The 16-kilometre special, which was scheduled for tomorrow’s 7th and last stage of the 2011 Silk Way Rally, has been cancelled by the organisers due to a sudden rise in water levels, which has rendered the terrain impassable after strong thunderstorms affected the area at the beginning of the week. Competitors will therefore be transferred to Sochi.

The usual route reconnaissance, which was carried out yesterday by the organiser’s openers, found there had been a sudden rise in water levels on the bed of the Shakhe river, which rendered impassable the route of the last stage in the 2011 Silk Way Rally. After reconnoitring the terrain for the 2nd time this afternoon, openers saw that water levels had not fallen enough and the terrain of the 16-kilometre-long special was still impassable.

The competitors’ safety is paramount for the organisers, so they have decided to cancel the entire timed sector of the 7th stage. Therefore, competitors will be transferred across the 360 km between Maykop and Sochi. The classifications of the 3rd edition of the Silk Way Rally will be made official upon arrival. The final podium ceremony will take place in front of the Krasnaya Grand Hotel, starting with the first car at 3 pm.

On the other hand, Russian drivers continue to flaunt their vice grip on the truck category. Today’s winner Ayrat Mardeev (Kamaz) took the 5th local victory in six stages, which was also his 2nd individual win in this rally. Nevertheless, he only just beat Dutchman Hans Stacey (Iveco, 21 seconds back) and his teammate and fellow Russian Andrey Karginov (Kamaz, 2:42 mins).

After playing the role of the Good Samaritan on the trail, Kabirov lost 16:11 mins to the stage winner, but this is just a small bite off his lead in the general classification, where he now sits 43:19 mins ahead of Czech Ales Loprais (Tatra) and 01:21:55 hours ahead of Karginov.

Tomorrow (Saturday) is the final leg of the 2011 Silk Way Rally. Crews tackle a 227km liaison section and then a short 16km seventh special against the clock. The route runs through a riverbed and includes numerous water crossings. After a further 117km road section, crews arrive in Sochi for what the Monster Energy X-raid Team hopes will be a triumphant podium finish.

Silk Way Rally RESULTS: Stage 6 Stavropol-Maykop Trucks Top 10 Day/All

Top 10 Trucks Stage results SS06 Stavropol-Maykop

01) Mardeev Jr./Belyaev/Mirniy (RUS) I Kamaz I 01:53:26 I 00:00:00
02) Stacey/Willemsen/Kinderen (NL) I De Rooy Iveco I 01:53:47 I 00:00:21
03) Karginov/Mizyukaev/Devyatkin (RUS) I Kamaz I 01:56:08 I 00:02:42
04) Valtr/Macik/Macik (CZ) I Liaz I 01:57:35 I 00:04:09
05) Van Ginkel/Wams/Van Veenendaal (NL) I Ginaf I 02:00:24 I 00:06:58
06) Loprais/Holan/Stajf (CZ) I Tatra Proto I 02:00:48 I 00:07:22
07) Ardavichus/Turlubaev/Kuzmich (KZ) I Kamaz I 02:00:56 I 00:07:30
08) Cabala/Bervic/Kalina (PL/CZ) I Liaz I 02:01:23 I 00:07:57
09) Maardev/Sotnikov/Yakovlev (RUS) I Kamaz I 02:02:26 I 00:09:00
10) Adua/Marco/Busoms (F/ES) I De Rooy Iveco I 02:05:36 I 00:12:10

Top 10 Trucks Overall results after SS06 Stavropol-Maykop

01) Kabirov/Mokeev/Tanin (RUS) I Kamaz I 31:39:56 I 00:00:00
02) Loprais/Holan/Stajf (CZ) I Tatra Proto I 32:23:15 I 00:43:19
03) Karginov/Mizyukaev/Devyatkin (RUS) I Kamaz I 33:01:51 I 01:21:55
04) Stacey/Willemsen/Kinderen (NL) I De Rooy Iveco I 33:25:45 I 01:45:49
05) Mardeev Jr./Belyaev/Mirniy (RUS) I Kamaz I 34:30:24 I 02:50:28
06) Echter/Ruf/Echter (D) I MAN TGS I 34:31:07 I 02:51:11
07) Van Ginkel/Wams/Van Veenendaal (NL) I GINAF I 34:36:10 I 02:56:14
08) Maardev/Sotnikov/Yakovlev (RUS) I Kamaz I 35:57:32 I 04:17:36
09) Adua/Marco/Busoms (F/ES) I De Rooy Iveco I 36:31:22 I 04:51:26
10) Behringer/Küpper/Karg (D) I MAN TGS I 36:45:13 I 05:05:17

You may be familiar with the famous Cal Schenkel album covers for Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention (among others), like the one called “Just Another Band from L.A.” (1972).

