master team.
Two Russians competed in the motorcycle class - Alexander Ivanyutin and Anastasia Nifontova. In an insanely difficult race, the guys did not give up and, in spite of everything, reached the finish line. In the general qualification, Ivanyutin took 31st place, Nifontova became 73rd.
After the motorcycles on the "Dakar" ATVs started. Here, Russia was represented by 25-year-old Sergey Karyakin, who, according to the results of the first stage, was almost 20 minutes behind the leader, but in the end he won the rally marathon sensationally, ahead of the nearest pursuer by one hour 14 minutes 51 seconds, which is a lot for this class.
In the off-road category, the entire podium was taken by the French in the Peugeot. The only Russian in these competitions was Sergey Shikhotarov, whose crew took 37th place in the overall standings, losing 33 hours 16 minutes 23 seconds to the leader.
Half of the participants in the smallest class of races - all-terrain vehicles - did not make it to the finish line. However, the Russian crew Ravil Maganov/Kirill Shubin managed to complete the race and took third place.
The closest attention was traditionally riveted to trucks. The Russian team "KAMAZ-Master", which has been in the rally top list for many years, was one of the main contenders for victory this year. Fans and fans of Dakar, ordinary viewers and many sports stars were rooting for KAMAZ trucks.
On this "Dakar" "KAMAZ-Master" was represented by four crews led by pilots Nikolaev, Sotnikov, Mardeev and Shibalov.
"These two weeks have been very tough. Dakar is a marathon, it leaves you no choice but to dose energy throughout all stages. We managed to get stronger and stronger, while other teams began to lose time. We have excellent leadership. Vladimir Chagin taught us to be so fast," TASS quoted Eduard Nikolaev as saying.
After 12 stages and 9,000 kilometers, KAMAZ-Master proved its strength and skill. The Russians were not stopped by either heavy rains in Bolivia or the sixth stage canceled due to weather conditions. After almost 7,000 kilometers of travel, the gap between the top three rivals was only a few minutes. The decisive factor was the navigational skills of the crew navigators, in which our specialists succeeded. At the 10th stage of the raid, due to the competent actions of navigators Evgeny Yakovlev and Ruslan Akhmadeev, the crews of Eduard Nikolaev and Dmitry Sotnikov managed to increase the lead over their closest rivals, and then maintain the advantage.
In the overall standings of the truck race, 32-year-old Eduard Nikolaev was the first, and the crew of Dmitry Sotnikov won silver. Airat Mardeev stopped a few steps from the podium (in fifth place). After this triumph, the KAMAZ-Master team became the 14-time winner of the Dakar.
"Dakar-2017" - overall standings
Motorcycles:
1. Sam Sunderland (Great Britain, KTM) - 32:06.22
2. Matthias Walkner (Austria, KTM) +0:32.0
3. Gerard Farres Gel (Spain, KTM) +0:35.40
...32. Alexander Ivanyutin (Russia, Husqvarna) +6:17.22
...75. Anastasia Nifontova (Russia, Husqvarna) +17:18.45
ATVs:
1. Sergey Karyakin (Russia, Yamaha) - 39:18.52
2. Ignacio Casale (Chile, Yamaha) +1:14.51
3. Pablo Copetti (Argentina, Yamaha) +4:20.19
SUVs
1. Stefan Peterhansel / Jean-Paul Cottre (France, Peugeot) - 28:49.302
2.Sebastian Loeb/Danielle Elena (France/Monaco, Peugeot) +0:05.13
3. Cyril Despres/David Castera (France, Peugeot) +0:33.28
…37. Sergey Shikhotarov/Oleg Uperenko (Russia/Latvia, Toyota) +33:16:23
ATVs
1. Leandro Torres/Lorival Roldan (Brazil) - 54:01.50
2. Wang Fujian/Li Wei (China) + 4:06.35
3. Ravil Maganov/Kirill Shubin (Russia) + 6:06.35
Trucks
1. Eduard Nikolaev / Evgeny Yakovlev / Vladimir Rybakov (Russia, KAMAZ-Master) - 27:58.24
2. Dmitry Sotnikov/Igor Leonov/Ruslan Akhmadeev (Russia, KAMAZ-Master) +0:18.58
3. Gerard de Rooy / Moises Torrallardona / Darek Rodewald (Netherlands, Spain, Poland, Iveco) +0:41.19
