Arthur Ardavichus from Kazakhstan – a mechanic, lawyer and logistics specialist – was one of the first who competed with a private Kamaz Rallytruck at the Dakar Rally. He started his career on a motobike at the previous “Silk Way Rally” in 2006 and finished second. In 2007 he participated in the “NPO Tunisia Rally” – also with a bike – and in the same year he switched to T1-prototype cars for the “NPO Morocco Rally”.
He was infected – and in 2008 he wanted to participate in his first Dakar rally, this year in a T2 (production) car. But as we all know, this Dakar was cancelled and this was the end of the “real Dakar” in Africa.
It should take another three years that his Dakar-dream became true: After participating in Rallies like the “UAE Desert Challenge”, “Transiberico Portugal” and other marathonrallies in a car, his first Dakar was in 2011 – behind the steering-wheel of a private Kamaz Truck in the mint green (or blue?) colours of his country and the name “Astana” – the capital of Kazakhstan. A name which is also well known in the international bicycle sports. His success was the birth of the “Astana Dakar Team”, which will represent the European/Asian country with four participants in the Dakar Rally 2014.
Arthur Ardavichus from Kazakhstan – a mechanic, lawyer and logistics specialist – was one of the first who competed with a private Kamaz Rallytruck at the Dakar Rally. He started his career on a motobike at the previous “Silk Way Rally” in 2006 and finished second. In 2007 he participated in the “NPO Tunisia Rally” – also with a bike – and in the same year he switched to T1-prototype cars for the “NPO Morocco Rally”.
He was infected – and in 2008 he wanted to participate in his first Dakar rally, this year in a T2 (production) car. But as we all know, this Dakar was cancelled and this was the end of the “real Dakar” in Africa.
It should take another three years that his Dakar-dream became true: After participating in Rallies like the “UAE Desert Challenge”, “Transiberico Portugal” and other marathonrallies in a car, his first Dakar was in 2011 – behind the steering-wheel of a private Kamaz Truck in the mint green (or blue?) colours of his country and the name “Astana” – the capital of Kazakhstan. A name which is also well known in the international bicycle sports. His success was the birth of the “Astana Dakar Team”, which will represent the European/Asian country with four participants in the Dakar Rally 2014.
Continue: http://www.marathonrally.com/news/dakar_rally_2014_kazakhstan_to_start_with_four_astana_rally_teams.23887.0.html
Additional info on the Bonver project:
In last year’s Silk Way Rally, the Pole SZUSTKOWSKI was the fastest Tatra of with a truck of the Vratny-team, Loprais retiring
At the Dakar 2013 ( http://www.dakar.com/dakar/2013/us/stage-14/rankings/overall-trucks.html#ancre), Kolomny came home 5th as the highest placed Tatra, Loprais finishing 6th. kolomny drove a Bonver/Vratny trucks. Last year, Kolomny and Vratny, entered into a conflict, Kolomny starting this year in a new team, the Bagheera team,
Tomas Vratny bought the former CzechDakarTeam from Kolomny in 2011, and rebaptized it into Bonver Team.
http://www.dakar.com/silk-way-rally/2011/us/stage-7/rankings/overall-trucks.html#ancre
NEW DELHI: After months of deliberation, the CBI is set to close the General V K Singh bribery case as “no substantial evidence was found to prove the allegations that Lt Gen (retd) Tejinder Singh had offered him a bribe of Rs 14 crore for clearing a tranche of Tatra trucks”. Sources said a closure report would be filed in court in January.
CBI had examined the CD provided by V K Singh, visitors’ register of defence ministry and questioned several persons to ascertain the bribery charge but officials said “prosecutable evidence could not be found against Tejinder Singh”.
Read Full article
Also: http://www.defenseworld.net/news/9718/India_Closes_Bribery_Cases_Against_IAI__Tatra__Hope_For_AW__Denel__Rheinmetall#.Ur6×7VvuLcc
NEW DELHI: Tatra trucks, over which there was a controversy, are likely to make a comeback into the Indian armed forces as the government is now planning to procure the vehicles directly from the company manufacturing them instead of buying through agent firms. Full story
With his eyes full of tears on the podium in Santiago, Eduard Nikolaev put the shine back into Kamaz with his first success in the Dakar last year. The time is approaching to confirm that victory, but Gerard De Rooy and a long list of Dutch drivers intend to make life difficult for the Kamaz team.
It was a light soft shot, not a hard blow. The day Vladimir Chagin retired after seven wins in the class ushered in a difficult time for the Kamaz team, which had to undertake a renewal of drivers who had not shown their full potential yet. The following year – 2012 – Gerard de Rooy’s win, with no Russian presence on the podium, confirmed how difficult it was to look ahead to the future.