Schenkel has now updated his artwork with an original painting of Dydia DeLyser and Paul Greenstein’s 1941 Tatra T87 (winner of the 2010 New York Times Collectible Car Contest), and their two dogs,  “Just Another Tatra from L.A.” Here’s the new picture, showing Dydia dressed as Czech Bugatti racer Eliska Junkova, and Paul as a soldier in the Czech Legion, and their two terriers, Harpo and Bix (in wheelchair with eye patch).

The overall leader in the trucks category also made a big leap towards the final victory today. Indeed, in this especially strong category, Russian Firdaus Kabirov (Kamaz) made a statement by becoming the first truck driver to seize a 2nd stage win in the 2011 Silk Way. On his way to the win, the leader took advantage of Czech Ales Loprais (Tatra) faltering towards the end of the stage.

Loprais’ co-driver suffered from several headaches after having been shaken around at high speed. As a result, Kabirov came in ahead of German Franz Echter (MAN), who was today’s runner-up 3:10 minutes behind the winner, i.e., 1:07 ahead of Loprais. Nevertheless, the Czech with the yellow truck is pretty much isolated in 2nd place, 52:08 mins behind Kabirov but 43:16 mins ahead of the other Kamaz in the provisional top 3, that of Andrey Karginov (who only managed to finish 10th today).

But chickens should not be counted before they hatch. Indeed, while the current time differences may seem unassailable under normal circumstances, the race is still not over and the leaders still have the most difficult part before them. They will have to manage their lead until Sochi without making catastrophic mistakes but maintaining a high pace. And all drivers dread this rigorous test of concentration.

Tomorrow (Friday) crews tackle two short special stages en route to Maykop. The day begins with a 36km liaison section to the first 113.68 km timed stage. The terrain features wide, open grassland and narrow, winding paths before heading into a 30km neutralization zone. The second timed section will be extremely fast, according to race officials, and will feature numerous 90-degree bends.

Silk Way Rally RESULTS: Stage 5 Astrakhan-Stavropol Trucks Top 10 Day/All

Top 10 Trucks Stage results SS05 Astrakhan-Stavropol

01) Kabirov/Mokeev/Tanin (RUS) I Kamaz I 07:12:28 I 00:00:00
02) Echter/Ruf/Echter (D) I MAN TGS I 07:15:38 I 00:03:10
03) Loprais/Holan/Stajf (CZ) I Tatra Proto I 07:16:45 I 00:04:17
04) Ardavichus/Turlubaev/Kuzmich (KZ) I Kamaz I 07:34:19 I 00:21:51
05) Van Ginkel/Wams/Van Veenendaal (NL) I Ginaf I 07:47:31 I 00:35:03
06) Stacey/Willemsen/Kinderen (NL) I De Rooy Iveco I 07:50:59 I 00:38:31
07) Behringer/Kupper/Karg (D) I MAN TGS I 07:52:55 I 00:40:27
08) Mardeev Jr./Belyaev/Mirniy (RUS) I Kamaz I 07:53:23 I 00:40:55
09) Maardev/Sotnikov/Yakovlev (RUS) I Kamaz I 08:01:34 I 00:49:06
10) Karginov/Mizyukaev/Devyatkin (RUS) I Kamaz I 08:02:41 I 00:50:13

Top 10 Trucks Overall results after SS05 Astrakhan-Stavropol

01) Kabirov/Mokeev/Tanin (RUS) I Kamaz I 29:30:19 I 00:00:00
02) Loprais/Holan/Stajf (CZ) I Tatra Proto I 30:22:27 I 00:52:08
03) Karginov/Mizyukaev/Devyatkin (RUS) I Kamaz I 31:05:43 I 01:35:24
04) Stacey/Willemsen/Kinderen (NL) I De Rooy Iveco I 31:31:58 I 02:01:39
05) Echter/Ruf/Echter (D) I MAN TGS I 32:22:40 I 02:52:21
06) Van Ginkel/Wams/Van Veenendaal (NL) I GINAF I 32:35:46 I 03:05:27
07) Mardeev Jr./Belyaev/Mirniy (RUS) I Kamaz I 32:36:58 I 03:06:39
08) Versluis/Bruynkens/Schuurmans (NL) I MAN TGA I 33:19:34 I 03:49:15
09) Maardev/Sotnikov/Yakovlev (RUS) I Kamaz I 33:55:06 I 04:24:47
10) Adua/Marco/Busoms (F/ES) I De Rooy Iveco I 34:25:46 I 04:55:27

The Lane Motor Museum in Nashville has built a reputation on the wide variety of cars it houses. Among the Peels, Panhards and Martins are the more prosaic Fiats, Citroëns and Hondas (usually Euro- or Japan-spec).

