All three Kamaz trucks hold lead in Dakar 2013 overall standings
The 12th stage of the Dakar 2013 transcontinental rally raid finished on Thursday. Two more stages are ahead.
The Russian crew, led by Andrei Karginov, for the 4th time in the race won a stage. The runner-up was Airat Mardeev, the second runner-up being the Dutch Gerard de Rooy, who lagged 2 minutes and 49 seconds behind.
Another Russian, Eduard Nikolaev, came in seventh, with a lag of over 6 minutes. Owing to his half-hour margin against his closest competitor, though, Nikolayev keeps his first position in the truck category.
The veteran Kamaz Master technical support crew, led by the pilot Ilgizar Mardeev, finished 13th, with a lag of 44 minutes and 56 seconds.
The Russian crew, led by the Kamaz Master pilot Eduard Nikolaev, after 12 of 14 stages remains the leader in the truck category. They are followed by another Russian crew, led by the young pilot, Airat Mardeev, lagging 31 minutes and 20 seconds behind.
The race’s 13th stage, Copiapo – La Serena, takes place today, the trucks to cover a distance of 441 kilometres in a special stretch.
Kamaz Master team’s head, Vladimir Chagin, commented on the 12th stage.
“Two difficult stages are ahead, two hard working days. We all know from the history of the Dakar races that even the final day can overturn everything, especially with the time difference we have. I think this Dakar will be interesting until the last minute, the tension will be there until the very pedestal.”