…5. Airat Mardeev/Aidar Belyaev/Dmitry Svistunov (Russia, KAMAZ-Master) +2:16.24
…nineteen. Anton Shibalov/Robert Amatych/Ivan Romanov (Russia, KAMAZ-Master) +9:42.31
Dakar 2017 results
Motorcycles:
- #59 - Anastasia Nifontova (Russia) - 75th place, 2nd place in the women's motorcycle standings
- #60 - Alexander Ivanyutin (Russia) - 32nd place
ATVs:
- #254 - Sergey Karyakin (Russia) - 1st place
Cars:
- #380 - Sergey Shikhotarov / Oleg Uperenko (Russia) - 37th place in T1, 16th place in T1.1
SSV:
- #378 - Ravil Maganov / Kirill Shubin (Russia) - 3rd place
Trucks:
- #501 - Mardeev / Belyaev / Svistunov (Russia) - 5th place
- #505 - Nikolaev / Yakovlev / Rybakov (Russia) - 1st place
- #513 - Sotnikov / Akhmadeev / Leonov (Russia) - 2nd place
- #515 - Shibalov / Amatych / Romanov (Russia) - 19th place
Every year in December, rally lovers are in anticipation of a fascinating spectacle - the Dakar races. January 2017, we think, will be no exception. Once again, the participants of the legendary competition will demonstrate their ability to overcome long distances and get out of difficult situations with honor.
And although the name of the rally, as usual, remains "Paris - Dakar", the competition will take place in South America, which has nothing to do with the capital of Senegal. Will Paris ever be the starting point? And will the rally return to the African sands of Dakar? 7 years ago, the reason for the transfer of the route was a terrorist threat, which the organizers do not rule out today.
VTB has been the general sponsor of the KAMAZ-Master rally team since 2005.
Route "Dakar" 2017
The length of the track, along which the races will be held in 2017, is 9,000 kilometers, and the Dakar is not driving on an asphalt highway, overcoming off-road with sharp high-altitude drops, in a word, there have never been such raid conditions in the entire history of the rally in the Western hemisphere. For example, the length of several sections of the road will exceed 400 kilometers, and one - and all 500. For almost a week, the riders will have to fight each other on a high-altitude track.
The start of the upcoming Latin American "Paris - Dakar" will take place in Asuncion - the main city of Paraguay. Further, the route will move to the lands of Argentina, and then the athletes will be in Bolivia. In the last of these countries, riders will stay the longest: can you imagine, about 5 days on the hitherto unprecedented highlands. The rest day will also take place at the time of the guests' stay in Bolivia, and from there the racing "cavalcade" will return to Argentina. The upcoming auto-motor marathon "Paris - Dakar" will finish in Buenos Aires.
Dates of Dakar 2017
Schedule "Paris - Dakar" 2017 is as follows:
- start - January 2;
- finish - January 14th.
- Stage 1: Asunion - Resistencia, 454km, ;
- Stage 2: Resistencia - San Miguel de Tucuman, 812km, ;
- Stage 3: San Miguel de Tucuman - San Salvador de Jujuy, 780km ;
- Stage 4: San Salvador de Jujuy - Tupiza, 521km, ;
- Stage 5: Tupiza - Oruro, 692km, ;
- Stage 6: Oruro - La Paz, 786km, ;
- Holiday;
- Stage 7: La Paz - Uyuni, 622km, ;
- Stage 8: Uyuni - Salta, 892km, ;
- Stage 9: Salta - Chilecito, 977km, ;
- Stage 10: Chilecito - San Juan, 751km, ;
- Stage 11: San Juan - Rio Cuarto, 759km, ;
- Stage 12: Rio Cuarto - Buenis Aires, 786km, .
The day of rest is exactly in the middle of the distance. It turns out 12 "combat" trips!
RESULTS:
1st place, crew No. 501 pilot A. Mardeev; navigator A. Belyaev; mechanic D. Svistunov.
2nd place, crew No. 513 pilot D. Sotnikov; navigator R. Akhmadeev; mechanic I. Leonov.
ABOUT THE RACE:
The Russian team "KAMAZ-master" triumphantly regained the title of champions of the extreme rally-marathon "Dakar". The crew of the KAMAZ-master team of Eduard Nikolaev became the winner of the Dakar-2017 rally, and the crew of Dmitry Sotnikov became the silver medalist of the race.
