After the Friday evening festivities at Red Square, the 99 teams entered for the 5th edition of the Silk Way Rally drove down the ceremonial start ramp at the Russian capital’s most famous landmark.
This morning, the assistance vehicles got an early start, while the competitors gathered at 10 am to listen to the traditional welcome briefing conducted by Semen Yakubov and Frédéric Lequien.
At 11:30 Boris Gadasin was the first to leave the parc ferme and head to Tambov.
«We decided to head south very quickly in order to join the terrain suited for the rally,” said Frédéric Lequien. “ In order to minimize the liaison distance we decided to stop at Tambov.” For some teams this relaxed day is very welcome, because it will allow them to get much needed rest before this very difficult rally, which features long special stages, varying terrain, navigation and extreme heat begins.”
On Sunday, the opening special stage will be divided into two sections. The first will be run on compact and dry terrain, while the second will feature sand covered tracks with the first encounter with the dunes.
ROUTE
Saturday, 6 July
Stage 0: Moscow – Tambov
Liaison : 452,91 km
Sunday, 7 July
Stage1: Tambov – Volgograd
Liaison : 242,10 km –Special Stage 1: 199,05 km – Liaison : 50,94 km – Special Stage 2 : 174,38 km – Liaison : 77,56 km – Total : 744,12 km
