“The snowmobile hit a tree and severed the top of the head. If he had not jumped, it would have been a tragedy.” The champion of “Dakar” – about the accident in Buryatia

– Recently there was a video in which you “succeeded” in driving a snowmobile. What happened?

Open a video

— I’ve been snowmobiling for 15 years, I’ve never broken anything. And then we went to Mamai in Buryatia, the guys decided to rent snowmobiles. On the first day we headed into the mountains – and there was already a serious thaw, clear ice on the slope. Everything ended up destabilizing me. I tried to put the snowmobile on the crossing, but again hit the ice. And the gas tank cap always hit me below the knee, after which it was very swollen. The snowmobile was finally torn from his hands, he rolled down the mountain and crashed into the base of a tree. So much so that the top of the tree was cut off.

The accident is very serious. Thank God he was safe. If he hadn’t jumped from the technique, everything could have ended in tragedy.

It was very uncomfortable in front of the girl they had rented a snowmobile from. He covered all the expenses, no matter how hard it was. But the adventure did not stop there. The second day we went back I told everyone that in 15 years I hadn’t broken a snowmobile and what happened was an accident. This time he was extremely careful, but ended up getting stuck in a mountain river: the edge of the caterpillar turned out to be in wet snow. They started to get the snowmobile out and closed the tunnel. I had to pay again. I was incinerated by the fire from the inside, because like an idiot I broke two snowmobiles in two days!

The question of money, of course, was. Yet times are not the best – insane prices for spare parts, for new equipment. Thus, the trip to Mamai turned out to be negative.

– With what feelings did you go to the girl with the second breakdown?

– I want to cry. I was very angry with myself, but as it is. On the third day, we didn’t go skating (laughs). And with the snowmobile trips, I think I’ll make up for that for now. It’s not the same feeling as after the Dakar, when you’re madly tired, but happy inside. And then you rode “shit”, because the ice, and injured, and smashed two snowmobiles.

“How much did it cost you?”

– Very good. It was good to go there with family to relax.

***

“Are you going to organize a rally-raid yourself?”

— I would like to go further — to organize a training center for riders, where it will be possible to train, prepare for competitions and ride. Passing a race is good, but you have to do it constantly.

– Is it doable?

– A question of desire and time. Although time is short, my participation in the work of the Legislative Assembly of the Sverdlovsk region is required.

Is your career progressing?

Everything is organic. I do my job, I feel comfortable at work, I like everything. Only it is not always possible to go to the races. “Zoloto Kagan” is not going because of the meeting at which I will be appointed to the youth parliament under the State Duma.

— What about the 2023 racing season?

— There are a lot of plans for this year, too bad they don’t really coincide with the races. There is the Russian Championship, but I cannot go to certain stages because of work, but there are still no international competitions. A smart person suggested, “Serge, there are races in China. Write to them, they are friends, especially since the participation of Russian athletes will be used to strengthen peoples’ friendship, so Xi Jinping came to Moscow and said that more competitions should be held.

I wrote a letter, in response I received: wait, we will answer you soon. It’s been a few weeks, I reminded myself. Silence again. I sent another letter, after which the Chinese responded.

– Wait?

– Whether (Laughs). The answer is: “Guys, we’ll be happy to see you, come and drive.” But just sign the FIA ​​letter. The same letter condemning the NWO and our country’s position. This ended the correspondence. This is how we relate to our friendship. It was very embarrassing to read that.

– Did you write a letter to the China Automobile and Motorcycle Federation?

– Yes.

Surprised by this attitude?

” Nothing surprises me anymore. But I want to believe that there was some kind of misunderstanding. I do not intend to try to write again, everything is clearly written there: for example, when signing an FIA document. At the same time, the competitions are local, not under the aegis of the international federation. That’s how much they decided to play it safe in order to force us to sign such a paper…

-Dakar. Are you communicating with the organizers for participation in 2024?

– Meaning? We all see the current conjuncture. The attitude does not change, there are no indulgences – only hardening.

***

Are you going on the Silk Road?

I hope there will be three cars. I will be piloting one of them, the names of the other pilots are a surprise. I will aim for the result, I want to win the race in my classification. I think the car will be the same, it has a low mileage, we will only do one bulkhead. I don’t know if there will be sponsors or not. Let’s see.

“Is there any hope that one day you will travel from Moscow to the Far East?”

– I would like. I do not understand the course 2023 at all. Conditionally from Kazan to Moscow there will be a very dense civilization. Except that in the fields one kilometer straight, one kilometer left, one kilometer straight, one kilometer right. Maybe the organizers have prepared some kind of surprise for us. God bless everything at the end.

We stayed home during the pandemic. Now we’re not going anywhere either. What’s next – aliens?

— (laughing). That’s life. I do not share the position that many are spreading that everything is bad. I haven’t been to Europe since the coronavirus hit, and I can’t say I missed traveling there. We have many places in the world worth visiting. Recently I was on Baikal, I want to visit Kyrgyzstan.

– Three points in Russia where you would like to race?

— Irkutsk and Baikal. Just great! We were there a few years ago on the Silk Road – crazy beauty! Also Gornozavodsk and Karelia. Karelia is generally the most beautiful place on earth. Well, I want to go to China (Laughs).