MINSK, 23 December (BelTA) – MAZ-SPORTauto Team will travel to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia on 27 December. Dakar 2021 will kick off on 3 January, BelTA learned from the press service of MAZ - Management Company of the Belavtomaz Holding Company.
MAZ-SPORTauto Team will feature two bonneted trucks that will be piloted by Siarhei Vyazovich and Aliaksei Vishneuski, with co-pilots Pavel Haranin and Maksim Novikau, Anton Zaparoshchanka and Siarhei Sachuk.
“This year the rally will apply all necessary safety measures and additional requirements related to the COVID-19 pandemic. The participants will be self-isolated for 48 hours under medical supervision, after which the crews will be able to get down to technical checks,” the press service noted.
The team has been working on creating new and improving existing sports vehicles. The Belarusian racers will drive new bonneted MAZ trucks, which have proven their worth during trials. The sports trucks are equipped with many original components made at the enterprises of Belavtomaz Holding Company.
“Despite the difficult epidemiological situation, we have managed to send the trucks by a ferry to France. We will take them to Jeddah before the new year and will carry out technical checks and hold several training sessions. We take part in the rally to support our plant, our country and our fans. We will be trying hard to reach the podium,” the team said.
Dakar 2021 will be running from 3 to 15 January. The route begins and ends in the same city - Jeddah. Racers will have to overcome 12 stages with a day of rest at Hail. Most of the race will take place in northwestern Saudi Arabia, which means there will be many desert stretches of rocky plots.
More than 40 crews will compete in the Trucks category. For the first time the organizers have compiled a Elite/Priority Driver list for the Trucks category this year. It features MAZ-Sportauto pilots Siarhei Viazovich and Aliaksei Vishneuski. However, this entails increased restrictions and close attention from the panel of judges of the rally.
The list also includes pilots of Russia's KAMAZ-Master Dmitry Sotnikov, Anton Shibalov, Andrey Karginov and also Martin van den Brink, Janus Van Kasteren and Ales Loprais. Unfortunately, the famous team Team De Rooy will miss the race this time.
Siarhei Viazovich's crew starts the race from the 3rd position, Aliaksei Vishneuski's from the 6th.
MAZ-SPORTauto is the bronze medalist of the Silk Road 2013, chapion of Turkmen Desert Race 2018 and Morocco Desert Challenge 2019, silver medalist of the Dakar 2018 and bronze medalist of Dakar 2020.
