Dakar-winner on the road to repeat success
Published 05 September, 2008, 09:30
Kamaz has again proved itself to be the top truck team by winning the Tikhy Don Rally in the Rostov Region. Multiple Dakar winner Vladimir Chagin was at the forefront, as Russian fans got a rare preview of the vehicles due to go to Argentina and Chile in 2009.
The ninth event on the Russian rally calendar brought more success to Kamaz-Master as they celebrate their 20th anniversary this year.
Five-time Dakar champion Vladimir Chagin and his squad led the way, while his less experienced colleague Andrey Karginov showed great improvement to finish second.
Chagin explained this race had not been all about setting record times. The truck everybody saw was the exact same one that will participate in the next Dakar rally
“The vehicle has new suspension and lots of other improvements. So our goal here was to make sure the new Kamaz is running smoothly,” said Chagin.
While the Kamaz camp was testing the waters in their trucks, a heated battle followed in the production category, with Dmitry Pavlov driving his Nissan Patrol to victory.
These racers had a very intense competition in the class. The main title contender Alexander Oleinikov did not finish the race, so a heated battle ensued for the top spot.
“The main goal was not to make any mistakes and to control our nerves. The race was pretty challenging considering the high temperatures,” explained Pavlov.
There are two more races scheduled for this autumn in the Astrakhan and Ivanovsky region.
However, teams like Kamaz-Master are already looking to the bigger picture as they have their sights set on Argentina and Chile for Dakar 2009.
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