However, normal service was restored in the last edition of the Dakar, where rising star Eduard Nikolaev managed to get a blue truck onto the highest step of the podium. To round things off, the team showed great form by completing the ranking with Ayrat Mardeev (2nd) and Andrey Karginov (3rd), and all this with an average age of just over 29. A sign of fierce competition.
Aware of the difficulty of repeating the exploit, the engineers from Naberezhnye Chelny have developed a version of their truck equipped – like their rivals – with a smaller engine that is nevertheless just as powerful: “because we turn the page every year”, says the ‘little Czar’ Eduard Nikolaev.
As for 2014’s ‘page’, De Rooy and his teammates intend to write it in a rather more forceful style than last year. Although De Rooy won 6 stages (he had perhaps dreamed of starting a ‘turquoise blue’ era), the Dutchman’s 4th place in the final ranking left him a bitter taste in the mouth. His cousin Hans Stacey, winner in 2007 and second in 2012, is the second trump card in the group.
By slightly moving away from the Eindhoven-based team, one gets the feeling that Kamaz run the risk of being assaulted by an armada of Dutch trucks in teams of differing strengths, but all to be taken seriously nevertheless.
After winning his first special stage last January, Peter Versluis is aiming quite a bit higher than his 7th place with his MAN truck, which has been tuned up in the workshops of the Veka team. The Ginaf trucks, completely redesigned and developed since last year, will have the ambitious Wuf Van Ginkel back, and also Martin Van den Brink, to have a shot at the podium.
The wind of technological revolution has not only been blowing over the plains of Holland. The real outsider could well come from the Czech Republic, and people will be watching the Tatra of Ales Loprais very closely. Its bodywork has adopted the vintage look launched by De Rooy two years ago.
Re-christened “Queen 69”, his reworked truck allows him to aim at a podium finish as in 2007. In a nearby rival team, Martin Kolomy was involved in the battle for the podium during the main part of the rally before falling back to 5th place. One could guess Kolomy will make a point to proudly fly the colours of the Czech Republic at the podium ceremony this year in Valparaiso!
With his eyes full of tears on the podium in Santiago, Eduard Nikolaev put the shine back into Kamaz with his first success in the Dakar last year. The time is approaching to confirm that victory, but Gerard De Rooy and a long list of Dutch drivers intend to make life difficult for the Kamaz team.
It was a light soft shot, not a hard blow. The day Vladimir Chagin retired after seven wins in the class ushered in a difficult time for the Kamaz team, which had to undertake a renewal of drivers who had not shown their full potential yet. The following year – 2012 – Gerard de Rooy’s win, with no Russian presence on the podium, confirmed how difficult it was to look ahead to the future.
However, normal service was restored in the last edition of the Dakar, where rising star Eduard Nikolaev managed to get a blue truck onto the highest step of the podium. To round things off, the team showed great form by completing the ranking with Ayrat Mardeev (2nd) and Andrey Karginov (3rd), and all this with an average age of just over 29. A sign of fierce competition.
Aware of the difficulty of repeating the exploit, the engineers from Naberezhnye Chelny have developed a version of their truck equipped – like their rivals – with a smaller engine that is nevertheless just as powerful: “because we turn the page every year”, says the ‘little Czar’ Eduard Nikolaev.
As for 2014’s ‘page’, De Rooy and his teammates intend to write it in a rather more forceful style than last year. Although De Rooy won 6 stages (he had perhaps dreamed of starting a ‘turquoise blue’ era), the Dutchman’s 4th place in the final ranking left him a bitter taste in the mouth. His cousin Hans Stacey, winner in 2007 and second in 2012, is the second trump card in the group.
By slightly moving away from the Eindhoven-based team, one gets the feeling that Kamaz run the risk of being assaulted by an armada of Dutch trucks in teams of differing strengths, but all to be taken seriously nevertheless.
After winning his first special stage last January, Peter Versluis is aiming quite a bit higher than his 7th place with his MAN truck, which has been tuned up in the workshops of the Veka team. The Ginaf trucks, completely redesigned and developed since last year, will have the ambitious Wuf Van Ginkel back, and also Martin Van den Brink, to have a shot at the podium.
The wind of technological revolution has not only been blowing over the plains of Holland. The real outsider could well come from the Czech Republic, and people will be watching the Tatra of Ales Loprais very closely. Its bodywork has adopted the vintage look launched by De Rooy two years ago.
Re-christened “Queen 69”, his reworked truck allows him to aim at a podium finish as in 2007. In a nearby rival team, Martin Kolomy was involved in the battle for the podium during the main part of the rally before falling back to 5th place. One could guess Kolomy will make a point to proudly fly the colours of the Czech Republic at the podium ceremony this year in Valparaiso!
http://www.marathonrally.com/news/dakar_rally_2014_will_the_new_kamaz_repeat_their_triuph_in_the_trucks.23900.0.html
