French driver Luc Alphand stands next to his Mitsubishi during the 13th stage of the Dakar Rally, January 13, 2006.
Photo: AP
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Russian Truck Wins Rally
The Lisbon-Dakar Rally ended yesterday at Rose Lake near Dakar, Senegal. Former World Cup holder in downhill skiing Frenchman Luc Alphand from Mitsubishi won in the car category, and Spaniard Marc Coma from KTM won in the motorcycles. Russian Vladimir Chagin and team won the truck category in a KamAZ Master.
For the members of the team from Naberezhnye Chelny, it was the fifth and seventh win in a row, in spite of promises from MAN and Tatra competitors to put an end to Russian truck hegemony. As a matter of fact, only toward the end of the race did the Russian team even face competition, from Dutchman Hans Stacy on the MAN team, while team member Semen Yakubov was at the wheel. Sergey Savostin, as usual, served as mechanic for the Russian team.
Tragedy touched the rally again this year when Australian motorcycle racer Andy Caldecott and two onlookers, boys ages 10 and 12, were killed in separate incidents. In spite of safety precautious, which include a 50 km./h. speed limit in populated areas, there have been a number of deaths among onlookers at the rally. Africans have begun leaving towns and villages and gathering to watch the race in places where there is no speed limit. Little boys frequently enter the road to get a better look at the cars streaming past. Racer Coma has emerged this year as a champion after the death of motorcycle racer Fabrizio Meoni in the rally last year and the death of Richard Sainct in a rally in Egypt. Cyril Despres is his only serious competitor. The racers drove slowly for the last several kilometers of the race as a sign of mourning.
Alexey Dospekhov
All the Article in Russian as of Jan. 16, 2006
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