GAZ : vehicles start off in the Silk Way-2017 marathon rally

Four vehicles of the GAZ Raid Sport team started off from Red Square in Moscow. Two GAZelle Next vehicles participate in the cars class, two Sadko Next vehicles participate in the trucks class. The team will face the challenges of high-speed gravel roads and vast steppes of Kazakhstan, muddy and clayey soil tracks of the Volga region, giant dunes and huge sand expanses of the Gobi desert, rain and extreme heat. The marathon rally will fihish on July 22 in the city of Xian, China.
The sports vehicles are based on serial GAZ products. The two GAZelles are powered by serial Cummins ISF 2.8 engines with special sports upgrade parts. The Sadko Next trucks are fitted with YMZ-534 engines produced by GAZ Group's Yaroslavl Engine Plant. Over the several years of participating in sports competitions YMZ engines have demonstrated high reliability in the most severe operating conditions and at high temperatures. Thanks to special adjustments the YMZ engines can provide a power output of up to 300 HP at 2600 RPM and a torque of up to 1000 Nm at 1800-2400 RPM. The Cummins ISF 2.8 engine specifications are as follows: power output - up to 200 HP at 3800 RPM, torque - up to 520 Nm at 2000-3200 RPM.
GAZ Group vehicles provide full technical support to the team. These vehicles include three Ural Next heavy-duty off-road trucks powered by YMZ-536 engines, five Sobol 4x4 off-road vehicles and a GAZelle Next van.

The tires for the team's vehicles are provided by Michelin company. The Sadko and Sadko Next vehicles use Michelin XZL tires, and GAZelle Next and Sobol 4x4 vehicles use BFGoodrich All-Terrain KO2 tires. The overall performance of these tires ensure an optimal combination of speed on dirt roads and off-road capabilities in the sands and cross-country terrain.

The GAZ Raid Sport team crews are: GAZelle Next, starting number 123 - the crew of Alexander Kostrukov and Evgeny Pavlov; GAZelle Next, starting number 128 - the crew of Mikhail Kostrukov and Oleg Nezhnov; Sadko Next, starting number 320 - the crew of Boleslaw Levitsky and Alexander Obukhov; Sadko Next, starting number 322 - the crew of Michael Shklyaev and Alexander Laguta.

The team vehicles progress can be tracked online at the website of the team's partner Loc.me company, a navigation solutions provider, at http://sport.locme.ru.