Press releases

11 Jan 2021

Vishneuski 4th in Dakar 2021 Stage 7

Photo courtesy of MAZ-SPORTauto Team

MINSK, 11 January (BelTA) - Aliaksei Vishneuski’s crew of MAZ-SPORTauto Team placed fourth in Stage 7 of Dakar Rally 2021. The event is taking place in Saudi Arabia, BelTA has learned.

The Belarusian crew covered 737km in 4:56.21, 10.28 behind the winner, Dmitry Sotnikov of Russia’s KAMAZ-Master Team (4:45.52). Sotnikov's teammates Airat Mardeev (3.23 back) and Anton Shibalov (8.22 back) placed second and third respectively.

Dmitry Sotnikov holds the lead in the general classification (29:12.10). Russia’s Anton Shibalov is second, 45:56 back. Third is Russia’s Airat Mardeev, 1:05.06 behind the leader. The Belarusian crew piloted by Aliaksei Vishneuski is sixth, 1:46.30 back.

The Belarusian crew piloted by MAZ-SPORTauto leader Siarhei Viazovich is out of the Dakar 2021 competition. After facing a serious breakdown, the Belarusian crew managed to fix the car and reach the finish line within the allotted time, but lost all chances to fight for the podium. During the fifth stage Siarhei Viazovich had a problem with the gearbox. The crew failed to eliminate the malfunction within the given time.

The competition will be over on 15 January. The route begins and ends in the same city - Jeddah. Most of the race will take place in northwestern Saudi Arabia, which means there will be many desert stretches of rocky plots.