The long and arduous journey at the 2018 Silk Way Rally is continuing at top speed as the race enters the home straight. Five stages have now been contested over the deserts of Russia and there’s been no shortage of drama along the way.
Torrential rainstorms turned the marathon stage into a mud bath, with organisers eventually having to step in to cut short the planned route between Elista and Astrakhan.
Weather conditions have only added to the degree of difficultly experienced by race crews looking to get the better of this Eurasian offroad adventure.
Keeping their cool better than most has been the Russian truckers of Team Kamaz Master who hold all three podium spots going into the final two stages. Out in front are reigning Silk Way champ Dmitry Sotnikov and his team-mate Andrey Karginov. These two drivers have been leapfrogging each other for P1 on the route north through Russia.
“We’ve got to the finish line again and that really is the most important thing at these rallies.