Minsk Automobile Plant Rally crew has just opened a new racing season. The Belarusian MAZ crew set off to Astrakhan, Russia to participate in the first leg of Russian Rally Championship in the category T4 (Truck Class) “The Khagan’s Gold”. 

The track road race is taking place on the ancient lands of the Golden State, near the village Selitrennoe, the place where the ancient capital of the Golden Horde was located. The off-road trail is laid along the border with Kazakhstan on the left bank of the Volga River.
The three-day race includes a short sandy Super Stage, 4 km, that has started today, 28th of April and is considered to be a sort of warm-up for the race pilots. Over the next two days though, the participants will have to overcome a slipofreason with a total length of about 600 km with 300 km at each leg.
The Desert Rallying itself requires top-notch mastership, extreme endurance and navigation skills especially if you take into consideration that the route is not known for the pilots. The pilots will need to quickly focus and navigate to the location, overcoming complicated steppe roads and off-sites on the open sandy massifs.

The Belarusian MAZ truck crew is led by Alexander Vasilevsky, the pilot, Valery Kozlovski, the rally navigator, Vladmir Vasilevsky, the mechanic. The Crew is racing the truck of the Minsk Automobile Plant MAZ-5309, modified after its debut at the Rally of the Silk Road 2010. The engine of the truck is also native of the Minsk motor plant, with capacity of 800 hp. Enhanced braking system is designed to ensure a high level of security for the racers. In addition, the developers provided a four-wheel drive and central tire inflation. The car can reach speeds of up to 160 km / h.  MAZ-5309 reflects the potential and the spirit of the Belarusian Crew: inherent power, maneuverability, speed, perseverance and desire to win. The truck is glorified with a stylized bison – the symbol of Minsk Automobile Plant and the Republic of Belarus.

The Belarusian crew regards Russian Rally Championship to be a preparation for the July International Rally “Silk Road 2011” as well as for Marathon Rally Dakar 2012.

On behalf of all Prestigio Team, we wish good luck to the Belarusian MAZ crew! Come back with victory!!!