15.07.2015

From 1st to 4th of July the fourth stage of the Russian Championship in rally raid "Mighty Steppe - Silk Road" took place. At this stage triumphed Alexander Terentyev and Alexey Berkut from Russia ("Ford F150 SVT Raptor"), who won 1st place in T2 class, as well 2 crews get second place - at T2 and T3 class.

The next behind A.Terentyev remained Alexander Kolembet and Igor Petenko from Russia ("Toyota Land Cruiser 200"), who won second place in the T2 class. Maria Oparin and Alexander Terentyev  junior from Russia (PolRos RZR 1000)  drove for the first time as member of the team "RE Autoclub" and won the 2nd place in T3 class. Because of receiving these awards "RE Autoclub" overall ranking retains 1st place.

Rally raid "Mighty Steppe - Silk Road" took place in Russia, the first two days - Elista region, but on the third day participants carried passings to Astrakhan, where was the last day of competition. Overall participants applied the four stages with a total distance of approximately 1,145 km. Southern sun entertained the visitors, but for the racers it posed challenges - motors often heated. The 4th stage was one of the most difficult stages as recognized by the participants - the fiercest stage of Russian Championship. It was difficult to pick up maximum speed because of the road with large potholes and sharp grass covered the radiator, interfering with the ventilation system.

Alexander Terentyev is an experienced pilot and participates in rally raid for 7 years and has participated in all organized stages of "Silk Road". The fourth stage of the Championship technical troubles this crew experienced only on the last day, when the engine overheated and 4 km before the finish broke a tire and had to drive on 3 wheels.

Jouni Ampuja and Markku Hurskainen from Finland ("Mitsubishi MPR 10") following stage in Elista participated for the first time, remaining 5th place in T1 class and without technical problems did not avoid a single day. "The second day of competition was surprising - without past experience we felt like kids in adult competition! So quickly through this phase it is possible to drive if someone could hold a gun near from my head!" explains Jouni Ampuja, "start of each day stage was successfull until the car amortization deteriorated. Then stayed only one task - to get to the finish line with the 30-40 km per hour. We have let down many supporters with our result. But we are proud of ourselves - we gained a lot of experience."

In rally raid participated 35 crews. The team of ''RE Autoclub'' represented 4 crews:

1. Jouni Ampuja/ Markku Hurskainen from Finland („Mitsubishi MPR 10”)
2. Alexander Terentyev/ Alexey Berkut from Russia („Ford Raptor F150 SVT”)
3. Alexander Kolembet/ Igor Petenko from Russia („Toyota Land Cruiser 200”)
4. Maria Oparina /Alexander Terentyev from Russia (Polris RZR 1000)

The championship of Russia will end in September in Volgograd, where will be the

6st and the last stage of championship.

The next stages:

• 5th stage - 20 to 22 August, Krasnojarsk;
• 6st stage – 18 to 20 September, Volgograd.

Follow the direct reporting from the venue at social networks:

www.facebook.com/reautoclub
www.twitter.com/REautoclub
www.instagram.com/reautoclub