Belarus’ auto crews finish 7th, 47th at third stage of Dakar 2014

Two out of three trucks of the MAZ-SPORTauto team have reached the finish line of the third stage at Dakar 2014 which is underway in South America.

They have taken the 7th and the 47th places, BelTA has learnt.

The Belarusian crew led by pilot Sergei Vyazovich with co-pilots Pavel Garanin and Alexei Neverovich (starting number 529) have again improved their result as compared to the second stage a day ago and, as one day ago, were the best out of three MAZ-SPORTauto’s trucks. The crew finished in seventh after completing a 301km route in 3 hours 32 minutes and 13 seconds, 10:44 behind. On the first two days of the race Sergei Vyazovich’s crew came in 11th and 9th respectively. After the second stage the crew got a 10-minute penalty for speeding. Later, however, the decision was cancelled by the organizers.

Another MAZ-SPORTauto crew (pilot Alexander Vasilevsky and co-pilots Valery Kozlovsky and Dmitry Zaporoshchenko), who had starting number 521, finished in the 47th place at the third stage in 6 hours, 49 minutes and 26 seconds (+3 hours 27 minutes and 57 seconds). The third Belarusian crew (pilot Alexander Polishchuk and co-pilots Dmitry Vikhrenko and Andrei Zhigulin), whose starting number was 561, have failed to finish at the third stage. Their time in the general classification has not been taken into account either. Their result did not appear in the final protocol because of a breakdown during the race. However, having coped with difficulties they reached the finishing line and got the right to take part in the race again.

The third stage in the trucks class was won by the Russian team KAMAZ-Master (pilot Andrei Karginov, 3 hours, 21 minutes and 29 seconds). The general classification is topped by Iveco’s Gerard de Rooy of the Netherlands, whose aggregate time is 10 hours, 10 minutes and 53 seconds. Sergei Vyazovich’s MAZ is currently second (+48 minutes and 50 seconds. Alexander Vasilevsky’s crew is 33rd (+5 hours, 19 minutes and 41 seconds).

In the car class the OSC team (driver Lithuania’s Benediktas Vanagas and co-driver Belarus’ Andrei Rudnitsky), whose starting number was 373, finished in 28th at the third stage (+26:56) and jumped 10 places in the general classification to 46th place. They are almost 4 hours behind the leaders, team MINI (Spain’s Nani Roma and France’s Michel Perin).

The fourth stage of Dakar 2014 will be held on 8 January. The trucks will start in Argentina’s San Juan to finish in Chilecito. The length of the liaison section is 211km while the special stage is 657km long, which makes it one of the longest in the race.

The 2014 Dakar is one of the longest rallies since relocating to South America. It is held in three countries, Argentina, Bolivia and Chile. The trucks will cover 9,188km, cars - 9,374km while bikes and quad bikes - 8,734km. All in all, the race includes 13 stages and one rest day, 11 January. The rally will conclude in Chile’s Valparaiso on 18 January.