Review article by Denis Bushkovsky and Roman Pshenichny about the MAZ-SPORTauto team.
The successes of the Belarusian brothers in Russia are watched very closely, and all because MAZ has always been considered its own, native car, and therefore, when the Belarusian team first started at Dakar-2012, many of our Dakar fans began to root for her.
The MAZ-SPORTauto team is already rightfully considered a strong middle peasant among the cargo participants, and after all, they have only held two Dakars, the start at the current one will be only the third for them.
Not many truckers can boast of such a title in their debut, although some teams have been racing Dakar for decades. But in my words there is also a share of slyness - let's not forget that the MAZ-SPORTauto team is a factory team, and this is a completely different level and resources, here many private traders are not competitors to the factory.
But not everything is so "young-green", you probably remember my photo from the Russian summer round of truck circuit racing from the Smolensk ring, here is this review, then this "Mazay" was exhibited as an exhibit, in memory of the brand's performances in stages of the European circuit championship. And in the truck trial, all motorsport fans remember the MAZ-YAROVIT team very well, it also competed in various competitions, and in 2000 and 2001 became the European champion in the truck trial.
At the Silk Way Rally-2010, MAZ under the control of Petr Orsik (European champion in the truck trial) took 12th place in the overall standings, the task was to reach the finish line, but some crews were able to get around.
The team has already exhibited two cars at the Silk Way Rally 2011, it is from this year for some reason that the history of the team is counted on the official website, although it has not been updated since the summer of 2013 and judging by it, the team does not participate in the current Dakar accepts.
So, the year is 2011. For the team, the ShP rally was a dress rehearsal before their debut in Dakar, at that time the crew of Alexander Vasilevsky finished 18th, and the crew of Alexander Polishchuk 22nd, although that year there were noticeably more participants in the standings compared to previous.
Dakar-2012 was the debut for the MAZ-SPORTauto team, then the crew of Alexander Vasilevsky finished 31st in the truck standings, but the crew of Alexander Polishchuk turned over at one of the stages and left the race
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At the 2012 Silk Way Rally, the team already performed with the best result, the crew of Alexander Vasilevsky finishes 11th, and the crew of Sergei Vyazovich, who made his debut in the team, comes to the finish line 18th.
At Dakar-2013, the race of the second crew of the team of Sergey Vyazovich did not go well, serious damage they had already happened at the second stage, a technician went to the car on the track and the car was being repaired all night. Subsequently, the crew received a one-hour penalty, but continued the race. In the last stages, the Mazov crews either stayed close to the twenty, or even got into it. At the 13th stage, the crew of Alexander Vasilevsky finishes with the 13th time, this is still his best result in Dakar. According to the results of the entire race, Vasilevsky's crew took 21st place, and Vyazovich's crew took 27th.
At the rally "Silk Way-2013" the MAZ-SPORTauto team performed very well - the sixth place was taken by the crew of Alexander Vasilevsky and the prize-winning third was taken by the crew of Sergei Vyazovich.
Will Dakar 2014 be the same for the team? But this is the most interesting. This year the team starts with three crews, using the tactics combat vehicles- military equipment. And this third technical is a dark horse.
The fact is that MAZ, for the same reasons as KAMAZ, must switch to new engine, their old engine, like ours, does not pass in terms of volume and smoke. According to the representatives of the team, it is on the third car that a new engine will be installed, what kind of brand it is, the plant’s website is modestly silent, but I found an interview with Dmitry Korotkevich, deputy commercial director of MAZ OJSC and team curator, which he gave
, in it he says that a Chinese Weichai brand engine will be installed on the third car, his specifications you will see below.UPD: Natalia in the comments said that at the last moment Chinese engine MAZ refused and there is an Avtodiesel production unit on the technical side, so all three Mazayas will go with domestic engines.
So already at this Dakar the team will go to the result, in which we wish them good luck.
№521
Alexander Vasilevsky - Valery Kozlovsky - Anton Zaporoshchenko
№529
Sergey Viazovich -DmitriyVikhrenko -AlexeiNeverovich
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AlexanderPolishchuk -PaulGaranin -AndreyZhigulin
There are two new sports cars at the Silk Way rally-raid. Trucks in a Spartan way coped with exhausting off-road, elevation changes and treacherous sands, and their crews took sixth and ninth places in the marathon from Moscow to Beijing..