In total, 4 KAMAZ crews participated in the race:
No. 501, Pilot A. Mardeev; navigator A. Belyaev; mechanic D. Svistunov.
No. 505, Pilot E. Nikolaev; navigator E. Yakovlev; mechanic V. Rybakov.
No. 513, Pilot D. Sotnikov; navigator R. Akhmadeev; mechanic I. Leonov.
No. 515, Pilot A. Shibalov; navigator R. Amatych, mechanic I. Romanov.
For 12 stages of the race and 8800 kilometers through the plains, mountains and deserts of Paraguay, Argentina and Bolivia, KAMAZ-master had to hold back the onslaught of venerable rivals. In total, 50 trucks came to the start of the race (MAN - 14, DAF - 6, IVECO - 6, TATRA - 3, KAMAZ - 4, RENAULT - 3, GINAF - 3, MAZ - 3, HINO 2, LIAZ -1, SCANIA - 2 , MERCEDES - 3).
The cars of the rivals were well prepared for the classic rally-style tracks that traditionally abound in the first stages of the Dakar. Whereas the Russian KAMAZs have always been successful on the more characteristic and familiar to the Dakar extreme routes with heavy sands and rough terrain, with movements without roads, where suspension travel and high-torque V-shaped engines are important. It was these sections, especially the highlands of the Bolivian Altiplano (up to 4800 m), that became decisive in the race. Additional difficulties were created by the weather - the heat from +45 degrees during the day to 6 degrees at night, floods in Bolivia made Dakar-2017 more extreme than ever. The so-called marathon stage of the race developed quite dramatically, when for two days the crews were deprived of the help of the assistance teams and in the event of a breakdown they could rely only on their own strength. Fortunately, domestic technology has never failed these days. But an insidious exit from one of the many channels caused Airat Mardeev's car to get stuck, which threw him back to 5th place at the end of the race.
The fierce struggle is evidenced by the fact that by the 10th stage of the race in the upper part of the standings there was a situation uncharacteristic even for the traditionally faster car standings. The gap between the rivals in the top 3 after two weeks of fierce sports struggle is just a few minutes apart. The fate of the race was decided almost at its last stages. And with approximately the same level of training of cars and pilots, the navigation skills of the crew navigators became the decisive factor.
STAGE 1 ASUNSTON - RESISTANCE
Trucks
SS 39 KM, TOTAL STAGE LENGTH 454 KM
Key to start
Of course, the mileage of this day will not frighten the participants at all, it will be more important to cope with the nervousness that accompanies the first days of the race. Everyone should understand the high price of a mistake on technical tracks and think that today's result will affect the starting position of tomorrow.
STAGE 2 RESISTANCE - SAN MIGUEL DE TUCUMAN
Motorcycles-ATVs-Auto-UTVs
SS 275 km, TOTAL STAGE LENGTH 803 km
Trucks
SS 284 km, TOTAL STAGE LENGTH 812 km
Chaco: heads or tails
Regulars think they know Argentina but have yet to face
with Chaco! In this region known for its rally racing tradition, patience and a cool head will be invaluable assets, especially when it comes to dust. Unless, of course, it turns into dirt!
Stage 3 San Miguel de Tucumán - San Salvador de Jujuy
Motorcycles-ATVs-Auto-UTVs
SS 364 km, TOTAL STAGE LENGTH 780 km
Trucks
SS199 km, TOTAL STAGE LENGTH 757 km
Offroad, PartI
An increase in temperature and altitude will be accompanied by a sharp change in the situation.
The first real off-road test in terms of endurance will also require
vigilance and care when crossing rivers. Although for trucks they will not present any difficulties.
Stage 4 San Salvador de Jujuy - TUPISA
SS 416 km, TOTAL STAGE LENGTH 521 km
high altitude dunes
At about 3500 meters, Dakar will reach the "cruising altitude" at which the competitors will have to travel for six days. The first dunes appearing at this altitude will require the crews to show their technique of moving over them. The navigators will not have time to relax, they will often change directions in the Bolivian part of the special stage.
Stage 5 TUPISA - Oruro
Motorcycles-ATVs-Auto-UTVs
SS 447 km, TOTAL STAGE LENGTH 692 km
Trucks
SS 438 km, TOTAL STAGE LENGTH 683 km
Altiplano, maximum effort!
Dakar comes to the Bolivian part of the Altiplano plateau. Acclimatization will be accompanied by fatigue. At the same time, the diversity of the landscape makes this stage one of the most demanding for athletes. In pure Dakar spirit, a busy day will be complicated by two sectors of dunes in the final kilometers of the special stage.
