The road surface changes literally every kilometer: one minute there was perfect asphalt - and now it’s a dirt road with holes the size of half a wheel. The gas station noted in the “legend” turns out to be a KAMAZ tanker parked on the side of the road... And no trees, no shadows. Together with the GAZ Raid Sport team, I accompanied the Silk Road rally raid from Moscow to Almaty.

Dakar 2016 champion Gerard de Roy, who competes at Iveco, said during a visit at the beginning of summer that Vladimir Chagin constantly calls him and invites him to the Silk Road. But if the race route did not go from Moscow to Beijing, but vice versa, de Roy would have taken part! Otherwise, no, because we would have to wait a long time for the car to return from Beijing, and they wouldn’t have time to prepare it for the next Dakar.

So neither de Roy, nor the Czech Dakar hero Ales Loprais, nor the prize-winning MAN pilots and the GINAF factory team arrived at the current race, which, of course, reduced the “cargo” degree of the event.

A black bonnet has been added to the traditional line of blue and white KAMAZ trucks

However, there was still intrigue - connected with the confrontation between the two bonnet workers. As you know, KAMAZ last year built a “nosed” vehicle with a cab Mercedes Zetros, but its debut was not particularly successful: springs burst, the radiator was punctured due to an unfortunate location, there were complaints about the rented Gyrtech engine (this is a Caterpillar, converted by the Czech Buggyra team). Now stronger springs have been installed on the car, and the radiator has been “separated” from the intercooler, moving it back.

The Silk Road debutant, the Renault Sherpa bonnet, immediately took third place in the cargo category. The Sherpa, like the “nosed” KAMAZ, has not only the hood, but also the cab that can be tilted

The direct competitor to this truck was also the “nosed” Renault Sherpa, built on the eve of the “Silk Road” for the Dutch team Mammoet Rallysport on the same principle as KAMAZ. The racing chassis from the Renault K cabover (two of these cars also took part in the race) was equipped with a cabin from the army model Sherpa 5. The engine was a 13-liter Volvo-Renault, the gearbox was a ZF AS Tronic robot. To be honest, we did not expect high results from this car, but do you know what it turned out to be?

Moscow—Kazan (845 km)

Together with my colleague Nikolai Markov, I set off on a Sobol 4x4 minibus with tail number 828. Although it was considered a support vehicle and we did not go to special stages, the rules of the race also applied to us. On windshield The Tripy device, issued by the organizers, was attached: it not only shows the route and distance to the end point, but also controls the speed. If you exceed the 110 km/h mark a couple of times a day (90 allowed + 20 above) you will receive a fine from the organizers, so much so that the traffic cops will be jealous: about 500 euros!

The Sable 4x4 I was driving, in front of a Soviet “billboard” in the middle of the steppe

Therefore, we tried not to drive, especially since the road is from Nizhny Novgorod to Kazan is not very conducive to high-speed driving. Sometimes there are such terrible bumps on the asphalt that even the Sobol with its high seating position is uncomfortable. In addition, there are long traffic jams due to road works. As a result, we were safely late for the Kazan prologue of the race, where various crews stalled in the sand (including the women’s GAZ team on Sobol).

Kazan—Ufa (557 km)

Bashkiria greeted us with bad weather (due to which the special stage was cancelled) and a lack of markings: there were some - and no! In the evening, at the bivouac, I went to study the trucks of the caravan: in addition to combat vehicles, more than a hundred truck vehicles took part in the rally raid, including exotic “Chinese” - there were, among other things, Dongfeng with the wheel formula “Chinese Six”, “Chinese Six” ( two axles in the front, one in the rear), and a Sinotruk with a motorhome made from a container.

Chinese motorhome on a Dongfeng chassis with two axles in front

Against their background, Gaz vehicles based on the new Next Urals looked very dignified: they had double-row cabs, where back row turns into a sleeping area, hefty bodies with a workshop in front and a warehouse for spare parts in the back. And also - a modified power unit and transmission: engine power was increased from 312 to 330 hp, the speed limiter at 90 km/h was removed, and the main gear was installed at 6.77 instead of 7.49.