The third generation racing car was developed in about six months. The designers of the sports team worked on the project - those who create cars only for racing. The name of the model (MAZ-5309RR), the recognizable bison silhouette and many design solutions remained from the predecessor trucks. However, as the developers assure, significant changes have been made to the new sports cars, which make them lighter, more agile and more durable.
The main difference between the new cars is the new Gyrtech G13 engine, which was assembled by the Czech Buggyra team from Caterpillar units. The 12.5-liter engine produces 950 “horses” with a torque of 4300 Nm. Another advantage is electronic control, which allows you to quickly computer diagnostics and set the required parameters.
The engine turned out to be lighter and more reliable than the larger counterparts of Yaroslavsky and Tutaevsky engine factories. It was because of them that at the last Dakar two Maz crews were forced. But there is another reason why obsolete units were abandoned: the organizers of the Dakar will no longer let trucks with engines of 16.5 liters or more in the rally.
Sports trucks were built for racing, so their components are similar to those used by the Dakar winning teams. At the same time, much of the new sports car was produced at MAZ. So, the factory produced a cabin, a frame and a body superstructure, including a frame and panels. Belarus also assembled all the brackets, the engine and charge air cooling system, as well as many other parts of the truck.
However, some components were purchased from foreign manufacturers, who have become adept at producing components for sports cars. Actually, there is nothing shameful in this - all teams do this, including KAMAZ-master, a multiple champion of international rally-raids. In addition, some imported components are already used on serial trucks under the MAZ brand.
Sports MAZ equipped original parts pendants designed specifically for sports cars. The shock absorbers were created by the Dutch from Reiger Racing, and the springs were created by the Belgian Weweler. The gearbox on the truck is German - ZF. cardan shafts they came from Turkey (from Tirsan Kardan), and the drive axles were taken from the well-known Finnish manufacturer Sisu, who himself does not participate in rally raids. The truck is also equipped LED optics from the German Hella and "shod" in Michelin tires.
They also took care of the crew: air conditioning finally appeared in the cabin, so that in case of abnormal heat (and it happens on almost any rally-raid), the riders do not have to take “bath procedures”. Trucks also have cruise control, with which you can adhere to speed limits with high accuracy (for example, on the Dakar they are 140 km / h). Previously, when there were no such systems at MAZs, the drivers had to “by eye” slow down in order not to receive penalty minutes from the organizers.
The MAZ-SPORTavto team does not disclose the prime cost of the truck. But in the presence of a serious customer, a sports car is ready to be assembled from scratch for 350 thousand euros. The exact cost depends on the configuration and in such cases is negotiated with the buyer individually.
However, Maz sports cars may not be sold, but rented out. There are a lot of people who want to: several well-known racers dream of participating in rally-raids on Belarusian trucks. Their interest is understandable: along with combat vehicles, they also receive professional technical support in the form of Mazov mechanics, who have already become regulars at international auto marathons.
– This year we saw the MAZ team at the Great Steppe/Silk Way rally raid, and after that it did not compete, what is the reason for this?
– Now it’s hard for everyone, the crisis is making itself felt in all industries, we don’t have such funding as the KAMAZ-Master team, and therefore we decided to concentrate on the main thing – on Dakar. And today we are grateful to our partners and the management of the plant for the fact that despite the difficult financial situation, we were given the opportunity to compete in the main world race again. Moreover, we continue to develop. Three cars are on display again this year, and one of them has a new Caterpillar engine from the Czech sports team Buggyra.
The team will be represented by three crews:
Crew 1: Pilot - Alexander Vasilevsky; navigator - Valery Kozlovsky; mechanic - Anton Zaporoshchenko.
Crew 2: Pilot - Sergey Vyazovich; navigator - Pavel Garanin; mechanic - Andrey Zhigulin.
Crew 3: Pilot - Vladimir Vasilevsky; navigator - Dmitry Vikhrenko; mechanic - Alexander Neverovich.
The crews of Alexander Vasilevsky and Sergey Vyazovich will fight for victory, and the fast technician of Vladimir Vasilevsky, in addition to fulfilling his main goals, will also test the new 12.5-liter Cat turbodiesel.
– You mentioned the Caterpillar engine. What is the reason for the transition to an imported unit? After all, before that the team performed on cars with Russian engines.
- Honestly, it's a pity that we are forced to switch to foreign engines, our usual engines of the Yaroslavl and Tutaevsky plants are preferable in many respects, they are simple and reliable. And Western technology is still poorly understood for us. The transition is connected with the fulfillment of the requirements of the organizers (ASO company) for exhaust. There is a lot of hypocrisy in this. The fact is that they do not carry out any instrumental measurements, and they check the “smokyness” visually, but in difficult conditions, in the sand, and even on the rise, everything smokes, although the Cat, in theory, should smoke less.