Then, there are the Tatras. Museum owner Jeff Lane has been collecting them for more than a decade. Outside of the Czech Republic, there are more Tatras at the Lane than at any other museum in the world.

“When we first opened in 1993, we had most of them on display in the first grouping as you enter,” Lane said. “One time, we only had a few out and some visitors said, ‘Geez, I came to see the Tatras. We read that you have a lot more!’ So we’ve gone back to always having at least five or six on display.”

When we asked how many the museum owned, Lane squinted his eyes and said, “About 17, I think.” Then he consulted his list: “17, 18, 19 . . . 22,” he said. “Sorry, I forgot a few.”

Read more: http://www.autoweek.com/article/20110713/CARNEWS/110719955

400 kilometers in the Kalmykian desert created the toughest stage so far in the rally. Even the greatest stars of the car category were barely searching for words after they had finished. It was a stage of truly Dakar parameters. Stephane Peterhansel had problems to remember when he had driven a six-hour special for the last time. The daily menu was clear: soft sands with numerous densely scattered small dunes full of jumps and bumps in a very irregular rhythm. In addition to that, there were dusty trails as well. All who have finished were ready for a physiotherapist and also the pilot of InstaForex Loprais Team looked for one.

Ales gradually took the course of the stage to his own hands. He took the lead from the very beginning. He passed all competitors who had started in front of him, except for three cars. At both CPs he was extending the lead and from CP2 he continued the stage together with both Kamaz trucks of Karginov and Kabirov. It is Ales’ second stage win at Silk Way rally – the first one was earned in 2009 in the stage to Turkmenbashi.

“What else can I say. We succeeded today and I am obviously happy, big thanks go to our mechanics who had not slept for two nights and this last night finally got some sleep. Today, there were no repairs, unnecessary stops or navigational mishaps, which is good. Though the stage was truly extremely grueling and navigation-wise really complicated. It looks like they want to shatter us here. The stage was full of bumps and our spines, necks and bottoms really suffered a lot. I am going t find a physiotherapist immediately and tomorrow’s stage will be long and hard, too. In the end of the stage, we drove in a dust cloud of Karginov who did not let us pass and so we did not want to take too many risks,” Ales Loprais said. He climbs back to 3rd overall, with only 2m40s adrift of Karginov. Hans Stacey did not have a perfect stage and fell to the fourth place.

The stage returned Russian participants back to the game. Ayrat Mardeev did a good job again and climbed all the way to sixth overall while his father, Ilgizar, already appears in top 10. A small loss was incurred by Franz Echter, on the other hand a stable position was maintained by Peter Versluis (in the lead at CP1!) and Johan Elfrink. Another good performance was achieved by the Liaz of Jaroslav Valtr while another Czech Tatra of Marek Spacil sadly quit after a crash.

No smooth day can be reported by Bonver Dakar Team with Tomas Vratny whose Tatra tipped on the side today. “The stage was really extremely difficult with numerous small dunes. At one curve we were too long and tipped the truck on a side. After 30 minutes, it was the Tatra of the Svoboda Team to help us back on wheels, many thanks for that! Our Tatra suffered some cosmetic damages but we keep going. The next stage will be long and tough as well,” driver Tomas Vratny said.

Really, the next stage from Astrakhan to Stavropol will include almost a 700-kilmeter special whose beginning part will be driven in the Kalmykian desert and the rest on Russian steppes with numerous paths zig-zagging each other in a tricky manner. Such long specials are hardly seen even at the big Dakar these days.

Jiri Vintr (Loprais newsletter)

Today’s stage was marked by Ales Loprais (Tatra), who made up for yesterday’s navigational mistake by beating Kabirov and Karginov’s Kamazs for the win by 14:46 minutes and 18:26 minutes, respectively. This is the Czech’s first win in 2011, and it also allowed him to take the 3rd place in the overall standings from the Dutchmen Hans Stacey (De Rooy Iveco), who suffered from mechanical problems.