Before the Silk Road, GAZ Group built technical vehicles based on the new Ural Next

Ufa—Kostanay (721 km)

In order to make the marathon run to Kostanay and at the same time photograph the racers on the ford near the border with Kazakhstan, I had to leave very early. The most beautiful Ural mountain roads, serpentine passes... But where are the long-range trucks that usually clog the highway? At roadside stops, where traffic cops drove them while the caravan was passing! As for the Silk Road cars, it seems that the traffic police had an order not to touch them: before my eyes foreign cars escorts were overtaken through a continuous line in full view of the inspectors - and they averted their eyes.

An ancient ZIL-130V with a semi-trailer-bus works at Kostanay airport

An adventure awaited us at the border with Kazakhstan: we almost got through without being checked. We had barely driven a hundred meters away from the checkpoint when we saw in the mirrors that they were shouting and waving their arms from behind. Forgot to go through Kazakh passport control! Polite border guards apologized for our mistake - but just as politely added that if we had not returned, they would have every right to open fire...

Kostanay—Astana (723 km)

After the bivouac in border Kostanay, the route is straight, like an arrow, going beyond the horizon. There is not a hint of civilization around: only occasionally does a power line approach the road, and once every 50-70 km some locality. It would seem that turn on cruise control and relax. Not so: suddenly, unmarked road repairs with asphalt cut down to the ground may begin - and such places last not hundreds of meters, but kilometers.

And this is the “charged” Gazelle Next by Vyacheslav Subbotin, whose Cummins turbodiesel is boosted to 200 hp. and 500 Nm

And on the special stage that day, the crew of the fastest MAZ, driven by Sergei Vyazovich, was unlucky: it overheated and cracked. exhaust pipe, and because of it the pneumatic tubes were burned. The Mazovians had to fix all this...

Astana—Balkhash (618 km)

Beyond Astana, the kingdom of new buildings, we go to local roads - also of very different sizes. Over 200 kilometers of such routes, the surface changed thirty times: either asphalt of different colors, then crushed stone, or even just dirt. After we drove away from the gas station, the thermometer at which showed +38°C, there was an unexpected stop: the left one grinded front wheel. They took it off and found a pebble stuck between the brake disc and boot.

We had just arrived at the ford (which turned out to be too tough for our Sobol) when the pilot of one of the passing crews shouted to us that a “combat” Gazelle had capsized a kilometer away. But we can’t drive on the race track - so I ran in the heat. I don’t advise anyone to repeat this: after about five hundred meters of this run, I realized that I was exhausted, and when our Sobol arrived (he had to drive around the steppe), I drank, without stopping, three half-liter bottles... with water, of course .

We were the first to arrive at the scene of the accident of Stéphane Peterhansel's buggy. Fortunately, after a series of coups, the crew was not injured

And the “overturned Gazelle” turned out to be Stephane Peterhansel’s Peugeot: the driver did not notice the bump on the high-speed section, and the car made as many as six revolutions through the roof. The crew was alive and even intact - but we were forbidden to offer help, much less tow the damaged car, since both us and the riders could be disqualified for this. If the damage to the car turned out to be too serious, the crew would have to wait for their technician or “broom” - a KAMAZ tow truck. But Peterhansel and his co-driver managed to bring the car back to life and continue the race - albeit with a six-hour lag.

Balkhash—Almaty (641 km)

Due to strong winds, part of the special stage where the beautiful shooting point was located was canceled. Therefore, we had no choice but to meet the participants at the intermediate finish and go to Alma-Ata.

Rally in Kazakh style: a Belarus tractor drags a Gazelle cattle truck with livestock in the back across a ford

In the Gobi Desert, two cargo racers made “ears” at once: Andrey Karginov in a KAMAZ and Sergey Vyazovich in a MAZ. But it was Vyazovich (who was quickly lifted onto wheels by other MAZ trucks) who became the best in the Minsk team - sixth in the final standings.

The GAZ crews of Vyacheslav Subbotin and Tatyana Eliseeva successfully finished in China (albeit in the top ten among “passenger” racers), their colleagues, the Kostrukov brothers, completed the race in Alma-Ata - and one of them, Mikhail, won a stage of the Russian Championship in the Reid classification. sport.

