Three crews represent Turkmenistan at the 15th anniversary edition of the international rally marathon "Silk Way," which started in Irkutsk and will take place across Russia and Mongolia.
The Silk Way International Rally project dates back to 2009, uniting not only regions of the Russian Federation but also Eurasian countries over the years. The route of the first rally edition started in Kazan, passed through Kazakhstan, and finished in Ashgabat. In subsequent years, the race connected Saint Petersburg and Krasnaya Polyana, Moscow and Sochi, Moscow and Gelendzhik, Moscow and Astrakhan, Moscow and Beijing, and Moscow and Xi'an.
In 2019, the Silk Way route passed through Mongolia for the first time, linking Russian Irkutsk and Chinese Dunhuang. Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the 2020 edition was canceled, and in 2021 the route was from Omsk to Gorno-Altaysk.
The Silk Way International Rally includes competitions in all official categories: trucks, cars, SSV, as well as motorcycles and quad bikes, which were added to the program in 2019.
This year, the race covers 4,811.6 km again across Russia and Mongolia. The route will take participants through the Gobi Desert and the Altai Mountains, with a new highlight on the route — Lake Baikal. Competitors face 11 stages, including special sections totaling 2,402.33 km.
Extreme off-road, diverse surfaces, three-dimensional mountain landscapes, and the traditional sands and dunes of the discipline will turn this race into an unforgettable adventure and a battleground in more than ten categories.
Notably, only three Turkmen crews started in the T2 production category, competing against each other for one of the prestigious trophies in the rally-raid world. In this class, the Turkmenistan Automobile Sports Federation is represented by Nissan Patrol vehicles driven by the 2022 winners and last year's silver medalists, brothers Merdan and Shokhrat Toylyev (start number 214), the bronze medalists of Silk Way 2024 Maksatmyrat Danatarov and Didar Orazmedov (215), and Meilis Abdullaev and Italmaz Charyev (216).
According to the organizers, after the prologue, Karimov took the lead in the truck category. Meanwhile, in the T1 prototype category, the leader was Andrey Rudskoy, the 2023 Silk Way Rally overall winner. In the T3 SSV class, Anastasia Nifontova posted the best time on the 8-km super special stage; in the Open category, Dmitry Voronov took first place driving the latest Lada Niva SUV; and among the T2 production SUV crews, pilot Maksatmyrat Danatarov leads.
"Excellent track, the weather was also normal. The fords were shallow. We are set on victory, the car performed excellently with no breakdowns. There was a section with large stones that was quite difficult; it had to be passed carefully. We completed the special stage perfectly," commented Maksatmyrat Danatarov on the initial results.
On July 13, participants face the first full race stage: crews will travel through the protected areas of the Baikal region to the city of Baikalsk. The total distance will be 256 km, testing the versatility of each crew and serving as the first major challenge on the route.
The Silk Way Rally will conclude on July 22 in Gorno-Altaysk.
