Press releases

MINSK, 12 January (BelTA) – Belarus’ MAZ-SPORTavto crew led by pilot Alexander Vasilevsky finished Stage 8 of the 2015 Dakar Rally in 13th in the T4 truck category. The other two Belarusian trucks are still on the special, BelTA has learned.

Alexander Vasilevsky (race number 535), his co-pilot Valery Kozlovsky and mechanic Anton Zaporoshchenko took 13th in the eighth leg of the 2015 Dakar Rally. The crew ended the 271km special stage clocking 4h54m12s, 1h28m25s back of the stage winner, KAMAZ’s Eduard Nikolaev. After Stage 8 of the race, Alexander Vasilevsky sits 9th in the general classification losing 4h58m46s to the overall leader, Russia’s Airat Mardeev (KAMAZ Master).

Belarus' Sergei Vyazovich and Vladimir Vasilevsky are still on the stage. Sergei Vyazovich faced problems with his speed-reduction device 40km from the finish-line of Stage 8. MAZ’s third entry, the maintenance crew of Vladimir Vasilevsky, came to his aid, but the mechanics did not manage to fix the problem before the sunset. They decided to spend the night on the stage and get back on the road in the morning. The next stage of the Dakar Rally for trucks will start on 13 January. If the Belarusian competitors manage to cross the checkpoint till 6 p.m. Argentina time, they will continue the competition.

Saudi Arabia's Dakar Rally rookie Yazeed Al-Rajhi (Toyota) claimed his maiden stage win in the car class. Qatar's Nasser Al-Attiyah (MINI) retains leadership in the car category overall standings. Bikes and quads had a day of rest on 10 January and ran Stage 7 between Iquique and Uyuni on 11 January. Portuguese Helder Rodrigues on a Honda scored the Stage 7 win in the motorcycle category. Chilean rider Ignacio Casale (Yamaha) became a front-runner in the quad race. Spanish Joan Barreda Bort (Honda) and Poland’s Rafal Sonik (Yamaha) continue to hold sway in the general classification of the bikes and quads correspondingly.

Trucks will rest on 12 January and run the 539km of Stage 9 between Iquique and Calama, Chile, on 13 January.

Some 8,200km will be covered by trucks and over 9,000km by bikes, quads, and cars during the 13 stages of the rally that runs through the territory of Argentina, Bolivia, and Chile. The Dakar Rally will finish on 17 January.