Tatyana Eliseeva - pilot of the female crew of the Gas team

When this issue was being prepared for publication, Fedor Lapshin tested the Ural Next technical equipment on the off-road near Yekaterinburg; more about this in the next issues of the column.

The rally-raid was attended by 61 crews from thirteen countries. After administrative checks and technical inspection, 21 trucks and 33 cars were allowed to the ceremonial start on Red Square.

Among them are 12 Russian crews: six in the truck category, another six in the car category.The only female crew in the marathon is also Russian: Maria Oparina and Taisiya Shtaneva ( Suprotec Racing) are riding a Maverick X 3 XRS DPS 903 TCIC in the T3 classification.

One of our car crews are true racing fans. Sergey Shalygin and Artem Kanivets, who are going to the race Toyota Land Cruiser , - from Vladivostok. Before the start of the competition in Moscow, they traveled along public roads and by the start of the marathon they had already covered more than 20 thousand kilometers. Now, in fact, they began their journey home. Only in race mode, that is, a little faster and not always on the roads.

It is worth highlighting one more car: GAZ 2704EV, which is used by Alexander Semenov/Ramil Zamaletdinov (No. 126). The crew is declared under the name BFCEC Sport : a Chinese company helped in preparing the equipmentBeijing Foton Cummins Engine Company, which produces diesel engines.

One crew stated to ASPEC Motorsport: Viktor Khoroshavtsev/Anton Nikolaev are driving a BMW X 3 (No. 111).

Team "GAZ Raid Sport" entered four cars, two of which were in the truck category. On these GAZ-C41R13 GAZon Next Boleslav Levitsky/Alexander Obukhov (No. 320) and Mikhail Shklyaev/Alexander Laguta (No. 322) are riding. And in the car classification, two GAZ 33027 compete: Alexander Kostrukov/Evgeniy Pavlov (No. 123) and Mikhail Kostrukov/Oleg Nezhnov (No. 128), GAZ 33027.

Represented by four trucks with crews:

Airat Mardeev/Aidar Belyaev/Dmitry Svistunov (No. 300);

Dmitry Sotnikov/Ruslan Akhmadeev/Ilnur Mustafin (No. 303);

Eduard Nikolaev/Evgeniy Yakovlev/Vladimir Rybakov (No. 307);

Anton Shibalov/Andrey Mokeev/Dmitry Nikitin (No. 312).

Unfortunately, Vladimir Vasiliev/Konstantin Zhiltsov, who had previously entered the race, will not take part in the race due to Vladimir’s back injury, as well as Sergei Uspensky/Andrey Rusov.

However, the Russians also support the Latvian AVMotorsport. On Mitsubishi L 200 Anton Pletnev rides with Aldis Vilcans, and Toyota Land Cruiser - entirely Russian crew: Yulia Migunova-Khegai and Igor Petenko.

It is curious that Russian is the means of communication in the French-Ukrainian crew Sodicars : pilot Frederic Chavigny admitted that he conducts radio negotiations with navigator Igor Motko on it. Perhaps not all of them, but the Frenchman will definitely not be lost in Russia: at the start of the marathon he demonstrated good pronunciation and knowledge of the language.

The French are co-organizers of the Silk Way Rally, so it is not surprising that there are so many French crews among the participants. One team Peugeot exhibited three cars. “Dream Team”, as in, was composed by Cyril Despres, Stéphane Peterhansel and Sebastien Loeb. This year they're riding a prototype Peugeot 3008.

MAZ-SPORTauto from Belarus entered three MAZ-5309RR prototypes in the truck category: Sergey Vyazovich/Pavel Garanin/Andrey Zhigulin (No. 304), Alexander Vasilevsky/Dmitry Vikhrenko/Anton Zaporoshchenko (No. 309), Alexey Vishnevsky/Maxim Novikov/Andrey Neverovich (No. 316).

But Kazakhstan is represented in trucks by Artur Ardavichus, but he plays for the Dutch team of Gerard De Rooy. Moreover, Arthur is driving the previous truck of De Roy himself, and Gerard is driving the new prototype. Therefore, the Dutchman is cautious in his forecasts, recalling that the technology has not yet had time to prove itself. However, it is unlikely that he would have entered such a serious race without being confident in the capabilities of the new Iveco.

