“Our main task today was to avoid losing time. I drove calmly. There was no reason to attack. Besides, there were not only a lot of rocks on the way, but also fesh-fesh (a type of dust that can significantly inhibit driving) and one could not drive too fast. Today’s stage was long, but it is very different from the long stages in the nineties when even the leaders arrived at night, after 10 or 12 hours spent in their vehicles. The first part of the rally looked a lot like the race in Africa. When comparing with last year, the changes are positive,” Vladimir Chagin told the competition’s official website.

The two Kamaz trucks lead the overall standings after seven stages. Chagin is in the lead and Kabirov is 1 hour 3 minutes and 46 seconds behind.

Their closes rival Herman Vaanholt of the Netherlands is more than four hours behind.

The Russian team already has eight winning titles from the legendary off-road rally. Chagin has so far won the race five times.

The total racing distance is 9,030 km for cars and trucks, and 8,937 km for bikes and ATVs. There are seven stages in Argentina, and seven in Chile.