Bach “Northern Forest-2023”: thirty-three breakdowns
- February 12, 2023
- 0
On the first day of the “Northern Forest-2023” baja, terrible snow fell. Both the organizers and the athletes unanimously wondered what would happen next. Of course there were
On the first day of the “Northern Forest-2023” baja, terrible snow fell. Both the organizers and the athletes unanimously wondered what would happen next. Of course there were weather forecasts, but they don’t always come true. One of the most skilled people of the race is the route commissioner Sergey Talantsev.
“The weather is always unpredictable, especially in February,” Talantsev lamented before the start of the race. – There may be severe frost and thaw may come. This year, as the track was being prepped, it was both. A few weeks ago, it thawed so that the snow was completely precipitated, then it fell again and went into plus again. I can say that a week ago, at the last check, the track was perfect, because everything literally melted into the water, and then froze -12-15 degrees.
Everything froze into a smooth ice crust, a little powdered with snow and the coating for spikes and a real ice race became ideal. Today, taking into account several hot days, the coating is quite soft. However, the outlook is encouraging. Although a slight plus is expected on Friday evening and it may even rain, it will freeze in the afternoon and then there will be excellent conditions for the race. On Sunday, according to the program, we have long laps of 117 km and 94 km, where, in my opinion, the main sports battle will unfold and there must be a strong skating rink …
There was no rain on Friday, but it snowed heavily. Driving at top speeds in poor visibility is like playing Russian roulette. There may also be snow on the track. There were a few, but they were still able to clear them. On Saturday, the second full day of competition, the weather was good – the snow stopped. And the second day of racing was run in excellent weather conditions and good visibility, enabling the crews to conquer the special stages at a decent pace, and plenty of on-track adventures kept the spectators in constant suspense.
“The second day of the Northern Forest 2023 was not easy for our team,” said Vyacheslav Subbotin, head of the GAZ Raid Sport team. – We had to overcome three stages of two circles. The first, 17 km long, repeated the route of yesterday’s prologue. The second, 35 km long, is new. This is a very interesting and varied add-on, with configuration and terrain constantly changing. From 7 km – running and high speed, during which the participants developed maximum speed. Then the track went into the forest – there is a stretch of a beautiful road, reminiscent of rally Karelia. Very relief, up and down, many curves, then a stretch of narrow forest road with potholes, in some places a track, then a few fields and then again a narrow forest.
We already lose in the first phase. Alexei Ignatov’s car broke down – the turbine flew. Somehow we hobbled to the finish, but then there was no opportunity to join. Repair. The mechanics repaired the car, but this team took so much penalty time that the victory in the “Raid sport” category does not shine for us this time. Nevertheless, on the third day we will strive to show the maximum result. Alexander Rusanov in the first stage lightly applied his sport “Gazelle NN”, and then rode with one “eye”. In the second stage, the wheel was pierced on granite stones. We arrived on a lowered. Fixed for the third round! At the end of the day Rusanov and Maltsev show a good result – they are second in T1 and seventh overall…
Category T3 drives well – narrow, cleared snow paths are suitable for a buggy. The absolute leader is the crew of Dmitry Mordkovich and Ivan Bezdenezhnykh. The team of Sergei Karyakin/Anton Vlasyuk lost three minutes to the leader and the team of Alexei Cherkesov/Artem Shevelev completed the top three.
The potential leader of the competition, the crew of Vladimir Vasiliev and Oleg Uperenko in the BMW MINI, is in big trouble. The failure of the rear hub bearing and the three-wheel finish on the fifth special stage led to the loss of precious minutes and penalties. As a result, they are only in 18th place and are more than an hour behind the leader. Vasiliev has no chance to take on the first roles.
Anastasia Nifontova and Ekaterina Zhadanova got off to a good start in their Can-Am Maverick. Went quickly and efficiently. Then they flew off into the snow: they say that due to a malfunction of the cardan shaft. We got out for a long time and then stumbled to the finish. We lost a lot of time, didn’t meet the standard and got a big penalty. The women’s team had a difficult day. At the final stage, the levers flew. Fixed on the track. In the final ranking of the day they are in 22nd place.
Other participants also had technical problems on this difficult day: Vyacheslav Paputsky broke the gearbox, Alexei Shmotiev broke his fist and Pavel Andreev broke the cardan. Boris Gadasin’s crew stood on his ears. They say that because of the disk failure. As you can see, there are a lot of losses. But all athletes are ready to fight. Also those who lost the chance to become the winner of the Northern Forest 2023.
– Baja is very interesting, – says the pilot of the GAZ Raid Sport team Alexander Rusanov. – Our sports “Gazellen NN” do not fit well everywhere – the dimensions are too large. We go with pleasure and courage! I use all my skills as a rally driver to squeeze the car into narrow lanes. Tomorrow promises to be a tough day, but that’s the whole point of rally raids!