A whole troop of troops has entered the race. Chinese cars, among which the strongest participant can be called Han Wei, the winner of the competition in China. Last year he already participated in the “Silk Road” and this year he plans to reach the finish line again and, if possible, impose a fight on the leaders. He will perform at SMG 0 RC 0028 for the Geely Auto Coopertires Team.

By the way, after the start, another SUV was added to the list of admitted participants - a Chinese duo driving a Toyota Hilux. Therefore, 34 cars and 21 trucks entered the first special stage.

At night, the marathon participants left Moscow to arrive at the start site of the first special stage near Cheboksary during the day. For warm-up, it was made short - only 61 kilometers. Fears that the weather would interfere with the competition were not justified: the start was given as scheduled. Among the cars, Cyril Despres was the first to hit the track, followed by Yazeed Al-Rajhi (X-Raid MINI), Sébastien Loeb (Peugeot), Bryce Menzies (X-Raid MINI) and Stéphane Peterhansel (Peugeot).

Probably, in the absence of Vladimir Vasiliev, it is they who will lead the main battle for victory. And Sebastien Loeb confirmed his determination - he completed SS1 the fastest: 0:42:02. Peterhansel was 29 seconds behind him, Cyril Despres was third, losing 2 minutes 14 seconds.

Sebastien Loeb (Peugeot Sport):“Given the condition of the track, we tried to drive in a defensive mode, and everything went well. It’s not easy for a car weighing two tons to drive on wet grass - we had to take risks in almost every turn. Our result is not a consequence of the strategy, because starting first tomorrow is not the most convenient position.”

The best of the Russians in the first stage was Alexander Semenov (BFCEC Sport Gas) - he took ninth place, followed by Mikhail Kostrukov (GAZ Raid Sport) in the protocol.

Among the trucks, the Czech Martin Kolomy (TATRA BUGGYRA Racing) finished first: 0:49:43. 51 seconds behind is his compatriot Ales Loprais (Instaforex Loprais Team). Third place went to the Dutchman Ton van Genugten (Petronas Team De Rooy Iveco).

Russian crews are in no hurry yet: Anton Shibalov (KAMAZ-master) took eighth place, the rest were located further than the top ten. As his teammate Airat Mardeev explained, they understood from the very beginning that they could not win:

“We started first, and in such conditions this is always the worst position, because you have to clear the way for others. The paths were very dirty, so we drove carefully. At some point, we missed van den Brink and de Rooy, and saw that it was also difficult for them - and from that moment on, the three of us rode.”

Although the special stage was short, it will certainly be remembered for its relief, especially by Maria Oparina and Taisiya Shtaneva. In their open air, the dirt flies directly at the pilot and navigator, so at the finish line the girls and their equipment looked as if they were overcoming a swamp. We've just gone the distance! 29th in the car standings and third in their T3 category.

Alexander Semenov (BFCEC Sport) shared his feelings from passing the special stage: “There was a lot of mud - just mud, which “sucked up” the car. The grass is big, you constantly skid in it - first with the front axle, then with the rear. You’re spinning, but you’re still going.”

On Sunday, participants of the “Silk Road” will have to overcome 785 kilometers of track, of which 157 kilometers are allocated to the second special stage. By the end of the day, the crews should reach Ufa.

Overall standings of the marathon, based on the results of the first stage, top ten

Cars:

1. Sebastien Loeb (Peugeot Sport) - 0:42:02
2. Stephane Peterhansel (Peugeot Sport) +0:29
3. Cyril Despres (Peugeot Sport) +2:14
4. Yazid Al-Rajhi (X-Raid MINI) +3:38
5. Bryce Menzies (X-Raid MINI) +3:38
6. Christian Lavieille (Baicmotor) +3:43
7. Han Wei (Geely SMG) +8:20
8. Jerome Pelichet (Raid Lynx Toyota) +9:50
9. Alexander Semenov (BFCEC Sport Gas) +9:53
10. Mikhail Kostrukov (GAZ Raid Sport) +11:01

