The President congratulated the athletes on the 16th win for KAMAZ in the Dakar Rally. In January 2019, the crew led by Eduard Nikolayev won the fifth stage of the Dakar Rally. Second place was taken by his teammate Dmitry Sotnikov. The official start and finish of the rally took place in Lima, the capital of Peru. The rally route was 5,000 km. In total, the participants completed 10 stages.
The KAMAZ-Master team was represented in the race by four brand-new sport trucks (KAMAZ-43509) equipped with inline-six engines.
* * *
President of Russia Vladimir Putin: I would like to congratulate you on your 16th win.
As you know, many people in Russia and abroad followed the rally. Since you are the undisputed leaders in this part of the programme, motor sport fans around the world closely followed it.
The complication when one crew was disqualified caused us to worry. I do not think it was a fair decision. Most likely, the decision was made to just get one of the leaders out of the race.
But your competitors still have the chance to recoup, as we have the Silk Way ahead. So, it is important to always stay in shape.
As far as I can tell, this is a team that builds many things, invents them itself and makes them a reality.
KAMAZ General Director Sergei Kogogin: Mr President, we are putting their ideas into production after testing.
Vladimir Putin: Great. Congratulations. Thank you very much for this victory. I wish you new successes.
And you also have a rising generation of good drivers.
<…>