Public Joint Stock GAZ : GAZ Raid Sport has won the Russian Rally Raid Championship

On 24 November 2021 GAZelle NEXT crews became winners at Stage 5 of the Russian Rally Raid Championship (Tikhiy Don). With the double wins in the Raid Sport class and the second-best rank in the T1 class GAZ Raid Sport team became the best in the overall tally and got the 2021 rally raid championship title.

GAZ Raid Sport team is the winner at Stage 5 of the Russian Rally Raid Championship - Tikhiy Don Baja was in Rostov-on-Don region from 18 to 21 November. The GAZelle NEXT crew of Alexaner Rusanov and Alexey Maltsev were number-one while the crew of Alexey Ignatov and Evgeny Pavlov ranked 2nd in the Raid Sport class. The crew of Evgeny Sukhovenko and Kirill Chapaev were number-two in the T1 class.

The 480-km-long baja in Rostov-on-Don is famous for its versatility in road surfaces: there were sand dunes, coniferous forests with narrow curvy roads, and deep river fords. The challenging route made concentration key for drivers and co-drivers during the rally raid event. It also required great maneuverability from the vehicles and flexibility in suspension settings while driving on different types of roads.

GAZelle NEXT crews won all the 5 stages in the Raid Sport class. Alexey Ignatov and Evgeny Pavlov are the champions in the Raid Sport class in Russia in 2021. Alexander Rusanov and Alexey Maltsev are the second-best crew. In the T4 class (trucks) the winners are Alexey Khlebov and Alexander Fulyakin on their Sadko NEXT while the crew of Mikhail Shklyaev and Vladimir Moiseev got the bronze trophy. GAZ Raid Sport ranks second in the overall tally, too.

Outstanding driving skills of the drivers and the co-drivers as well as vehicle design and support from the partners helped the team get the trophies. Serial YMZ-534 and Cummins 2.8 engines on GAZelle NEXT vehicles proved to be really good in extreme operating and weather conditions.