Trucks:

1. Martin Kolomy (Tatra Buggyra Racing) - 0:49:43
2. Ales Loprais (Instaforex Loprais Team) +0:51
3. Ton van Genugten (Petronas Team De Rooy Iveco) +2:03
4. Sergey Vyazovich (MAZ-SPORTauto) +2:35
5. Gerard de Rooy (Petronas Team De Rooy Iveco) +4:01
6. ArthurArdavichus (Astana Motorsport Team De Rooy Iveco) +4:06
7. PascaldeBar (Riwald Dakar Team Renault) +4:07
8. Anton Shibalov (KAMAZ-master) +4:18
9. Alexey Vishnevsky (MAZ-SPORTauto) +5:29
10. Martin van den Brink (Mammoet Rallysport Renault) +5:52

Photo: press service of the Silk Road Marathon, Alexander Feoktistov, Olga Polyakova, Suprotec Racing, Geely Motors, MAZ-SPORTauto

Russians want to use New silk road, to increase gas exports, and the Chinese see it as a tool to spread their political influence, which the Kremlin will have to make sure of.

New Silk Road with Gazprom

The Russian Gazprom, the Kazakh KazMunayGaz and the Chinese company PetroChina signed a memorandum of long-term cooperation in the development of a network of gas filling facilities using the infrastructure of the New Silk Road. The parties declared their interest in developing the gas engine market vehicles through the formation of gas transportation infrastructure on the China-Europe route. The document contains estimates of the potential number of these vehicles and the volume of gas motor fuel consumption on the Russian, Kazakh and Russian sections of the route until 2030. The analysis will become the basis for developing a step-by-step plan for creating a network of gas filling stations.

In November 2016, Gazprom and PetroChina, a subsidiary of the China National Petroleum Corporation, entered into an agreement to begin cooperation in this area. In May 2017, Gazprom, CNPC, Russian highways"and China Communications Construction Company signed a memorandum of cooperation, which concerns, in particular, the application natural gas as a motor fuel.

The China-Europe transport corridor is an element of the Chinese New Silk Road project, which provides for the creation of new land and maritime infrastructure. The concept was presented in the fall of 2013, and China is using it as an instrument of its “soft power.” About $40 billion has been allocated for the projects included in it, which is managed by the Silk Road Fund.

Protection environment fuels China's gas boom

Russian gas can become a tool for the Chinese to achieve several goals of the country's economic policy. Beijing is struggling with urban air pollution, and the development of gas transport can help with this. According to Reuters, sales volumes trucks liquefied natural gas fuels could reach record levels as pollution controls include restrictions on vehicles with diesel engine. In the first seven months, sales growth was 540%. This is caused, in particular, by the ban on the use of diesel trucks when transporting coal from northern ports, where the most high level air pollution. As part of the fight against smog, Chinese authorities also plan to supply gas to about 1.4 million households in the region.

Beijing does not depend on Russian gas: to cover its needs, it can use its own resources or supplies of liquefied natural gas from anywhere in the world. According to estimates by the think tank China National Petroleum Corporation, gas consumption in China will grow by 8.1% by 2030 (the world average is 2.1%). The International Energy Agency predicts that China will account for 40% of global natural gas demand growth in the coming years.

Context

Beijing is playing a serious political game

The Guardian 09/04/2017

The New Silk Road will change the rules of the game

Forbes 04/18/2017

Russia on the Silk Road

Forbes 03/15/2017 Due to weak prospects for increasing gas production (including shale), China, which is now one of the three leaders in the development of unconventional fields, behind the United States and Canada, will focus its attention on LNG. The volume of Chinese shale gas reserves is estimated at 764.3 billion cubic meters. Meanwhile, in June, the volume of LNG imports into China increased by 95% compared to the same period last year. The Chinese bought 3.12 million tons of this fuel. In January-July 2017, the volume of liquefied gas imports reached 19 million tons (an increase of 45%). Suppliers were predominantly Australia and Qatar, and China ranked third in the list of the world's largest LNG importers.

