Alexander Okhotnikov, one of the organizers of the fourth stage of the Russian Baja “Hills of Russia” rally-raid championship, told that Turkmen riders are expected to compete with foreign riders.
The competitions will be held in the Ulyanovsk region from September 22 to 25.
– For the moment, 40 crew applications have been submitted. Among the interesting features: there will be a rotation of pilots and navigators in several crews. For the moment, I have no right to say a little more. Four KAMAZ vehicles have been announced, one of them is a hooded version. Three MAZs will arrive for sure. It never happened. There will also be three GAZ trucks. Test categories T2, ordinary cars, and T3, so-called buggies, are quite saturated. Another set of prepared cars. Here we traditionally have a GAZelle and several crews, but here again we need to know if they will have time to prepare after the Russian Cup. And also the T1 test, there is the crew of Vasiliev, Krotov and two GAZelle. Let it be for now.
— Have any of the foreigners, with the exception of Belarusians, been declared?
— Yes, the Turkmen plan to be the first. A set of documents is ready for them, but no preliminary request has been received from them. If they come and want to participate, we’ll always be happy to see them and let them into the race. Belarusians are definitely on their way.
I think the fight will be strong and intense, given the difficult weather conditions in central Russia. One day we can have a pleasant golden autumn, the sun, and the other day – wet and dirty, like last year. Participants will not only have to overcome the race distance, but also fight against the weather conditions.
Are you preparing something new along the route?
— In the middle zone of the country, it is very difficult to bring something radically new. There are a lot of plowed fields and so on… Last year we had a fairly flat area in the Tsilninsky district, we are not going there this season. Now we go to the Terengulsky district. We will spend both days there, but the route will be significantly different. On the first day we expect 270 km of the linear race, and on Sunday – two laps of 130 km each. Let’s agree on the weather so that one lap will be dry and the other rainy. Not the fact that the rain was better on the last day. It is better to divide into circles. The weather here is such that on one section of the route it is lonely, and on the other – a downpour. This brings a certain interest to the race.
Source : MatchTV
