Four KAMAZ trucks led the prologue of the "Great Steppe": the first seconds of the struggle in Kalmykia

The first day: from the checks to the start

On October 14, the sports program began with administrative checks and an entrance technical inspection, as a result of which 25 crews — 12 trucks and 13 SUVs - were allowed to participate in the Russian championship stage.

By the beginning of the competition, the composition of the participants in the cargo competition had changed somewhat. The URAL MOTORSPORT team fielded two trucks instead of the three announced ones: Anton Kushnikov's car suffered serious engine damage during training runs. Upon inspection, the mechanics found a crack in the engine block, which could not be repaired in the field. As a result, the crew was forced to withdraw from the race.

In the automotive categories, the composition of the participants has also undergone changes. After the withdrawal of Timur Shigabutdinov's application, the T3 competition remained without participants, and Vladimir Tyupenkin joined the five previously announced crews in Raid Sport.

In the Sintec Race, the crews performing on production cars also passed all the checks and were allowed to start. They will take part in the Weekend race format. On Friday, October 16, they will have to overcome the longest special stage following the participants of the Russian championship. The Sintec Race is supported by Sintec Lubricants, one of the market leaders in motor oils and lubricants. This format allows participants in production cars to try their hand at the tracks of the Russian Rally Championship.

After completing the checks, the participants set off for the first stage of the baha "The Great Steppe", which included a 14.85-kilometer prologue with a total day distance of 30.30 kilometers. The track passed through the dry Kalmyk steppe, on the same territory where the official training took place the day before. However, the familiar terrain did not guarantee an easy passage of the prologue. The tracks left by cars during test runs could lead crews astray from the right direction, and the dried grass hid bumps and sudden changes in terrain, forcing pilots to carefully monitor the car even on seemingly flat areas.

The first leaders of the Great Steppe

Almaz Akhmedov from the KAMAZ-master team showed the best time of the prologue — 7 minutes 43 seconds. Bogdan Karimov lost only two seconds to him. Dmitry Sotnikov, who won the previous three stages of the Russian Championship and created an unattainable advantage in the overall standings, showed the third time (+ 9 seconds). The fourth was Eduard Nikolaev (+ 13 seconds). Next came representatives of the Belarusian team "MAZ-SPORTauto" Sergey Vyazovich (+ 18 seconds) and Pavel Murylev (+ 23 seconds). Thus, the six fastest crews clocked 23 seconds, and eight trucks and two SUVs of the absolute standings were in the top ten of the general classification.

Vladimir Vasiliev became the fastest among the SUVs, returning to the raid tracks after several seasons of performances in the classic rally. The St. Petersburg pilot showed the seventh time in the general classification, losing 30 seconds to the winner. Vasiliev was the first to go to the prologue distance. According to the athlete, there were no special difficulties with navigation, although one of the branches of the steppe tracks had to spend a few seconds choosing the right direction. Andrey Novikov finished second in the overall standings on G-Force TIGRIS, losing 26 seconds to Vasiliev.

Mikhail Mityaev from LADA Sport ROSNEFT showed the best result in the Raid Sport - 9 minutes and 25 seconds. Anton Melnikov from S&A Racing became the second (+ 22 seconds), who continues to fight with Alexey Khlebov for the championship title. Alexey Khlebov from GAZ Raid Sport finished the prologue fourth in his standings, losing 51 seconds to Melnikov. Alexander Semenov from GAZ Raid Sport took the lead in the T2 production SUV category with a score of 10 minutes and 2 seconds. Leonid Panfilov lost 21 seconds to him at NIVA Sport T2, and Andrey Sushentsov, the leader of the intermediate classification of the championship, lost 40 seconds.

Pavel Naibich, who joined the team in 2026 as a mechanic, drove one of the MAZ-SPORTauto trucks for the first time. He was a member of Sergey Vyazovich's crew at the previous two races. Naibich, Master of Sports of Belarus, multiple national champion in go-karting, go-karting slalom and slalom, showed the ninth time in the general classification during the prologue, losing 47 seconds to the winner.

A five-minute penalty for missing a checkpoint significantly changed the result of Dmitry Avdeev's crew from the KAMAZ-master team. On the track, the young pilot of the Blue Armada showed a time of 8 minutes and 5 seconds, which would have allowed him to take sixth place in the overall classification. However, after adding the penalty, the crew dropped to the 25th position.

Selection of starting positions

In the evening of the same day, the ten best crews of the prologue took part in choosing the starting positions for the next stage. As a result, eight trucks will be the first to go the distance, followed by two SUVs.

Pavel Naibich, who made his debut driving a racing truck, will open the 304-kilometer special stage on October 15. Yuri Naiman from URAL MOTORSPORT and Pavel Murylev from MAZ-SPORTauto will follow him to the track with a three-minute start interval. Sergey Vyazovich starts fourth, Eduard Nikolaev - fifth, Dmitry Sotnikov — sixth, Bogdan Karimov — seventh. The winner of the prologue, Almaz Akhmedov, chose the eighth starting position. Vladimir Vasiliev and Andrey Novikov will be ninth and tenth respectively.

Evening at the Elista Digital Center

After completing the sports program, the participants of the Great Steppe met at the Elista Digital Center, where virtual races took place in the computer game "Off-Road Commanders". Ten representatives of the KAMAZ-master, MAZ-SPORTauto, URAL MOTORSPORT, LADA Sport ROSNEFT and GAZ Raid Sport teams and pilots from Kalmykia sat down at gaming computers. In the virtual races, athletes drove trucks of domestic brands, competing not on steppe tracks, but on computer screens. The awarding ceremony for the winners of the tournament is scheduled for October 17th.

There are 304 kilometers ahead

On October 15, the crews will have the first long special stage of baha "The Great Steppe" with a length of 304 kilometers. Last year's route was taken as a basis, which was significantly expanded with new segments. Athletes will find fast winding steppe tracks, numerous road crossings and navigation traps. The final segment, about 15 kilometers long, with a series of sharp rolling and relief changes, promises to be especially difficult.

The first 14.85 kilometers marked the balance of power, but so far they have not allowed anyone to create a serious advantage. Tomorrow, the seconds handicaps may turn into minutes, and the intermediate classification may change significantly. At the same time, the longest special stage of the Great Steppe is still ahead: it is scheduled for Friday, October 16.