Press releases

MINSK, 14 January (BelTA) - MAZ-SPORTavto crew led by pilot Alexander Vasilevsky ended Stage 9 of the 2015 Dakar Rally in 12th posting, the best time among the Belarusian participants in the T4 truck category, BelTA has learned.

Alexander Vasilevsky (race number 535), his co-pilot Valery Kozlovsky and mechanic Anton Zaporoshchenko ended the 359km special stage clocking 6h45m01s, 1h25m32s back of the stage winner, KAMAZ’s Airat Mardeev. After Stage 9, Alexander Vasilevsky maintains his 9th position in the general classification losing 5h22m28s to the overall leader, Russia’s Airat Mardeev.

Stage 9 brought new serious mechanical problems for Belarus' Sergei Vyazovich (race number 510). At the beginning of the special his crew started making up for the time they lost over the mechanical issues during Stage 8. “Unfortunately, Stage 9 was not successful for us either. The main difficulty was that the route was the same for all the participants of the race. Under such conditions, overtaking becomes extremely challenging and dangerous. At a certain moment in the dust the crew did not notice a stone that pierced their two front tires and damaged a wheel disk. However, despite all the mechanical issues, our No.510 managed to end the stage in 13th,” MAZ representatives told BelTA. Sergei Vyazovich clocked 6h45m45s, 1h26m16s in arrears. Now he sits 28th in the cumulative tally losing 31h32s to the overall leader.

As for MAZ’s third entry, Vladimir Vasilevsky (race number 560), he already crossed the finishing line, but his stage result and current position in the general classification have not yet appeared in the protocols. “The problem is that many trucks experienced mechanical issues during the stage and are still on the special,” MAZ representatives said.

On 14 January the competitors will have an early start at 2 p.m. Minsk time and will face one of the longest stages (860km) from Calama to Salta. A considerable part of the route goes through dangerous mountain roads.

Portugal's Helder Rodrigues on a Honda took the Stage 9 win in the motorcycle category. Chilean rider Victor Manuel Gallegos Lozic (Honda) is leading the way in the quad race, and Spanish Joan “Nani” Roma (MINI) became a front-runner in the car category. Spain's Marc Coma of KTM is leading in the motorcycle class overall standings. Qatar's Nasser Al Attiyah (MINI) and Poland’s Rafal Sonik (Yamaha) continue to hold sway in the general classification of the cars and quads correspondingly.