Dakar 2017

On November 18, 2016, a press conference was held at the Minsk automobile plant dedicated to the participation of the MAZ-Sportavto sports team in the Dakar-2017 rally raid. 

The team " Maz-Sportavto "will take part in the International Rally Raid" Dakar-2017", which will be held in South America from 2 to 14 January. Three crews will represent Belarus at the marathon.

This is the sixth Dakar for the Belarusian team. The main goal this time is to become one of the best teams in the rally raid and to succeed in individual stages. In addition to sports ambitions, the company also pursues image goals: participation in the race fuels interest in the equipment of the Minsk automobile plant. "And although the preparation of cars and entrance fees are not cheap, the positive effect that the manufacturer and the country as a whole receive pays off handsomely. Thanks to participation in the Dakar, almost every country in the world knows about Maz as fast and Hardy cars, "says team leader Sergey Vyazovich.

Minsk automobile plant will exhibit three combat crews at Dakar-2017. The leader of the team will remain Sergey Vyazovich, who will be accompanied by navigator Pavel Garanin and mechanic Andrei Zhigulin. The second truck will be driven by permanent pilot Alexander Vasilevsky, along with Navigator Dmitry Vikhrenko and mechanic Anton Zoroshchenko. The third crew will be updated more noticeably: the three-time national drifting champion Alexey Vishnevsky will sit behind the wheel, who managed to prove that he owns a truck no worse than a passenger sports car. He will be assisted by Navigator Maxim Novikov and mechanic Alexei Neverovich.

At Dakar, two updated Maz trucks will be presented, which have undergone a "baptism of fire" at other races. Sports cars are lighter and more agile than their predecessors: the cars are equipped with 12.5-liter engines with a capacity of 930 HP, which are created by the Czech Team Buggyra based on units from Caterpillar. The design of the truck has become more reliable, air conditioning has appeared in the cabin, and a cruise control system has been installed to go as fast as possible, but without the risk of getting penalty minutes for speeding.

Belarusian racers prepared for the Dakar throughout the year: they ran New Cars, trained at the training ground, participated in rally raids. The most serious experience was the performance at the Silk Road International Auto marathon, in which all three Mazovian crews entered the top ten. The rally brought riders from Moscow to Beijing and was comparable in complexity to the Dakar.

Sports cars and support vehicles will be loaded onto the ferry on November 25, after which they will face a three-week voyage across the Atlantic Ocean. At the end of December, the team will be able to pick up the equipment at the seaport of Argentina, after which there will be several days to prepare for the race, pass the necessary administrative and technical checks.

In December, the Belarusian riders plan to hold a training session in the UAE. The local desert with dunes and dunes has conditions similar to those that await the crews on the Dakar.

Rally Raid "Dakar-2017" will be held in South America from 2 to 14 January 2017. In addition to Argentina and Bolivia, the race will affect the territory of Paraguay for the first time. The length of the route will be about 9 thousand km. riders expect exhausting mountain passes, dangerous winding roads, treacherous sands and dunes. About half of the sites will be new, with them Riders have not yet encountered in past years.

For more information, please call:
+ 375 17 217-23-45, +375 29 180-32-88 or by e-mail pr@maz.by

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