STAGE 6 ORURO - LA PAZ
Motorcycles-ATVs-Auto-UTVs
SS 527 km, TOTAL STAGE LENGTH 786 km
Trucks
SS 513 km, TOTAL STAGE LENGTH 772 km
Heading for the capital
You will have to work hard to get the opportunity to take a photo near Lake Titicaca! At the beginning of the program, the dunes await the participants, but this will be just one of the many challenges of this long day. The fastest participants will be able to finish during the day, but many will reach the finish line in the dark. Getting to the bivouac in the Bolivian capital is already a success.
HOLIDAY
STAGE 7 LA PAZ - UUNI
Motorcycles-ATVs-Auto-UTV-Trucks
SS 322 KM, TOTAL STAGE LENGTH 622 KM
Marathon stage
The caravan rally takes the direction to the landmark that has already become traditional since 2014. Well-known to the participants, the Uyuni barracks will once again become the bivouac of the rally on the day of rest. This is the first part of the marathon stage, which is characterized by a long stretch of sand. The area for technical work with cars will be available to everyone, except for participants entered in the category of technical support.
STAGE 8 UUNI - SALTA
Motorcycles-ATVs-Auto-UTV-Trucks
SS 492 KM, TOTAL STAGE LENGTH 892 KM
The rally leaves the highlands
Dakar leaves Altiplano for another special stage. In the first part of the stage there will be an op-pist, where the crossing of fords and dunes will alternate. Often rally participants have had to bivouac in Salta, but there has never been a special stage in the canyons with a stunning combination of colors, where major changes in classification are likely.
STAGE 9 SALTA - CHILECITO
Motorcycles-ATVs-Auto-UTV-Trucks
SS 406 KM, TOTAL STAGE LENGTH 977 KM
Navigator's Day
On this day, participants will have to overcome almost 1,000 kilometers, including 98% of the op-pist sections. This is the most serious test for the navigators, who will play a decisive role here. The result of this day could be a turning point in winning the title.
STAGE 10 CHILECITO - SAN JUAN
Motorcycles-ATVs-Auto-UTV-Trucks
SS 449 KM, TOTAL STAGE LENGTH 751 KM
Some like it hot
The arms, shoulders and legs of the motorcycle racers will be tested for endurance, especially during the long “trial section” at the very beginning of the race day. Closer to the finish, the special stage becomes more taxiing, but the subtleties of navigation do not tolerate the slightest relaxation. Mistakes will pay dearly.
STAGE 11 SAN JUAN - RIO CUARTO
Motorcycles-ATVs-Trucks
SS 288 KM, TOTAL STAGE LENGTH 754 km
SS 292 KM, TOTAL STAGE LENGTH 759 KM
Surprises in Cordoba?
Dunes in San Juan on the first 50 km of the special stage will be the last dunes on the route of the 2017 Dakar Rally. Fans of fast speeds will feel at ease on a track typical of WRC racing. But everyone knows that surprises are possible at any moment.
STAGE 12 RIO CUARTO - BUENOS AIRES
Motorcycles-ATVs-Auto-UTV-Trucks
SS 64 KM, TOTAL STAGE LENGTH 786 KM
Time for heroes
They have become part of the adventure, and now they will become heroes. The last 64 km of the special stage will not be a single trap ... you need to calmly overcome this distance before reaching the finish line in the heart of the bivouac. After a long liaison, a grand podium ceremony will take place at the Argentine Automobile Club in Buenos Aires.
On January 14, the Dakar rally marathon finished in Buenos Aires. The last two days basically only fixed the existing state of affairs.
In the cars category, the race ended with a triumphant victory for the Peugeot team - its riders took all three prizes. However, the magnificent fight for the victory between Stefan Peterhansel and Sebastien Loeb continued until the penultimate day: Loeb attacked to win back the six-minute gap. The Alsatian stopped his attempts, only having received a puncture, after which it was already unrealistic to recoup. As a result, the first place went to Stefan Peterhansel: for him this is already the seventh victory in the automobile classification. Taking into account past successes in the motorcycle category, Peterhansel brought the number of victories to thirteen!
