Opinions & Interviews

Third place at Dakar 2020 hailed as success for Belarusian MAZ-SPORTauto Team

Siarhei Viazovich

MINSK, 22 January (BelTA)  - The third place at Dakar 2020 is a success for the Belarusian MAZ-SPORTauto Team, the team leader Siarhei Viazovich told journalists at Minsk National Airport on 22 January, BelTA learned.

“There was a lot of stone off-road sections at Dakar. The guys and I have never seen such thing before. Nevertheless, we did our best to overcome the special stages with maximum speed. The more difficult the route is, the better it is for MAZ. The third place at Dakar is a success for our team. Our competitors fielded   a very strong line-up. We managed to outplay them in some aspects,” Siarhei Viazovich noted.

The rally in Morocco in April will be the next race for the Belarusian team, he said.

Siarhei Viazovich’s crew of the Belarusian MAZ-SPORTauto Team landed third overall at Dakar 2020 which finished in Qiddiya on 17 January. The Belarusian crew piloted by Aliaksei Vishneuski was eighth in the overall standings. His teammate Aleksandr Vasilevski was 12th.

Andrei Karginov from the Russian Kamaz-Master Team was the winner of Dakar 2020. Kamaz-Master’s Anton Shibalov came in second.

Dakar Rally took place in the Middle East after 11 years in South America. Saudi Arabia will be hosting the marathon rally for at least 5 years in a row from 2020. This year’s rally featured 351 crews: 170 motorcycles and quad bikes, 134 cars and buggies, and 47 trucks. The rally raid ended in Qiddiya on 17 January.

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