Photo avtovzglyad.ru
Photo avtovzglyad.ru
“The weather is always unpredictable, especially in February,” Talantsev lamented before the start of the race. – There may be severe frost and thaw may come. This year, as the track was being prepped, it was both. A few weeks ago, it thawed so that the snow was completely precipitated, then it fell again and went into plus again. I can say that a week ago, at the last check, the track was perfect, because everything literally melted into the water, and then froze -12-15 degrees.
Everything froze into a smooth ice crust, a little powdered with snow and the coating for spikes and a real ice race became ideal. Today, taking into account several hot days, the coating is quite soft. However, the outlook is encouraging. Although a slight plus is expected on Friday evening and it may even rain, it will freeze in the afternoon and then there will be excellent conditions for the race. On Sunday, according to the program, we have long laps of 117 km and 94 km, where, in my opinion, the main sports battle will unfold and there must be a strong skating rink …
There was no rain on Friday, but it snowed heavily. Driving at top speeds in poor visibility is like playing Russian roulette. There may also be snow on the track. There were a few, but they were still able to clear them. On Saturday, the second full day of competition, the weather was good – the snow stopped. And the second day of racing was run in excellent weather conditions and good visibility, enabling the crews to conquer the special stages at a decent pace, and plenty of on-track adventures kept spectators in constant suspense.
“The second day of the Northern Forest 2023 was not easy for our team,” said Vyacheslav Subbotin, head of the GAZ Raid Sport team. – We had to overcome three stages of two circles. The first, 17 km long, repeated the route of yesterday’s prologue. The second, 35 km long, is new. This is a very interesting and varied add-on, with configuration and terrain constantly changing. From 7 km – running and high speed, during which the participants developed maximum speed. Then the track went into the forest – there is a stretch of a beautiful road, reminiscent of rally Karelia. Very relief, up and down, many curves, then a stretch of narrow forest road with potholes, in some places a track, then a few fields and then again a narrow forest.
We already lose in the first phase. Alexei Ignatov’s car broke down – the turbine flew. Somehow we hobbled to the finish, but then there was no opportunity to join. Repair. The mechanics repaired the car, but this team took so much penalty time that the victory in the “Raid sport” category does not shine for us this time. Nevertheless, on the third day we will strive to show the maximum result. Alexander Rusanov in the first stage lightly applied his sport “Gazelle NN”, and then drove with one “eye”. In the second stage, the wheel was pierced on granite stones. We arrived on a lowered. Fixed for the third round! At the end of the day Rusanov and Maltsev show a good result – they are second in T1 and seventh overall…
Category T3 drives well – narrow, cleared snow paths are suitable for a buggy. The absolute leader is the crew of Dmitry Mordkovich and Ivan Bezdenezhnykh. The team of Sergei Karyakin/Anton Vlasyuk lost three minutes to the leader and the team of Alexei Cherkesov/Artem Shevelev completed the top three.
The potential leader of the competition, the crew of Vladimir Vasiliev and Oleg Uperenko in the BMW MINI, is in big trouble. The failure of the rear hub bearing and the three-wheel finish on the fifth special stage led to the loss of precious minutes and penalties. As a result, they are only in 18th place and are more than an hour behind the leader. Vasiliev has no chance to take on the first roles.
Anastasia Nifontova and Ekaterina Zhadanova got off to a good start in their Can-Am Maverick. Went quickly and efficiently. Then they flew off into the snow: they say that due to a malfunction of the cardan shaft. We got out for a long time and then stumbled to the finish. We lost a lot of time, didn’t meet the standard and got a big penalty. The women’s team had a difficult day. At the final stage, the levers flew. Fixed on the track. In the final ranking of the day they are in 22nd place.
Other participants also had technical problems on this difficult day: Vyacheslav Paputsky broke the gearbox, Alexei Shmotiev broke his fist and Pavel Andreev broke the cardan. Boris Gadasin’s crew stood on his ears. They say that because of the disk failure. As you can see, there are a lot of losses. But all athletes are ready to fight. Also those who lost the chance to become the winner of the Northern Forest 2023.
– Baja is very interesting, – says the pilot of the GAZ Raid Sport team Alexander Rusanov. – Our sports “Gazellen NN” do not fit well everywhere – the dimensions are too large. We go with pleasure and courage! I use all my skills as a rally driver to squeeze the car into narrow lanes. Tomorrow promises to be a tough day, but that’s the whole point of rally raids!
Source: Avto Vzglyad
Donald Salinas is an experienced automobile journalist and writer for Div Bracket. He brings his readers the latest news and developments from the world of automobiles, offering a unique and knowledgeable perspective on the latest trends and innovations in the automotive industry.
