KAMAZ Team Wins Dakar Rally

A team from KAMAZ has won the lorry category of the 2003 Telefonica Dakar rally. According to KAMAZ's press office, the team completed the 5,216 kilometre distance in 61 hours, 36 minutes and 40 seconds. The team included driver Vladimir Chagin, navigator and team captain Semyon Yakubov, and mechanic Sergei Savostin. Second place went to a Brazilian team driving for Czech manufacturer Tatra, who finished over 1 hour behind. KAMAZ's second team took third place.

At the award ceremony in Sharm-el-Sheikh, KAMAZ general director Sergei Kogonin said that 'the KAMAZ-master team is KAMAZ through and through, as it is full of the spirit of our factory.' 'We are very proud of it and will always offer it our full support, welcoming new victories,' he said. The victors are due to return to Naberezhnye Chelny this evening.

KAMAZ has now won the Dakar rally four times. The last three wins have all been achieved by Semyon Yakubov's team. This year's rally featured 147 motorbikes, 140 light vehicles and jeeps, and 51 lorries. The rally began on December 31, 2002. It passed through Marseille, Valencia, Tunisia, Libya, and Egypt.