Africa Eco Race

[electroliquid]

Anybody following it? More and more peoples start missing old days in desert and dunes, could it be real threat to "Dakar" in South America?

http://www.africarace.com/en

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Ca8lulL_AI

[Mirek]

So far the competition has had been nowhere near Dakar but it's an interesting event. Some good drivers moved from Dakar like Karginov, Vasilyev or Ullevalseter. Even from my country threre are crews who never accepted the move to South America (Tomeček) and this year others join him like Zapletal, Vrátný or Valtr.

[Wim_Impreza]

Zapletal and Ullevalseter are driving here already for years.

[Mirek]

That's not true about Zapletal. It's his first ever Africa Eco Race.

[Zeakiwi]

Does the Africa Eco Race have a French TV station only broadcast/ video rights like the Dakar Rally used to have or are they keeping it low key to avoid attracting too much attention from 'unwanteds'?
https://youtu.be/t2LtKfyzRXY (straight into the desert none of this mud nonsense)

[Wim_Impreza]

That's not true about Zapletal. It's his first ever Africa Eco Race.

In 2015 Zapletal was leading the Africa Eco Race for some time: https://www.rtbf.be/sport/moteurs/rallye/detail_africa-eco-race-miroslav-zapletal-reprend-la-tete?id=8697091

[Mirek]

I'm sorry, he was there in 2013 and 2015.

[Wim_Impreza]

No problem. :)

[Zeakiwi]

Kamaz Master Team - CNG AER truck engine - are these a Liebherr engine base with additions?
https://youtu.be/VaIaHL6dXJE?t=4m50s

[Mirek]

No, that's Russian YamZ TMZ engine. It's 18,5 litre V8 which works with 30% of CNG and 70% of diesel. Kamaz is producing quite a lot of diesel/gas hybrid trucks and the production shall keep growing (I have read they started to sell them in Bolivia recently).

Some information are here (use translator, for example translate.yandex.ru can translate Russian to English very well):www.kamazmaster.ru/team/trucks/kamaz-4326-gazodizelnyi