On Friday, June 2, official start was given to the Open Cup of Automobile and Motorbike Sport in Volgograd area `Great Steppe-Don`. More than 50 drivers, including a large number of sportsmen from Volgograd and its area, took part in it. Organizers of the competition were the region’s Committee for Physical Culture and Sports and Volgograd Regional Social Organization `Club of Amateurs of Off-Road Sports`.
On the first day of the rally-raid participants overcame a short special section, just 4.5 kilometers in length. One-third of the distance went along the motocross track with lots of descents, ascents, sharp and narrow turns. To drive on it is not an easy task.
Two crews of KAMAZ-master Team, performing in Volgograd, decided not to risk on the first special, pilots passed all obstacles quite carefully. And, nevertheless, their only rivals - the crew of Aleksandr Obukhov and Aleksandr Laguta (GAZ RAID SPORT) – got to the finish line with one minute and forty eight seconds break.
Best time in the category T4 belongs to Airat Mardeev – 04:05; the second is Anton Shibalov: he was 5 seconds behind the leader.
Anton Shibalov: `The prologue is really special; I don`t have experience in driving on such a track. Therefore, at first it was difficult to find the right speed for overcoming these rocks. And there was nowhere to accelerate – the successive springboards were not for big vehicles at all. But we drove quite well, without breakage, got to the finish line – that is the main thing, though it is a finish of the prologue`.
On Saturday, June 3, the second day of the competition in Volgograd area will take place. On the second day of the race sportsmen will face two special sections 145 and 169 kilometers in length. First part of the SS is laid on the cross-country terrain with complicated navigation, where navigators will have to approve themselves. Second part of the race route will pass through famous Archedinsky sands, where the maximum concentration from the pilots is required. In just three days, participants of the rally-raid will have to overcome about 758 kilometers, 463 km of which go the standings.
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