Triumph of Stefan Peterhansel
Yes, the dominance of Peugeot was unconditional again ... Of course, the management of the Toyota factory team is unlikely to be satisfied with the results - Nasser Al-Attiyah retired, Giniel de Villiers fifth. On the other hand, the pace shown by Toyota is reassuring - Hilux prototype racers regularly showed times in the top 3. And the client prototypes of Hilux, prepared in South Africa by order of the Overdrive Racing team, looked extremely worthy: Nani Roma quite realistically claimed a place on the podium, and finished the race in fourth position.
Nani Roma is the best non-Peugeot driver
But the German X-Raid team, whose riders won the Dakar three years in a row, has no reason to rejoice: Orlando Terranova turned out to be the best rider in the Mini, finishing the race in sixth position.
Congratulations to the Russian gentleman driver Sergey Shikhotarov and his permanent co-driver Oleg Uperenko, they successfully made it to the finish line, finishing the race in 37th position.
As for the production category T2, one of the two crews of the Toyota Auto Body factory team, the Frenchmen Christian Laviel and Jean-Pierre Garcin, won more than expected. Kazakh athlete Denis Berezovsky took third place in the class.
KAMAZ team honors the winner
The fate of the race in the truck standings was decided literally at the last stages. During the race, five different athletes managed to take the first position, and after a day of rest there was an extremely tight struggle for leadership between Gerard de Rooy on Iveco and two KAMAZ crews of Eduard Nikolaev and Dmitry Sotnikov. A punctured tire on stage 8 removed de Rooy from the lead, and a navigational error plus three punctured tires on stage 10 dramatically widened the gap. De Rooy complained about the cancellation of the long ninth stage: there he hoped to break away from his rivals. Troubles also happened to the KAMAZ, but the navigators coped better with navigation. The victory in the race was won by the crew of Eduard Nikolaev, Evgeny Yakovlev and Vladimir Rybakov. Their colleagues Dmitry Sotnikov, Ruslan Akhmadeev and Igor Leonov finished Dakar with the second result.
Sergey Karjakin on the podium
Sergey Karyakin
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This race will also be remembered for the great success of the Russian quad rider Sergey Karyakin. For him it was the fourth Dakar in his career. During the race, the Uralian was forced to struggle with poor health due to illness, but recovered, was the fastest on three special stages, and held the lead throughout the second half of the race. He finished with an impressive lead over his rivals: more than an hour separated him from the second-place winner, Chilean Ignacio Casale.
Polaris RZR 1000 Ravil Maganova
In the standings of all-terrain vehicles "bronze" was taken by the Russian Ravil Maganov, who was assisted by the navigator Kirill Shubin. In the course of the race, Maganov won four special stages. True, the category itself was extremely small: only eight started "side-by-sides”, and even less reached the finish line - five. The gaps in the class are large: the Russians lost to the winner, the Brazilian Leandro Torres, more than six hours.
Sam Sunderland
Sam Sunderland
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Among the motorcyclists, the laurels of the winner were tried on by the Englishman Sam Sunderland (KTM). Russian athletes Alexander Ivanyutin and Anastasia Nifontova, both riding Husqvarna motorcycles, finished 32 and 75 respectively.
Alexander Ivanyutin and Anastasia Nifontova
Rally Raid Dakar 2017
Paraguay-Bolivia-Argentina, January 2-14
Final position:
| Place | Crew | The country | Automobile | Class | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | S.Peterhansel/J.-P.Cottre | France | Peugeot 3008 DKR | T1 | 28:49.30 |
| 2 | C.Loeb/D.Elena | France/Monaco | Peugeot 3008 DKR | T1 | +5.13 |
| 3 | S. Despres/D. Castera | France | Peugeot 3008 DKR | T1 | +33.28 |
| 4 | N.Roma/A.Jaro | Spain | Toyota Hilux V8 | T1 | +1:16.43 |
| 5 | J. de Villiers/D. von Zitzewitz | South Africa/Germany | Toyota Hilux V8 | T1 | +1:49.48 |
| 6 | O.Terranova/A.Schultz | Argentina/Germany | Mini JCW Rally | T1 | +1:52.31 |
| 7 | J.Przygonski/T.Kolsul | Poland/Belgium | Mini All4 Racing | T1 | +4:14.47 |
| 8 | R.Dumas/A.Gennek | France | Peugeot 3008 DKR | T1 | +4:24.01 |
| 9 | K.Rautenbach/R.Howey | Zimbabwe/South Africa | Toyota Hilux V8 | T1 | +4:40.13 |
| 10 | M.Abu-Issa/K.Panseri | Qatar/France | Mini All4 Racing | T1 | +4:53.30 |
