The "MAZ-SPORT-Auto" team will perform during the "Silk Way" rally

The MAZ-SPORT Auto team will present four crews at the International Silk Road Rally. For the first time, Belarusian riders will perform in a composition as wide as that which will allow the crews to ride before the next "Dakar" and increase the chances of getting on the podium, they say to MAZ. height = "1068" data-x-src = "https://img.tyt.by/n/avto/07/6/swr2017_msa_17-07_001-x3.jpg" data-x-width = "1600" data-y -height = "480" data-y-src = "https://img.tyt.by/720x720s/n/avto/07/6/swr2017_msa_17-07_001-x3.jpg" data-y-width = "720" data-zoom = "1" height = "481" hspace = "0" src = "https://img.tyt.by/720x720s/n/avto/07/6/swr2017_msa_17-07_001-x3.jpg" title = "Photo: MAZ-SPORTAauto" vspace = "0" width = "720" />

– For the first time we drive four crews to the race, this indicates the team's development and its increased role in We have become one of the favorite rally raids in recent years, and the MAZ brand is now recognized and respected from China to Argentina. Now, it is important for us not to stop, said the head of the MAZ-SPORTTavto team, Sergey Vyazovich. The organizers offered the Belarusian riders preferential conditions of participation, thus compensating for the changes in the course and the uncertainty in the race calendar. The crew of Sergey Vyazovich, who became the silver medalist of the last "Dakar", is totally exempt from entry fees.

The Silk Way rally will this time consist of two separate races: the first will start on July 20th in Astrakhan and will end on July 27th in the Red Square at M During the week , the runners will travel more than 3,000 km in off-road conditions, the second section, which will cross the territory of China, must be overcome in September, with traditionally sandy areas with treacherous dunes

. Even in the endless steppes of Kazakhstan, this year, the country will not accept runners. Crews were to be transported to China by AN-124, but Urumqi Airport was not ready to take one of the heaviest airplanes in the world.

About 70 cars (trucks and SUVs) from 30 countries will take part in the Silk Road. Despite the difficulties in organizing the rally, the fight is tense.

– The race will be a serious test for pilots and equipment. For the past few years, the "Silk Road" in terms of difficulty has not been inferior, and in some places has even exceeded the famous "Dakar". including the pilots of the KAMAZ-master team.We are preparing for a serious fight, – admitted Sergey Vyazovich.

The team pursues several goals: the main one is to enter the number of the strongest crews.In addition, the rally plans to lead the crews in front of the next "Dakar."

The drivers will organize an extreme test of sports trucks, which are 85% of the components in series. All the know-how can be used in the production of conveyors. By the way, many components of the sports car – from the badpit to the superstructure of the body and the supports – are made in Belarus. One of the trucks will also use special sets of "Belshina."

Belarussian runners will ride the "Silk Road" on the usual trucks. In Sergei Vyazovich's "combat vehicle", the mechanics finalized the engine, moving it deep into the body. In the Alexander Vasilevsky truck, engine power was reduced from 930 to 750 "horsepower" to no longer have problems with technical regulations of rallies through the use of a TMZ engine from a volume of 18.5 liters

The team will show up in the update of the line-up . First of all, a new team was formed, which included pilot Vitaly Murylev, navigator Dmitry Vikhrenko and mechanic Sergei Zavesnitsky. Team leader Sergei Vyazovich, as before, will travel with navigator Pavel Garanin and mechanic Andrei Zhigulin. The pilot Alexander Vasilevsky will be badisted by the navigator Anton Zaporoschenko and the mechanic Eugene Podalinsky. Another driver is traditionally led by pilot Alexei Vishnevsky, navigator Maxim Novikov and mechanic Andrei Neverovich

Last year at the Rally-Raid "Silk Road", the three MAZs entered the top ten crews. And in January of this year the crew under the direction of Sergei Vyazovich took second place in honor of the Dakar Marathon, which was the best result in the history of the MAZ-SPORTauto team.