Bogdan Karimov consolidated his leadership at the Great Steppe, Sergey Vyazovich came in second place.

The third stage of the Great Steppe was a serious test of the endurance of the crews and the reliability of equipment. On the longest special stage of the race, fast stretches on the hard ground of the Kalmyk steppe alternated with winding tracks, washouts and sandy areas. The tall grass hid the roughness of the terrain, and in areas without marked tracks, crews needed to follow the road book especially closely. The participants had to constantly choose between high speed and safe cars.

After three days of competition, 23 crews remain in the Baha classification. Friday's events showed how costly technical problems and navigation errors can be: even one unfortunate episode can cost the crew not only time on the special stage, but also several positions in the intermediate classification.

At one of the segments of the third special stage, due to the operation of electronic warfare equipment, it was not possible to obtain data from the hardware and software complex necessary for an objective determination of the results of the crews. In this regard, the Board of Sports Commissioners decided to subtract the time of the 8.99-kilometer section when calculating the results of the SU-3 for all participants.

Trucks: Karimov increases the gap, Vyazovich is ahead of Nikolaev

Bogdan Karimov from KAMAZ-master was the first to set off for the third special stage and, despite the absence of any competitors, showed the best time in the cargo competition — 3 hours, 30 minutes, 12 seconds, taking into account the ten-second penalty for speeding in the restricted area. The crew covered the distance without stopping and, according to the pilot, avoided serious navigation errors. _"The special stage is working, very long, and it was shaking violently in places. There was a lot of tall grass, we drove almost through virgin land. We thought that they would catch up with us, but this did not happen," Karimov said after the finish.

Sergey Vyazovich from MAZ-SPORTauto finished in second place at the end of the day, losing 4 minutes 49 seconds to the winner. Eduard Nikolaev from KAMAZ-master showed the third time, 7 minutes behind Karimov.

The struggle between Sergey Vyazovich and Eduard Nikolaev turned out to be especially intense. About a hundred kilometers before the finish, the MAZ crew caught up with their opponent, but off-road overtaking was complicated by dust, deep washouts and the need to accurately pass checkpoints. During one of the overtaking attempts, Vyazovich's crew missed the navigation point and was forced to return, after which they again caught up with Nikolaev. _"Of course, there were a few moments when we were on the verge of losing our composure, we wanted to overdo it, but nevertheless we managed to control ourselves and brought a good result," he shared Vyazovich.

According to Nikolayev, after a slight deviation from the route, the crews found themselves side by side and for some time moved in each other's dust. _"I didn't take any chances in the dunes either, I realized that half the distance was still ahead, and I needed to save the car," explained the KAMAZ-master pilot.

As a result, Vyazovich completed the special stage 2 minutes 11 seconds faster than Nikolayev and beat him in the T5 intermediate classification by 35 seconds. Before the final day, the crews occupy the second and third positions, respectively.

Pavel Murylev from MAZ-SPORTauto showed the fourth time among trucks. His crew made minor navigation errors, and in difficult areas with washouts, the pilot twice barely "taxied" from the coup.

Yuri Naiman finished fifth in a URAL truck. The crew overcame the first part of the race with problems in the braking system, and at about two hundredth kilometer, the air conditioner unit fell off the roof of the cabin. He hung on the wires and started banging on the cabin. The crew had to stop, disconnect the unit and isolate the damaged wiring. The athletes drove the rest of the day without air conditioning, including in the dust behind other trucks.

His URAL MOTORSPORT team-mate Ivan Korolev, on the contrary, relied on the safety of equipment and a stable pace. The crew monitored the condition of the tires, avoided technical stops and refused to enter the service area in order not to waste time. There were problems with navigation equipment on one of the segments, but the crew passed all the necessary checkpoints.

Not all cargo crews managed to overcome the special stage completely. Dmitry Sotnikov from KAMAZ-master, who continues to test the new transmission, covered 127.6 kilometers, left the special stage and headed for Elista on asphalt. He was awarded a total of 10 hours and 40 minutes of penalty time for the incomplete distance and missed checkpoints, but the crew retains the opportunity to continue the test program on the final day of the race.