| ...21 | A.Juknevichus/D.Vaiciulis | Lithuania | Toyota Hilux V8 | T1 | +10:11.42 |
| ...23(1)* | C. Laviel/J.-P. Garcin | France | Toyota Land Cruiser 200 | T2 | +10:59.39 |
| ...24(2)* | A.Miura/L.Lichtleichler | Japan/France | Toyota Land Cruiser 200 | T2 | +12:42.20 |
| ...28(3)* | D.Berezovsky/A.Nikizhev | Kazakhstan | Toyota Land Cruiser 200 | T2 | +16:19.27 |
| ...36 | S.Shikhotarov/O.Uperenko | Russia/Latvia | Toyota Hilux V8 | T1 | +33:16.23 |
| ..45 | R.Starikovich/B.Heskes | Cyprus/Netherlands | Desert Warrior DW-1 | T1 | +50:53.59 |
| * in brackets - place in the class | |||||
At the beginning of the release, good news from Buenos Aires. There was the finish of the Dakar rally, and our athletes have a double victory. Firstly, in the standings of trucks, there were no equal crews of KamAZ-Master. The Russians have both gold and silver. And secondly, everyone is discussing the success of Sergey Karyakin. The full namesake of our chess player did not leave his opponents a chance and became the best on an ATV.
Sergey Karyakin, who won the Dakar rally, was the only Russian out of 37 participants entered in the ATV class. Karjakin is not really a novice. Moreover, he was one of the favorites of the current season, participating in three Dakars since 2014. But before that, the best result is only seventh place.
Sergey Karyakin was preparing for this race in the sands in the snows of Yekaterinburg. In the same place, in his hometown, he assembled and improved his car, and he told in detail on his page on the Internet how everything happened. For example, I had to completely replace the gas tank so that there was enough fuel for the stages of the race. I took 56 spare wheels with me alone. After each stage, I had to change all four at once.
There were also workouts in the gym. To ride in the sand, according to the experience of past races, I had to strengthen my hands by hitting the wheel with sledgehammers. These classes then helped at the stages repeatedly. “I got a little tired at the end, not only tired, but already tired of such a jitter. The suspension overheated later. There were very large boulders on the road. At the last moment, the front bumper hit the rut. It’s still hot outside, 48 degrees,” said the winner.
Sergey Karyakin is the namesake of our famous grandmaster, who recently fought for the world champion crown. Moreover, both Sergey were born in January, however, with a difference of a year. The famous chess player - in 1990, and the current winner of the Dakar - in 1991. By the way, his birthday is very soon, on the 25th.
In the standings of ATVs, the Russian became the best for the first time in the history of this race. And it has been running since 1979.
But they are pumping the champion of Dakar-2017 pilot Eduard Nikolaev. Together with his co-drivers Yevgeny Yakovlev and Vladimir Rybakov, he returned the first place to KamAZ, which the team had lost last season.
“In fact, this year the Dakar has changed. Last year it was faster, this year it is real. As it is called the Paris-Dakar rally. Thanks to our team. Many thanks to the mechanics for the fruitful work. For the whole year of work,” said Eduard Nikolaev.
Despite the name "Dakar", the rally has not been held for many years either in the city of Dakar or in the territory of African Senegal in general. Since 2008, this competition, once invariably started in Paris, was moved to South America due to the threat of terrorist attacks. This year, happy for both Sergey Karyakin and the KamAZ team, another crew of which took second place, the route passed through Paraguay, Argentina and Bolivia.
This time, this difficult multi-day off-road race did without tragic incidents. Although there were falls, and injuries, and overturned cars, and even a motorcyclist hit by a truck, whom the riders themselves took to the hospital.
In general, in the entire history of the Dakar, 71 people died. The last death happened in 2015, when a Polish motorcycle racer lost in the sands was found only a few days after the completion of the next stage. He died of dehydration.
The organizers have already recognized the tears of our motorcycle racer Anastasia Nifontova as the most touching moment of the rally. At one of the stages, she fell and was unable to lift the motorcycle. According to the rules, cameramen did not have the right to help her - only the participants in the race. But they all passed by. Everyone except the Frenchman Gregory Mora. However, this help did not affect the final result of Anastasia. She, unlike our men, never got to the prize-winning place.