News

“Tikhy Don” will Test Durability of Axles

From 29 to 31 August the successive stage of the Russian Championship – “Tikhy Don-2008” rally raid – will be held on the territory of the Rostov region.

KAMAZ-master traditionally participates in this event. According to the leader of the team Semyon Yakubov, the objective of their participation in “Tikhy Don” rally is crew training, practicing of their cooperation and also testing of automotive equipment including new components of a sport car.

This year five crews go to “Tikhy Don”. Three of them represent KAMAZ-master team: Vladimir Chaguin, Sergey Savostin, Eduard Nikolayev; Andrey Karghinov, Robert Amatych, Igor Devyatkin; Ayrat Mardeyev, Vyacheslav Mizyukayev and Evgeny Ivanov. Semyon Yalubov named another two crews “client” ones so long as vehicles individual persons bought from KAMAZ prepared for the race in the automobile service center of the team. They include inhabitants of Naberezhnye Chelny Bulat Yanborisov, Aydar Belyayev, Anatoly Tanin and Muscovites Sergey Stovbun, Aleksandr Zhukov, Andrey Chernyshov. Besides, the participants will be accompanied by three vehicles including an emergency car.

“We try diverse decisions on all five racing cars – parts and assemblies which we would like to test, – said Semyon Yakubov. – They will be used at “Dakar” rally or not depending on the results of tests in “field” conditions. In other words, the whole work of the team now is aimed at preparation exactly for “Dakar”.

“Tikhy Don” is a short race. Its total extent is 500 km. It is divided into four special areas of 150 kilometers. They will enable the team to test all those new things the racers are going to use at “Dakar”. Special attention will be given to new axles, brakes, the work of fuel equipment and also the whole suspension which has been tested several times. If they pass the tests to satisfaction at “Tikhy Don” the axles will be installed on “Dakar” vehicles that will make it possible to lower the weight of a vehicle by 500 kilograms. In its turn, this will cut by half the difference in weight between a racing KAMAZ and the vehicles of our team’s main competitors.

Vladimir Chaguin’s crew will bear the basic load in the forthcoming “Tikhy Don” rally-raid. He will go to the Rostov region not to gain a victory. As Yakubov told, Chaguin will drive exactly that vehicle which was prepared for “Dakar”. His task is to “load” the vehicle as much as possible to reveal all possible breakages.

“That’s why this race won’t be smooth for him, he will have to stop, check the work of blocks and aggregates, take the temperature, repair. If Chaguin runs safely, without break-downs and other problems we will consider that this version of a vehicle is prepared for the coming “Dakar”, – concluded Semyon Yakubov.

Wednesday, 20 August 2008

Will “Africa Race” Replace “Dakar”?

Semyon Yakubov made the sensational news public during the press conference which took place on 15 August. In addition to the traditional “Dakar-2009” which will non-traditionally be held in South America KAMAZ-master team will participate in another rally-marathon – “Africa Race”.

The new race the initiator and organizer of which is the former director of “Dakar” Hubert Auriol will take place on the same days and on the same routes on which the official “Dakar” had been held. Even if the organizers of “Dakar” want to come back to the African continent they will be able to do it only in the event if Hubert Auriol refuses to hold “Africa Race” rally. And it will hardly happen – nature abhors a vacuum.

This news was a bombshell for T-4 class racers (trucks), according to Semyon Yakubov. Hubert Auriol – an old friend of KAMAZ-master team – personally invited it to participate in the new rally-raid. Besides our racers, Jan and Gerard De Rooy decided to participate in both races. Over the phone Gerard informed Semyon Yakubov that he would go to South America and his father would participate in “Africa Race”. One can expect that the representatives of “MAN” team and other racers will make the same decision.

Three KAMAZ crews will go to “Dakar” in South America: Vladimir Chaguin, Sergey Savostin, Eduard Nikolayev; Firdaus Kabirov, Aydar Belyayev, Andrey Mokeyev; Ilghizar Mardeyev, Vyacheslav Mizyukayev and Andery Karghinov.

Two new crews will prepare for “Africa Race”.

The main problem of simultaneous participation in two long races at once lies in financing, according to the leader of the team. That’s why the team is now actively looking for sponsors ready to support the Russian sportsmen. The more so because “Africa Race” can become more prestigious than the traditional “Dakar” which moved to the distant America.

There are four months before “Africa Race” and Dakar-2009. In the meantime KAMAZ-master team will participate in “Desert Challenge” rally (UAE) and the successive stage of the Russian Championship – “Tikhy Don” rally.

Wednesday, 20 August 2008