“Star Landing Troops” Return

Late evening of 17 January our racers came back from the 28 th transcontinental super marathon “Lisbon-Dakar 2006”. 30°Ñ of cold did not frighten the automobile sport fans who were meeting “KAMAZ-Master” team members. Among them were also Ildar S. Khalikov, Head of Administration of Naberezhnye Chelny, and Sergey A. Kogoghin, Director General of KAMAZ Inc. welcoming 7 time Dakar winners.

- It’s a special day not only for Chelny and Tatarstan but also for a whole Russia, - addressed Ildar Shavkatovich the winners. – We thank you for a feat performed those days in January.

Head of Administration had particularly expressed his gratitude to Sergey Kogoghin and Semion Yakoubov, Chelny racers’ coach.

- We experienced this race with you, we endured and worried about, - Sergey Kogoghin welcomed the conquerors. - Your stamina and courage should be enough for at least one more victory. Sport is sport. There is no midtone. Either victory or defeat. The seventh victory in a row means for KAMAZ only one: we once again confirmed the sportsmen’ professionalism and power of the whole Company.

Vladimir Tchaguine, Dakar 2006 Champion told about troubles of that unlucky stage when his truck got into the sand crater: “We were sure that it’s an end to our leading position. But the one who is above us was on our side. With difficulty but we got out of a trap and managed to remain the first.” “The team did the outmost, - Semion Yakoubv evaluated the three KAMAZ crews of the last marathon, - We are very glad to win the first and the third places. I think it’s the maximum of what we could achieve this year. Special praise deserves Sergey Reshetnikov’s crew. With the trauma that he received at the beginning of the rally he could not continue the race as a pilot. Thanks Sergey Bubnovsky doctor all crews reached the finish.

Semion Yakoubov named the major Dakar feature - soft sands where the vehicles went down. Navigational principles were completely different from those of the last year. Most competitors suffered. But the changes implemented into KAMAZ trucks design helped to increase their average speed and raise its maneuverability. To overcome Dakar without breaks was impossible. Nevertheless the race turned out to be successful for KAMAZ team.

Wednesday, 18 January 2006