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MAZ-SPORTauto crew retains lead at Silk Way Stage 2

MINSK, 8 July (BelTA) – MAZ-SPORTauto crew was victorious at Stage 2 of the Silk Way Rally through Russia, Mongolia and China, BelTA learned from the MAZ press service.

Stage 2 took the rally to Ulan-Ude. The route of the stage was 212km long and went along stony roads – upwards through a mountain pass, then downwards. The Belarusian team leader Sergei Vyazovich cranked out the best time (2 hours 29 minutes) and retained the lead in the general classification. The runner up, KAMAZ crew piloted by Andrei Kargunov, was 7 minutes behind the winning time.

“The stage was difficult. Our driving was on the edge but we managed. The road was mostly dry and narrow. We had to slow down at times not to damage the vehicle. The stage was more dangerous as the road seemed smooth but was tricky,” Sergei Vyazovich said.

MAZ-SPORTauto crew piloted by Aleksandr Vasilevsky came in tenth in 2 hours 56 minutes. The crew is in top ten in the overall standings, with more than 30 minutes behind. MAZ-SPORTauto crew led by Aleksei Vishnevsky made it to the finish line. On the track they took a GAZ vehicle in tow and pulled it 100km to the finish line.

Stage 3 will take the rally to Mongolia. The Special is 243km long and goes mainly at an altitude of 1000m above sea level.

As it was reported earlier,  MAZ-SPORTauto Team set off for the Silk Way Rally across Russia, Mongolia and China in late June. MAZ sport trucks took part in a road show across Russian cities. The race started in Russia's Irkutsk on 6 July and will finish in China’s Dunhuang in 10 days. The race will feature timed sections in Eastern Siberia,  Mongolian steppes, Chinese plains and also sand sections with dunes of the Gobi desert. The route exceeds 5,000km, half of which will be special stages.

Belarus has fielded three crews. The race will be a test and evaluation master plan for the Belarusian team ahead of Dakar Rally Raid. The crews will hone their skills, trial the trucks and test many know-hows.

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