As for the general classification, Firdaus Kabirov was able to defend his lead with ease. He now has 45:11 minutes over his teammate Andrey Karginov, who is only 2:40 mins ahead of Loprais.

Tomorrow’s (Thursday) timetable begins with a 55km road section to the start of a 689km special stage in the direction of Stravopol. This will be followed by a short liaison of 21km to the overnight halt. Navigation across the vast Russian steppes will not be easy and water crossings and mountains will be prevalent towards the end of the stage.

Silk Way Rally RESULTS: Stage 4 Astrakhan-Astrakhan Trucks Top 10 Day/All

01) Loprais/Holan/Stajf (CZ) I Tatra Proto I 06:17:20 I 00:00:00
02) Kabirov/Mokeev/Tanin (RUS) I Kamaz I 06:32:06 I 00:14:46
03) Karginov/Mizyukaev/Devyatkin (RUS) I Kamaz I 06:35:46 I 00:18:26
04) Mardeev Jr./Belyaev/Mirniy (RUS) I Kamaz I 06:35:59 I 00:18:39
05) Versluis/Bruynkens/Schuurmans (NL) I MAN TGA I 06:40:21 I 00:23:01
06) Maardev/Sotnikov/Yakovlev (RUS) I Kamaz I 06:45:29 I 00:28:09
07) Stacey/Willemsen/Kinderen (NL) I De Rooy Iveco I 06:56:15 I 00:38:55
08) Valtr/Macik/Macik (CZ) I Tatra I 07:08:26 I 00:51:06
09) Adua/Marco/Busoms (F/E) I De Rooy Iveco I 07:16:55 I 00:59:35
10) Echter/Ruf/Echter (D) I MAN TGS I 07:18:44 I 01:01:24

Top 10 Trucks Overall results after SS04 Astrakhan-Astrakhan

01) Kabirov/Mokeev/Tanin (RUS) I Kamaz I 22:17:51 I 00:00:00
02) Karginov/Mizyukaev/Devyatkin (RUS) I Kamaz I 23:03:02 I 00:45:11
03) Loprais/Holan/Stajf (CZ) I Tatra Proto I 23:05:42 I 00:47:51
04) Stacey/Willemsen/Kinderen (NL) I De Rooy Iveco I 23:40:59 I 01:23:08
05) Versluis/Bruynkens/Schuurmans (NL) I MAN TGA I 24:07:39 I 01:49:48
06) Mardeev Jr./Belyaev/Mirniy (RUS) I Kamaz I 24:43:35 I 02:25:44
07) Van Ginkel/Wams/Van Veenendaal (NL) I GINAF I 24:48:15 I 02:30:24
08) Echter/Ruf/Echter (D) I MAN TGS I 25:07:02 I 02:49:11
09) Elfrink/Hortulanus (NL) I Mercedes Axor I 25:46:01 I 03:28:10
10) Maardev/Sotnikov/Yakovlev (RUS) I Kamaz I 25:53:32 I 03:35:41

Ilgizar Mardeev’s son Ayrat (Kamaz) was the nice surprise of today’s stage. He took his first stage win in a big international competition, beating his teammate, “mentor” and fellow Russian Firdaus Kabirov (Kamaz).

The 3rd best time in today’s stage was posted by Dutchman Hans Stacey (Iveco), 10:28 back. Ales Loprais (Tatra) had the most disappointing performance of the 3rd stage. After leading the special with a margin of over 7 minutes at CP2, the Czech made a big navigational mistake towards the end of the stage, which ended up costing him more than 25 minutes.

Of course, the 2009 champion still leads the general classification, but his margin has now increased to 41:31 minutes over his teammate and fellow Russian Andrey Karginov (Kamaz), and 58:59 mins over Dutchman Hans Stacey (Iveco). Ales Loprais was the big loser of the day and now lies 01:02:37 back from the leader of the race.

Tomorrow (Wednesday), crews will tackle a 400km loop stage around Astrakhan. Fast tracks will again be part and parcel of the special, which also includes 45km in sand dunes and a return to faster tracks for the final 60 kilometers.

