Turkmen Drivers to Participate in the “Silk Way” International Rally

The “Silk Way” international rally, which started in the city of Irkutsk and celebrates its 15th anniversary, will feature three crews from Turkmenistan. The race will pass through the territories of Russia and Mongolia.

The “Silk Way” international rally project has been held since 2009 and over the years has connected not only regions of Russia but also the entire Eurasian countries. The rally’s first route started from the city of Kazan, passed through Kazakhstan, and ended in Ashgabat. In recent years, the rally has connected St. Petersburg with Krasnaya Polyana, Moscow with Sochi, Moscow with Gelenjik, Moscow with Astrakhan, Moscow with Beijing, and Moscow with Xi’an.

In 2019, for the first time, the “Silk Way” international rally route passed through Mongolian territory, connecting the city of Irkutsk in Russia with Dunhuang in China. In the 2021 season, the route was extended from Omsk to Gorno-Altaysk.

The “Silk Way” international rally includes all official competition categories:

• cargo trucks,

• passenger cars,

• all-terrain vehicles,

• as well as motorcycles and quad bikes, which were added to the program in 2019.

This year’s rally length is 4,811.6 kilometers and again crosses through Russia and Mongolia. Participants will pass through the Gobi Desert and the Altai Mountains, but this year a new highlight has been added to the route — Lake Baikal. Drivers will compete in 11 stages covering a total special stage distance of 2,402.33 kilometers.

In the T2 series off-road vehicle category, only three Turkmen crews are competing. They are fighting for one of the most prestigious trophies in the “Rally-raid” format. In this category, the Turkmenistan Automobile Sports Federation is represented by the following teams driving Nissan Patrol vehicles: the 2022 winners and last year’s silver medalists, brothers Merdan and Shohrat Toylyyev (start number 214), the bronze medalists of the “Silk Way–2024” rally, Maksatmyrat Danatarov and Didar Orazmedov (215), and also Meylis Abdullayev and Italmaz Charyyev (216).

According to the organizers, Karimova is leading in the cargo truck category. At the same time, in the T1 prototype category, Andrey Rudskoy, winner of the “Silk Way – 2023” rally, holds first place. In the T3 all-terrain vehicles category, Anastasiya Nifontova showed the best time on the difficult 8-kilometer special stages. In the open category, Dmitriy Voronov leads driving a new generation “Lada Niva.” In the serial off-road vehicles T2 category, driver Maksatmyrat Danatarov is ahead.

Maksatmyrat Danatarov shared his initial impressions:
“The track was excellent, and the weather was good too. The rivers were not deep. We only have the spirit to win, our vehicle performed very well with no malfunctions. There was a large rocky section that was a bit difficult; we had to go slowly. We successfully passed the special stage.”

On July 13, participants will face the first full stage of the rally: the crews will head through the secret places of the Pribaikal region to the city of Baykalsk. The total distance will be 256 kilometers, testing each crew’s versatility and marking the first major challenge on the route.

The “Silk Way” international rally will conclude on July 22 in Gorno-Altaysk.