Press releases

MINSK, 17 January (BelTA) – Belarus’ MAZ-SPORTavto crew led by Vladimir Vasilevsky who used to perform the role of a maintenance crew have cleared all the thirteen stages of the Dakar Rally 2016. They finished the last leg of the rally in 24th position, BelTA learned from Alfa Bank (Belarus), a partner of Belarus’ team.

The Belarusians crossed the finish line of the 180 km long last special clocking some 2h37m, more than half an hour behind Dutchman Hans Stacey who took the stage win. The thirteenth stage of Dakar 2016 was relatively easy.

Iveco Powerstar truck driver Gerard De Rooy claimed the overall victory. For the first time he won the Dakar back in 2012. This time De Rooy was 70 minutes ahead of Russian Kamaz pilot Airat Mardeev who took silver. Argentina’s Federico Villagra rounded out the podium in third.

According to the latest data, Vladimir Vasilevsky in a MAZ truck finished the rally in 25th overall losing more than 18 hours to Gerard De Rooy. This is the best Dakar result for the driver. Last year he placed 41st in the final overall standings.

Belarus’ two other crews of Sergei Vyazovich and Alexander Vasilevsky were forced to withdraw from the rally due to technical issues.

The 2016 Dakar Rally ran across the mountains and deserts of Argentina and Bolivia. It kicked off on 3 January and finished on 16 January. The last stage of the rally brought the racers back to Rosario from where they started. As many as 55 crews competed in the rally, and only 41 of them made it to the final finish line.