Rally “Silk Way-2022”: leaders start and … lose
- July 10, 2022
- 0
Just as a theater begins with a pendant, a rally begins with a prologue. This is a small route whose lead time determines the starting order for the
Just as a theater begins with a pendant, a rally begins with a prologue. This is a small route whose lead time determines the starting order for the next day. Fast ones at the beginning, slower ones at the end. That’s right, the second won’t interfere with the first. Moreover, overtaking is a danger. Cars race across the steppe roads, blowing up columns of dust. I personally don’t understand what you can see in it. But pilots can. Although accidents do happen.
Vladimir Chagin, one of the most famous Russian pilots and project manager of the Silk Way International Rally, had a lot to say about this. At the 2007 Dakar rally, Chagin overtook his rival and failed to notice a hefty pile of rocks on the edge of the road in a cloud of dust. The 10-ton truck took to the air, hit the ground with all its force, rolled over several times and lay on its side. The consequences are terrible – the safety cage is crumpled, the cabin is horribly dented and flattened, the body is generally torn off. People also suffered: navigator Semyon Yakubov broke his arm, mechanic Sergei Savostin suffered a compression fracture of the spine. Chagin lost consciousness and they couldn’t pull him out right away – he was trapped in the cockpit. He was later found to have a severe concussion.
A year later, in 2008, during the Transoriental rally, Vladimir Chagin killed French motorcycle racer Philippe Tonin while overtaking. The story is very sad, many years have passed since then, but it is still known. In general, these two examples already make it clear how dangerous overtaking is on the track.
However, it is not always better for the fittest to start first. In rally raids, the first crew is called the “opener.” Yes, nobody disturbs him. But it doesn’t help either! And the crew has to solve navigation problems and get all the points. The next ones just follow the track. Therefore, sometimes the one who took first place in the prologue refuses to go first and, for example, starts second. The leader has the right to choose. If a fast crew goes before him, he can see the road better and most likely won’t have to overtake.
The prologue in Astrakhan was not only short, but exceptionally short – only 4.7 kilometers! For an unknown reason, the recognized race leader Vladimir Vasiliev did not come first. The best of the prototypes was Andrey Rudsky’s crew. Eduard Nikolaev won first place among trucks. Aleksey Cherkesov turned out to be the fastest among all-terrain vehicles, and Alexander Maksimov – among ATVs.
However, Vladimir Vasiliev was not angry. At the finish he said we missed the racing:
– With such breaks you can forget how to drive. There were dirt roads. We are going to Chechnya for the first time, we know nothing and we expect nothing – we’ll see what happens …
Anastasia Nifontova also did not look annoyed, who failed to show the best time between all-terrain vehicles. Anastasia is very serious about the rally:
— Yes, I’m worried. I’m really concerned. Like a girl, like the first time in first grade. The prologue in a long rally is more of a tactical than a race story. And now the people will not try their best, but drive in such a way that there will be some correct positions for tomorrow. Yet you catch yourself still wanting to go faster, sometimes you even slow yourself down somewhere. Now we drove smoothly, well, basically without incident. I hope that tomorrow it will be easier, the excitement will subside and all such normal work will continue …
Sergey Kupriyanov, speaking at the KamAZ gas engine, said before the start thatcompared to last year, his car has a fundamentally new engine, a gas system that has been redesigned in the direction of increasing reliability:
– Everything works like clockwork. We overcame a small problem that occurred with the previous engine at constant even throttle and high speeds – the engine didn’t warm up, but the exhaust was very hot. Now everything is fine, the car runs fine on gas, with much higher dynamics than on diesel alone. The lack of constant participation in the race has a strong impact on us, especially as the car has changed. In fact, we start from the very beginning and it takes time to get used to, to roll in …
In general, everyone is geared up for a serious fight.
“Silk Road is never easy,” said the pilot of the GAZ Reid Sport team, Alexander Rusanov. – Ten days of racing are ahead, 4464 kilometers, of which 2786 kilometers at high speed. It is clear that in such a rally it is important to follow the right strategy. You have to save the car because every accident leads to catastrophic loss of time. We have traveled a lot in Astrakhan and I think this first part will be the hardest. Although we have not yet traveled to Dagestan and Chechnya, let’s see what surprises they have prepared for us. One thing is clear: the rally will be difficult and in most categories the results will be unpredictable. That’s why we love rally raids!..