In this context, plans to launch the Power of Siberia gas pipeline from Russia to China, which is planned to be put into operation on December 20, 2019, look promising. Design capacity The gas pipeline capacity is 38 billion cubic meters per year, but at the first stage the supply volume will be only a few billion tons. A problem may be the fact that, as the press reported, the price of gas is tied to the price of oil, and its quotations now fluctuate around $55 per barrel. This means that the cost of the contract between Gazprom and CNPC will drop to the margin of profitability or even lower. Conversations that the Power of Siberia could bring losses to the Russians began already when oil cost $100.

Perhaps in this regard, Russians are pinning their hopes on the Yamal LNG project, which is designed to work with Asian markets. As part of it, in 2019 it is planned to launch an export gas terminal with a total capacity of up to 16.5 million tons per year. The resource base will be the Yuzhno-Tambeyskoye gas field, the development license for which belongs to Gazprom. However, Yamal-LNG is an initiative of a potential competitor of the concern in Russian market: Novatek company. The project received support from the Silk Road Fund (it owns 9.9% of the shares), which also demonstrates China’s priorities. The remaining shareholders are Novatek (60% of shares), the Chinese corporation CNPC and the French Total (20% each).

Convergence or threat of dominance?

It is still difficult to say how much the New Silk Road project will bring China closer to Russia, and how much it will strengthen Beijing by weakening Moscow. The Russians are trying to compensate for their increasing dependence on the Middle Kingdom by “Russifying” the route, that is, using it for gas supplies. Evidence of this can be seen in the fact that Russia is persuading China to direct investments from the Silk Road Fund to the so-called Ice Silk Road - the Primorye-1 and Primorye-2 maritime transport corridors in the Arctic. Chinese funds can help the Russians develop the Northern Sea Route and increase sales of blue fuel.

Moscow needs Chinese partners because of Western sanctions that have affected the oil sector and, in particular, the companies Gazprom Neft, Rosneft and Novatek. Sanctions deprived them of the opportunity to cooperate with partners from the European Union and the United States, which limited opportunities in the field of investment and technology. The transfer of know-how, for example, in the unconventional mining sector is completely blocked. The Chinese can provide funds, but information about the development of shale oil fields will be more difficult, since they themselves do not yet have such technologies. The Russians' determination to compete for Asian funding makes them dependent on China, which benefits from this state of affairs. In this case, he can use “soft power”, that is, promote his interests under the guise of the “New Silk Road” project.

“The process of implementing the Road Concept will allow China to expand its political influence in neighboring countries in Central and Southeast Asia. The new Silk Road will become a counterweight to US dominance, as well as Russian integration projects in this region,” writes Marcin Kaczmarski, an expert at the Warsaw Center for Oriental Studies. He notes that the Chinese will be able to gain a base to strengthen their political authority, and Gazprom will receive gas supply contracts in return. The question is, will this be sufficient compensation for dependence on a superior partner?

InoSMI materials contain assessments exclusively of foreign media and do not reflect the position of the InoSMI editorial staff.

The Silk Road Rally 2017 is 9,599 km from Moscow to Xi'an, the ancient capital of China, through Kazakhstan. Of this distance, 4094 km are occupied by special sections: rain-washed country roads, bumpy dirt roads in the Kazakh steppes, steep mountain slopes and, of course, the Gobi and Taklamakan deserts. Of the 51 crews that started from Red Square, 20 did not even make it to China. The reputation of the most difficult rally marathon was justified. How did the GAZ Raid Sport team perform in this test?

Not counting the escort vehicles, 2 Gazelles-Next and 2 Sadko-Next took part in the race. One Sadko left the race due to a pilot error, the rest finished safely. Moreover, they showed Gazelles good results: 3rd and 4th place in their class, 11th and 13th place in the general classification. Note that in this marathon, last year's Dakar winner Gerard De Rooy came last, and rally legend Sebastien Loeb crashed and left the race. The captain of the GAZ team, Vyacheslav Subbotin, explains: it’s a matter of the reliability of the cars and the skill of the pilots, 50/50. Cummins 2.8l engine, boosted to 200 hp. s., withstood the heat of the Gobi Desert without any problems. The Gazelles were moving steadily and at times were breathing down the necks of the undisputed favorites of the race - KamAZ. The Sobol 4x4 escort did not disappoint either. According to Konstantin Gusev, a member of one of the crews, Sobol crossed the Gobi Desert calmly, “as if it were a rally raid across Kalmykia.”