Among the advantages of the new motor - high power and torque: 930 hp and 4,100 Nm, and the Caterpillar engine is a straight-six, and it is 300 kg lighter. With it, our car weighs 9,150 kg, and the weight of cars with Russian motors V8 reaches 9,400–9,450 kg. You understand, the lighter the car, the more chances it has. But once again I repeat that this is still an experiment. And if the engine performs well, then perhaps in the future we will put Caterpillar on all our machines.
– Combat MAZs from the very appearance in rally raids favorably differed from their rivals with their catchy design and bright red color. Who is the author of this design? And tell us more about what a racing MAZ is. What units are you using?
– The design of our cars is the merit of the MAZ design department, and the combination of a red background and black bison on the sides is a proprietary one. It turned out bright and easy to remember. But, of course, you won’t get far with one catchy design, you need results. When we first showed up for Dakar, no one knew about us, everyone thought Russian team and in some publications they even wrote about the Moscow Automobile Factory»... Over the past time, a lot has changed, and now we are known precisely as the Belarusian team from Minsk. And this is the merit of both riders and cars.
This year we have all three cars with different engines. I have already talked about the technical equipment, but the combat vehicles are equipped with proven units. Most powerful engine stands on the car of Sergei Vyazovich: this is the honored Yaroslavl V8 engine with twin turbocharging, it produces 950 hp. and 3,900 Nm. On the car of Alexander Vasilevsky - Tutaevsky engine with 870 hp. and 3,800 Nm.
Boxes and handouts on all machines are the same - these are almost standard units from ZF. Unfortunately, we cannot use our MAZ bridges due to their design features, although they are practically indifferent to overheating. Like most world-class racers, we put Sisu axles on MAZs. Their advantages are that they are lighter and more rigid, but very demanding in maintenance and do not like overheating, and in the race everything happens ...
Spring suspension on all cars with dual Riger sports shock absorbers, however, each of them has its own shock absorber settings - this is due both to the different weight of the cars, and to the individual driving style of the riders.
- It is clear that racing trucks very different from their civilian counterparts, but I would like to understand if there are Feedback. Do any decisions go from sports trucks for conveyor products?
– Yes, you are absolutely right, racing trucks are completely different. However, there are some solutions that have been tested on our vehicles, which will be available on new civilian MAZs. One of the examples can be LED optics which we have been experiencing for five years. New cars will get just such headlights.
The second direction can be considered our close cooperation with Gazpromneft- lubricants» and trademark G-Energy oils. During the race we test motor and transmission oils under the toughest conditions. Experts are very interested in the results of our tests - they allow you to make changes to the oil formulation and improve its consumer properties.
- You said that in the last six months the team has concentrated on preparing for the Dakar, tell us about this process. How did all this happen, given the rather modest budget?
- Once again I repeat that we are very grateful to everyone who contributed to the preparation of the machines. We do not have such budgets as KAMAZ does, and everyone who works in the team is enthusiastic, and one can definitely say that people do not come here because of money. There was a lot of work, especially before the cars were sent, the guys worked around the clock. Many thanks to them for this.
The training of riders, in addition to physical exertion, also included acclimatization to high altitude conditions. There are two centers in Belarus where you can train “in high altitude conditions”. These are ordinary gyms where you can change the composition of the air, gradually lowering the amount of oxygen and replacing it with nitrogen. It is not so much physical activity that is important here, but duration and gradualness - this is precisely what acclimatization is all about. Therefore, we practiced at night, preparing for the conditions that await in South America. Although our training cannot be compared with a full-fledged trip to the mountainous area - the air pressure remained normal, but we believe that we managed to prepare well.
In our Dakar reviews, for objective reasons, it is not possible to pay much attention to the Belarusian participants in the cargo standings: the material cannot be endless, and the Mazovians usually arrive at the bivouac too late. In order to somehow correct this vacuum, the correspondent of "Championship.com" decided to ask the driver of "MAZ"Alexander Vasilevsky about his team.
- Alexander, how did MAZ decide to create a Dakar team?
- It was our idea CEO. They were given the task of making a team of purely factory workers. I was invited to be a pilot. The first truck was created in 2010 and I was offered to drive. Agreed, we drove, then decided to create a second car. And the first one was redone, having received two identical trucks at the output.