Following the results of the three stages, Bogdan Karimov leads the cargo standings with a score of 6 hours, 16 minutes, and 16 seconds. Sergey Vyazovich is 13 minutes 10 seconds behind the leader, Eduard Nikolaev — 13 minutes 45 seconds. Pavel Murylev holds the fourth position, and Yuri Naiman holds the fifth.

Car standings: changing leaders and competing for championship points

Among the SUVs of the absolute standings, Vladimir Vasiliev again showed the best time on the BMW X5. He completed the third special stage with a score of 3 hours, 53 minutes, and 25 seconds. Andrey Novikov lost 2 minutes and 21 seconds to him on G-Force TIGRIS. After three stages, Vasiliev retains the lead in the overall standings, and his advantage over Novikov has increased to 7 minutes 43 seconds.

The most noticeable changes occurred in the scoring category "Raid-sport". Alexey Khlebov from GAZ Raid Sport won the third special stage and came out on top in the intermediate classification. Vladimir Tyupenkin showed the second time of the day, Maxim Kirpilev showed the third. According to the sum of the three stages, Kirpilev occupies the second position, and Tyupenkin — the third.

Vladimir Tyupenkin is not fighting for the championship title: this season he has focused on performances in the Cup of Russia. At the same time, at the Kalmyk special stages, the pilot demonstrates a high pace and is among the strongest participants in the competition.

Mikhail Mityaev, who had successfully spent the previous two days, lost a lot of time on the third special stage. He finished the day with the fourth result in the Raid Sport and dropped to the fourth position in the intermediate classification.

The third stage ended with a serious setback for Anton Melnikov from S&A Racing. At about the 240th kilometer, the crew lost a wheel and stopped for repairs, using the help of their technical support. The special stage could not be completed. For the incomplete distance, the crew was assigned a fixed time to complete the special stage — 25 hours. As a result, Melnikov moved from second to sixth, the last place in the intermediate classification of "Raid Sports".

At the same time, the failure on the "Great Steppe" does not deprive Melnikov of his chances for the championship title. Before the start of the Kalmyk bach, he was ahead of Alexey Khlebov by 13 points. According to the rules of the championship, the final standings include the two best results from the first four stages, as well as the result of the final race, which will be held in November. If Khlebov retains the first place at the Great Steppe, and Melnikov remains sixth, both athletes will qualify for the championship finals with the same total score of 50 points each.

In the T2 production SUV category, Andrey Sushentsov took over the leadership on the Toyota Land Cruiser 200. He overcame the third special stage faster than the others, showing a result of 4 hours 54 minutes 1 second. Leonid Petrov finished second, losing 6 minutes 49 seconds, and Alexander Semenov from GAZ Raid Sport finished third.

Semenov, who led the standings after two stages, lost time on the course and additionally received a five-minute penalty for arriving at the time control point with one spare wheel instead of two. Following the results of the three stages, Sushentsov reached the first position in T2, Petrov rose to the second, and Semenov moved to the third.

** The final day is ahead**

On Saturday, October 17, the participants of the Great Steppe Concert will have the final day of competition. The length of the final special stage will be 211.84 kilometers. Despite the shorter distance, the route will retain the characteristic features of the Kalmyk race: high speeds, hard sections of the route and navigation traps. The finish line of the special stage will be located almost within the city limits of Elista.

Also on Saturday, a special Sintec Race will be held within the framework of the Great Steppe Exhibition with the support of Sintec Lubricants, a manufacturer of high-quality lubricants and technical fluids. This off-road competition format allows owners of production cars to try themselves in rally raids and get on the same track with professional athletes. In the Weekend category, two crews from Kalmykia will start, which will have to cover the distance of one competitive day.

At 16:30 on the motorcycle track in Elista, a solemn ceremony of awarding the winners of the baha "The Great Steppe" and the tournament on digital racing using the game "Off-road Commanders" will take place.