It is no secret that the Silk Road is perceived by many as training before the Dakar, which is scheduled to take place in January 2018. This can be argued, but the experience of the past rally will definitely be useful to the GAZ Raid Sport team.

11.07.2016

Six sports cars GAZ started from Red Square in Moscow to participate in the “Silk Way” rally-raid. The GAZ Raid Sport team includes sports GAZelle NEXT, Sobol 4x4, Sadko and Sadko NEXT.

The cars are manufactured on the basis of serial production of the Gorky Automobile Plant, part of the GAZ Group, one of the largest diversified industrial groups in Russia, Basic Element.

The cars of the GAZ Raid Sport team started from Red Square in Moscow. The team’s two cars – the GAZelle NEXT sports car and the Sobol 4x4 – will run the entire race from Moscow to Beijing and finish in China on July 24. The only all-female crew in the rally raid will start on Sobol 4x4. The length of the rally-raid route will be more than 10,000 km. Four more cars: two GAZelle NEXT, competing in the Raid-sport category, as well as Sadko and Sadko NEXT, competing in the cargo category, will take part in the first half of the marathon, which is also the IV stage of the Russian Rally Championship. raids. The finish of this stage is planned in the capital of Kazakhstan, Almaty, on July 14.

Along the way, athletes will overcome the dirt roads of Tatarstan and Bashkortostan, the Kazakh steppe cut by ditches and dried river beds, sandy tracks and dunes near Lake Balkhash, rocky tracks and dunes of the Gobi Desert.

The sports GAZelle NEXT and Sobol 4x4 are equipped with serial Cummins ISF 2.8 engines with special sports add-ons. The Sadko and Sadko NEXT cars are equipped with YaMZ-534 engines produced by the Yaroslavl Motor Plant of the GAZ Group. Over several years of participation in difficult sports competitions power units YaMZ showed high reliability with the most severe operation at high temperatures. Thanks to special settings, YaMZ engines develop power up to 300 hp. at 2600 rpm and torque up to 1000 Nm at 1800-2400 rpm. Cummins ISF 2.8 engine characteristics: power – 200 hp. at 3800 rpm, torque - 520 Nm at 2000-3200 rpm.

For the first time, Ural NEXT vehicles, created on the basis of serial vehicles of the Ural automobile plant, will be used as technical assistance vehicles. Small changes to electronic unit engine control YaMZ-536 and transmission settings allow these machines to accelerate to 120 km/h. Sobol 4x4 SUVs will provide operational assistance, as well as transport groups of journalists and photographers to difficult sections of the sports track. The high cross-country ability of these vehicles allows them to reach the most inaccessible areas.

Lubricating oils and operating fluids for the GAZ Raid Sport team cars was provided by Total. Advantages motor oils Total Rubia TIR and Total Trans Gear – maintaining stable lubricant quality for a long time at maximum load motor.

Michelin provided the team with tires. The sports “Sadko” and “Sadko NEXT” are equipped with Michelin XZL tires, and the “GAZelle NEXT” and “Sobol 4x4” are equipped with BFGoodrich tires All-Terrain. Based on their combined characteristics, these tires provide optimal combination speed on dirt roads and cross-country ability in sand and off-road.

Team crews:
“GAZelle NEXT” – pilot Vyacheslav Subbotin, navigator Evgeny Pavlov;
“Sobol 4x4” – pilot Tatyana Eliseeva, navigator Elena Pravdina;
“GAZelle NEXT” – pilot Mikhail Kostrukov, navigator Oleg Nezhnov;
“GAZelle NEXT T1” – pilot Alexander Kostrukov, navigator Ramil Zamaletdinov;
“Sadko NEXT” – pilot Boleslav Levitsky, navigator Stanislav Dolgov;
“Sadko” – pilot Mikhail Shklyaev, navigator Alexander Laguta.