Photo avtovzglyad.ru
Photo avtovzglyad.ru
Vladimir Chagin, one of the most famous Russian pilots and project manager of the Silk Way International Rally, had a lot to say about this. At the 2007 Dakar rally, Chagin overtook his rival and failed to notice a hefty pile of rocks on the edge of the road in a cloud of dust. The 10-ton truck took to the air, hit the ground with all its force, rolled over several times and lay on its side. The consequences are terrible – the safety cage is crumpled, the cabin is horribly dented and flattened, the body is generally torn off. People also suffered: navigator Semyon Yakubov broke his arm, mechanic Sergei Savostin suffered a compression fracture of the spine. Chagin lost consciousness and they couldn’t pull him out right away – he was trapped in the cockpit. He was later found to have a severe concussion.
A year later, in 2008, during the Transoriental rally, Vladimir Chagin killed French motorcycle racer Philippe Tonin while overtaking. The story is very sad, many years have passed since then, but it is still known. In general, these two examples already make it clear how dangerous overtaking is on the track.
However, it is not always better for the fittest to start first. In rally raids, the first crew is called the “opener.” Yes, nobody disturbs him. But it doesn’t help either! And the crew has to solve navigation problems and get all the points. The next ones just follow the track. Therefore, sometimes the one who took first place in the prologue refuses to go first and, for example, starts second. The leader has the right to choose. If a fast crew goes before him, he can see the road better and most likely won’t have to overtake.
The prologue in Astrakhan was not only short, but exceptionally short – only 4.7 kilometers! For an unknown reason, the recognized race leader Vladimir Vasiliev did not come first. The best of the prototypes was Andrey Rudsky’s crew. Eduard Nikolaev won first place among trucks. Aleksey Cherkesov turned out to be the fastest among all-terrain vehicles, and Alexander Maksimov – among ATVs.
However, Vladimir Vasiliev was not angry. At the finish he said we missed the racing:
– With such breaks you can forget how to drive. There were dirt roads. We are going to Chechnya for the first time, we know nothing and we expect nothing – we’ll see what happens …
Anastasia Nifontova also did not look annoyed, who failed to show the best time between all-terrain vehicles. Anastasia is very serious about the rally:
— Yes, I’m worried. I’m really concerned. Like a girl, like the first time in first grade. The prologue in a long rally is more of a tactical than a race story. And now the people will not try their best, but drive in such a way that there will be some correct positions for tomorrow. Yet you catch yourself still wanting to go faster, sometimes you even slow yourself down somewhere. Now we drove smoothly, well, basically without incident. I hope that tomorrow it will be easier, the excitement will subside and all such normal work will continue …
Sergey Kupriyanov, speaking at the KamAZ gas engine, said before the start thatcompared to last year, his car has a fundamentally new engine, a gas system that has been redesigned in the direction of increasing reliability:
– Everything works like clockwork. We overcame a small problem that occurred with the previous engine at constant even throttle and high speeds – the engine didn’t warm up, but the exhaust was very hot. Now everything is fine, the car runs fine on gas, with much higher dynamics than on diesel alone. The lack of constant participation in the race has a strong impact on us, especially as the car has changed. In fact, we start from the very beginning and it takes time to get used to, to roll in …
In general, everyone is geared up for a serious fight.
“Silk Road is never easy,” said the pilot of the GAZ Reid Sport team, Alexander Rusanov. – Ten days of racing are ahead, 4464 kilometers, of which 2786 kilometers at high speed. It is clear that in such a rally it is important to follow the right strategy. You have to save the car because every accident leads to catastrophic loss of time. We have traveled a lot in Astrakhan and I think this first part will be the hardest. Although we have not yet traveled to Dagestan and Chechnya, let’s see what surprises they have prepared for us. One thing is clear: the rally will be difficult and in most categories the results will be unpredictable. That’s why we love rally raids!..
Source: Avto Vzglyad
I’m Sandra Torres, a passionate journalist and content creator. My specialty lies in covering the latest gadgets, trends and tech news for Div Bracket. With over 5 years of experience as a professional writer, I have built up an impressive portfolio of published works that showcase my expertise in this field.
