MINSK, 17 January (BelTA) - Sergei Vyazovich's crew of Belarus' MAZ-SPORTavto Team completed Stage 9 of Dakar 2019 in Peru in second place, BelTA learned from Minsk Automobile Plant (MAZ trademark).
The Belarusian crew cleared the distance of 311km in 4h33m40s. The stage winner was Russia's Eduard Nikolaev (KAMAZ), 4h19m37s. Belarus' Aleksei Vishnevsky finished seventh, one hour behind the leader. Eighth was Belarus' Alexander Vasilevsky, 1h14m25s back.
After the finish Sergei Vyazovich said that the stage was difficult and that he was able to demonstrate even higher results.
During the race Czech Martin Kolomy's Tatra crashed into Aleksei Vishnevsky's MAZ. The Belarusian driver said: “We were in a hurry to spot for Alexander Vasilevsky. We caught up with him and drove along the dunes together. At some point we stopped and waited for Alexander Vasilevsky for four minutes. Alexander Vasilevsky took some time to find one of the control points. We stood in rocky mountain gorge where there was a second sharp rise ahead of us. Martin Kolomy crashed into us some five seconds later, smashing our car badly. Alexander Vasilevsky's MAZ came a little later and helped pull Tatra for us to continue the race,” Aleksei Vishnevsky said.
Stage 10 running to Lima is 112km long. The truck overall standings are topped by Russia's Eduard Nikolaev. Sergei Vyazovich's crew is sixth, Alexander Vasilevsky – eighth, Aleksei Vishnevsky – 11th.
The 2019 Dakar race is run solely in Peru over a total of 5,000 kilometers. The event will complete on 17 January. More than half of the route runs through sandy roads with huge dunes and other obstacles.
