Baha "The Great Steppe" will finish the Russian Rally Raid Championship in the cargo competition

Rally raids in Kalmykia have a ten-year history: the first competitions were held here back in 2014. After a five—year break, the Great Steppe returned to the republic in 2024 in regional status, and in the spring of 2025, Kalmykia hosted the Wild Tulip Cup of Russia. The successful holding of these competitions allowed the region to once again host the national championship stage. In 2026, the Great Steppe is being held as a national championship for the fifth time.

The current race is of particular importance for the T5 cargo competition: it is in Kalmykia that its sports season will end. Representatives of the leading factory teams — KAMAZ-master, MAZ-SPORTauto, URAL MOTORSPORT and GAZ Raid Sport - will join the fight. 13 cargo crews have been announced for the launch, which is almost half of the preliminary list of participants.

After three consecutive wins, Dmitry Sotnikov from the KAMAZ-master team has an advantage that, taking into account the scoring system, is no longer possible to win back at the final stage. At the same time, the fight for the remaining places on the podium continues. Sotnikov's closest pursuers are his teammates Bogdan Karimov and Eduard Nikolaev, who are separated by only two points in the intermediate classification. In Kalmykia, they will compete not only with each other, but also with representatives of other cargo teams, including the Belarusian crews of MAZ-SPORTauto, led by Sergey Vyazovich. According to the results of the Great Steppe, the final distribution of places in the overall standings among trucks will be determined.

In the car standings, Bach will be the penultimate, fourth of the five stages of the championship. One of the most notable events of the bid campaign was the return of Vladimir Vasiliev to the rally raids. An experienced St. Petersburg pilot will take off in a BMW X5 together with navigator Evgeny Zagorodnyuk. Andrey Novikov at G-Force TIGRIS, who missed the previous stage of the championship in the Southern Urals, is also in the overall standings. After two performances, Novikov takes third place in the intermediate classification, losing only three points to the leader Alexei Cherkesov. Circassians have not been reported to the Great Steppe.

Intense competition is expected in other categories as well. Five crews have been announced for Raid-Sport. Anton Melnikov from S&A Racing leads the championship, having won two of the last three stages. His closest pursuer, Alexey Khlebov from GAZ Raid Sport, is 13 points behind. Both crews have been assigned to the Great Steppe. In the T2 production SUV category, the same gap of 13 points separates the leader Andrey Sushentsov and the runner-up Alexander Semenov. In this competition, five crews have also been announced for the race. In the T3 category, Timur Shigabutdinov is among the announced participants at the BRP Can-Am Maverick R XRS.

Four racing days in the Kalmyk steppe

This year's route of the Great Steppe will be noticeably more diverse than last year's. The organizers have prepared fast winding steppe tracks, technically challenging sections with gullies and ridges, as well as sandy stretches. The crews will have to constantly adapt to the changing surface: from dense soil to dusty areas and fashionable. At the same time, high speed will require special attention to navigation — numerous intersections of tracks and obstacles hidden in the grass can seriously affect the course of the fight.

The Baha program began on October 13 with an official training session. On a route of about 30 kilometers, the participants were able to check the suspension settings and prepare the equipment for high-speed steppe trails.

Representatives of the republic's leadership also joined the sports program. Alexey Eteev, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Digital Development of the Republic of Kalmykia, overcame the entire training distance together with the crew of the KAMAZ—master team, having the opportunity to get acquainted with the features of rally raids directly in the cabin of a sports truck. The event was also attended by the Minister of Natural Resources and Environmental Protection of the Republic of Kalmykia Sanal Gojurov.

On Wednesday, October 14, administrative checks and an entrance technical inspection will take place. At 15:00, the crews will set off for the first high—speed special stage, a prologue about 15 kilometers long. According to the results, the top ten crews will participate in the selection of starting positions for the next race day in the evening.

On October 15, the crews will face the second stage with a 304-kilometer special stage. His route is based on last year's special stage, which the organizers have significantly expanded and supplemented with new segments. Fast, winding tracks with numerous intersections, dikes and navigation traps will make up most of the distance. A special challenge awaits the crews closer to the finish line: about 15 kilometers of difficult terrain with a series of sharp rolls will require precise work with the car at high speed.

The longest and, according to the organizers, the most difficult stage will be the third one on Friday, October 16. On the 373-kilometer special stage, the crews will pass both steppe tracks characteristic of Kalmykia, as well as completely new sections that have not been used in competitions before. The route will combine fast and technically challenging sections, sand and diverse terrain. On-site service at the distance is not provided, which will require participants to pay special attention to the condition of the equipment.

The final stage on October 17 will include a special stage with a length of 211 kilometers. Despite the shorter distance, the final special stage will retain the characteristic difficulties of the "Great Steppe": high speeds, hard sections of the route and navigation traps. Its finish line will be located almost within the city limits of Elista. On Saturday evening, a solemn ceremony of awarding the winners and prize-winners of the competition will take place.

From real tracks to virtual races

This year, the sports program of the Great Steppe will be complemented by a new project combining real rally raids and virtual races. As part of the Russian Championship stage, an interactive racing tournament will be held at the Elista Digital Center, in which rally participants will be able to compete for victory in digital format. The competition will be held on the basis of the Russian computer game "Off-road Commanders", developed by FOXHOUND studio. The awarding ceremony for the winners of the tournament is scheduled for October 17th.

"Off—road Commanders" is a Russian computer game dedicated to truck racing on the Russian off-road. Its virtual fleet includes cars from Russian manufacturers, and the game mechanics combine heavy truck control with the ability to customize them technically. The public technical demo of the game has already been tested by more than 90,000 users.

Another event will be the signing of a memorandum of cooperation between the organizer of the baha — NP "Interregional Association of Rally Raid Athletes" (NP ROSRR) - and FOXHOUND company with the assistance of the Ministry of Sports of the Republic of Kalmykia. One of the areas of future cooperation is the transfer of real rally—raid tracks to the virtual space, including a section of the competition route in Kalmykia.

To do this, it is planned to use materials collected directly on the ground in order to convey the features of the Kalmyk landscape and racing tracks as accurately as possible in the game. The project aims to introduce rally raids to a new audience, promote the development of digital sports competitions and promote the tourism potential of the Republic of Kalmykia.

The 2026 Great Steppe Rally continues the long history of rally raids in Kalmykia, preserving the significance of an important sporting event and at the same time opening up new opportunities to explore the republic far beyond the race tracks.