Silk Way Rally 2011 starts in July in Moscow

The already traditional event of the Dakar Series starts earlier this year and will be run on July 9-16 from Moscow to the 2014 Winter Olympics venue of Sochi.
In seven stages at similar locations as in 2010, the race will head from moscow to Sochi through Lipetsk, Volgograd, Astrakhan, Stavropol and Maykop.The organizing team is preparing a 4000-kilometre long route and its core part should také place in the Kalmykian desert around Astrakhan where also the most gruelling stages. As the 2011 edition is placed closer to the mid year there will be a greater time portion for all participating teams to prepare their vehicles for Dakar 2012 in South America. The organizers have also anounced interesting conditions on starting fees and rewards foor amateur crews who manage to finish the race all the way to Sochi.
„Silk way Rally has always been a perfect test of man and machine before the Dakar. A quality race at an extreme pace under the pressure of the ‚sbornaya‘ of Kamaz is for sure an excellent preparation. we count on the race this year as well and we believe the competition will be great,“ Ales Loprais said. His nexts steps lead to Paris for the annual meeting of truck teams and the ASO commissioners. In the workshops at Frenstat, the second race truck is being rebuilt to the 2011 form and the works on the new hooded specials are still going on.
Jiri Vintr