We are performing at Dakar for the second year. Of course, in Belarus we don’t have such sands, dunes, temperatures, so everything was new. This year we are already performing better. Last year we took 31st place, in 2013 after the first half of the distance we are going 21st. If the car does not let you down, maybe we will improve our result even more.
- What experience did you have at the moment when you received an invitation to become a racer?
- I didn't have much experience. I was a test driver at the plant, I worked for 15 years. In his youth, he was engaged in ski jumping, so there was some kind of extreme experience. I did a little more motocross - in general, just a little bit. Drove, felt the car and decided to drive.
- Does MAZ have the potential to start fighting the favorites at some point? What is needed for this?
- We are a young team, just created. Gaining experience by participating in the "Dakar" and the Russian championship. Development is underway, we are also consulting with KAMAZ workers. We approach Chagin, ask him what and how.
The first task is to make the car break down less. We create new parts, we constantly test everything. So far, we cannot achieve a reduction in weight: our machines are heavy, 10 and a half tons each, with a minimum limit of 8600. For now, we make the parts strong, and only then we will lighten them. Everything is ahead. Maybe in three years something significant will happen. Place in the top ten? Yes something like that.
Experience is first. For example, one must learn to support high speed truck. Find in the corners the line at which you go fast, but do not roll over. You have to feel the car. You will feel - you will go faster and the result will be better.
– Is it possible to spy on other racers?
- Certainly. When you're in the dunes, you watch another truck go by. Look and analyze. You keep a close eye on every truck. You go down the dune and you see that one went to the right and the other to the left, and you think if you can not go directly. You can talk for a long time, but you need to figure it out in a split second. Starting the ascent to the dune, you already need to clearly know where you are going.
MAZ is trying to spread its wings
- KAMAZ workers are sometimes accused of having few Russian parts on their trucks. And how is it with "MAZ"?– Our machine is actually created on the basis of production model 6316. Bridges and gearbox are imported, everything else is native. Well, the shock absorbers on all trucks are foreign, since they are produced in the first place. Dutch firms. Everyone uses them, because we don’t have sports shock absorbers. And so - a frame, a cabin, all components of Belarusian production.
– You are talking about help from KAMAZ. In general, it seems that you have good connections with all the members from former USSR. The other day, your technician with a trailer brought Ardavichus' truck to the bivouac, now Roman Briskindov's car is on the trailer...
Yes, we all help each other. We cannot yet share our experience, we are studying someone else's. Nobody ever refuses us advice. Even before the stage, we come to the same Chagin, ask about the details of the special stage - what tire pressure to drive, we will consult on the roadbook, and so on. The main thing he says: do not rush, do not think that you will go well from the first day. Roll forward is needed, not all at once. And so KAMAZ people say that everything is not bad with us, the cars are well made, but the level of more experienced teams has not yet been reached. This is what you should strive for.
- How high is the interest in your performances at the Dakar in Belarus?
– Last year the interest was lower than now. Half of the people did not know that we went to the Dakar. They talked about us on television, on the Internet, but everyone did not really understand what was happening. Upon arrival, materials were already sent, there were a lot of fans, sponsors came. Now we call home every day. When we took 18th place at the third stage, it was almost a holiday in Minsk! My wife called and said that the city was walking. Everything develops, fans appear.
- Does the state support you now? Or is it a purely Mazov project?
- The Ministry of Sports, of course, pays attention to us, but still the main initiative comes from the general director of the plant. Serious support comes from sponsors.
- What tasks did the plant set for this "Dakar"?
- The general director said to drive as far as possible, but, of course, not to drag somewhere behind. The higher the score, the better. The general called us and said that he was pleased with us so far. Two crews go without breakdowns, we occupy normal positions.
- What was the most memorable part of the first half of the Dakar?
- I remember the fifth day when there were stones. "Pounded" us in the cockpit, but survived! Well, the third stage with the largest dunes. They were smaller last year. Well, they passed: somewhere from the second time they climbed, where from the first - where like. We are pleased that the cars did not let us down, the crews also survived.
- How difficult is it in the Mazov cabin during the race? Shaking hard?
– name sports car"soft", of course, it is impossible. Shock absorbers do the work, but the body still gets it. The more you adjust the dampers, the softer your landing will be. But the problem of rigidity is in all machines. When we ask the KAMAZ people, they say: "What do you think, if we drive fast, then we are not beaten? Yes, it beats just like everyone else." Of course, their suspension works better than ours, because there are experienced specialists in tuning it. And so - usually the body gets used to the first 50 kilometers, and then we calmly go.