Silk Way Rally RESULTS: Stage 3 Volgograd-Astrakhan Trucks Top 10 Day/All

Top 10 Trucks Stage results S03 Volgograd-Astrakhan

01) Mardeev Jr./Belyaev/Mirniy (RUS) I Kamaz I 05:51:15 I 00:00:00
02) Kabirov/Mokeev/Tanin (RUS) I Kamaz I 05:57:29 I 00:06:14
03) Stacey/Willemsen/Kinderen (NL) I De Rooy Iveco I 06:01:43 I 00:10:28
04) Karginov/Mizyukaev/Devyatkin (RUS) I Kamaz I 06:03:50 I 00:12:35
05) Maardev/Sotnikov/Yakovlev (RUS) I Kamaz I 06:08:29 I 00:17:14
06) Echter/Ruf/Echter (D) I MAN TGS I 06:09:45 I 00:18:30
07) Loprais/Holan/Stajf (CZ) I Tatra Proto I 06:16:41 I 00:25:26
08) Van Ginkel/Wams/Van Veenendaal (NL) I GINAF I 06:21:36 I 00:30:21
09) Adua/Marco/Busoms (F/E) I De Rooy Iveco I 06:22:52 I 00:31:37
10) Elfrink/Hortulanus (NL) I Mercedes Axor I 06:32:53 I 00:41:38

Top 10 Trucks Overall results after SS03 Volgograd-Astrakhan

01) Kabirov/Mokeev/Tanin (RUS) I Kamaz I 15:45:45 I 00:00:00
02) Karginov/Mizyukaev/Devyatkin (RUS) I Kamaz I 16:27:16 I 00:41:31
03) Stacey/Willemsen/Kinderen (NL) I De Rooy Iveco I 16:44:44 I 00:58:59
04) Loprais/Holan/Stajf (CZ) I Tatra Proto I 16:48:22 I 01:02:37
05) Versluis/Bruynkens/Schuurmans (NL) I MAN TGA I 17:27:18 I 01:41:33
06) Van Ginkel/Wams/Van Veenendaal (NL) I GINAF I 17:28:19 I 01:42:34
07) Echter/Ruf/Echter (D) I MAN TGS I 17:48:18 I 02:02:33
08) Mardeev Jr./Belyaev/Mirniy (RUS) I Kamaz I 18:07:36 I 02:21:51
09) Elfrink/Hortulanus (NL) I Mercedes Axor I 18:13:37 I 02:27:52
10) Rotsaert/Dendooven/Debuf (B) I MAN TGA I 18:19:59 I 02:34:14

The 2011 Silk Way rally kicks off in Moscow on Saturday, in an event that will see the participation of 140 crews from 25 countries and is due to wrap up in the Russian Black Sea resort of Sochi on July 16. The Voice of Russia will keep a watchful eye on the event, with its special reports due to be available to VOR listeners in the next seven days.

Many have already likened the Silk Way rally, which is being held for the third time, to the Dakar race in terms of ever-increasing popularity ratings. The routes of the first two Silk Way rallies passed through the cities of Kazan, Ashgabat, St.Petersburg and Sochi.

This year, a record number of participants are taking part in the event, including prizewinners of the Dakar rally. In a truck category, the main competition is tipped to be between Russia’s KAMAZ team and their rivals from TATRA, MAN, GINAF and DE ROOJ.

Due on Moscow’s Red Square later on Saturday, the opening ceremony will see a freestyle motor rally and a concert with the participation of Bolshoi Theater soloists.

Semen Yakubov is head of the Silky Way project.

“135 crews from 25 countries are taking part in the 2011 Silk Way rally, which attracts scores of journalists from many countries, who will see for themselves how Russia is preparing for the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Yakubov says. The rally will be something of a test for us ahead of the Sochi Games, he adds, citing an array of high-tech achievement that he says will be used during the rally.”

Sunday will see the start of the rally’s first stage at a field in the Tula region, where the Battle of Kulikovo took place on September 3, 1380, in an event that added significantly to the overthrow of the Tatar yoke in then-Kievan Rus.

Organizers say that the rally’s program will help participants to better understand Russia’s geography, history and culture – something that is specifically thumbed up by pilot Gilles Picard of France.

A Dakar rally veteran, Picard was at the helm of those tasked with implementing reconnaissance of the Moscow-Sochi route earlier this year. At the time, his crew covered a whopping 35,000 kilometers in a bid to pave the way for the Silk Way rally’s current 3,950-km route.

The route is full of dangerous sections, Picard said, citing mountains, sands, swamps and forests, which are not uncommon across Russia. Separately, he praised the organization of the 2011 Silk Way rally, which, along with traditional Russian hospitality, is almost certain to contribute to the event’s success.

In rainy conditions, Loprais did well in the Silk Way Rally’s first stage, apart from a navigation fault after having taken the wrong track during 8 km. He drove back and overtook most of his rivals.

1st Stage Moscow – Lipetsk, Special 261 km, the total order