Developed by the team of the best racer.
KAMAZ again simply destroyed the Dakar : it occupied the podium from the prologue (analogous to qualifying), took 8 hat-tricks and 4 doubles. The closest rival was 3 hours behind – it seems the raid has never seen greater dominance. Dmitry Sotnikov won the championship title (the second in a row), and the team from Naberezhnye Chelny took the sixth “golden Bedouin” in a row.
Although the Blue Armada initially did not have much competition: the most dangerous rival of recent years, the Belarusian MAZ, was kicked out due to sanctions, and the flagship of the Dutch team De Rooy and the 2007 champion Hans Stacy did not come because for health problems (coronavirus was suspected).
The main competitor of KAMAZ was kicked out of the Dakar due to sanctions. Although a month ago the application for participation was accepted and numbers were issued
Without them, the only people left against the trucks from Naberezhnye Chelny are the winner of two stages of the last Dakar, Martin Macik, with a powerful Iveco, but without factory support, the eternal near-favorite Aleš Loprais on his faithful Prague, and the champion of quadrics Ignacio Casale, who is again trying the heaviest category, on a private "Tatre". In general, the situation was clear: the best pilots were unlikely to have the technical background to defeat the best team in the class, and an organization of more or less comparable level did not have a truly strong driver. The consignment.
On the other hand, it cannot be said that KAMAZ did not prepare for the Dakar as seriously as possible: not at all - the Blue Armada brought two new K5 trucks to Saudi Arabia for the current champion Sotnikov and the five-time champion Eduard Nikolaev. And the prototype really amazed: it won 8 out of 12 special stages, brought the old car for more than an hour and actually provided the opportunity for Sotnikov and Nikolaev to actively race for victory: there were only 8 minutes between them until the very last segment, and in the end - 10 minutes at the finish. This is definitely a success – both sporting and marketing.
K5: new cabin from the serial KAMAZ with references to the retro champion
If you don’t follow the news from Naberezhnye Chelny too closely, here’s a photo of the handsome champion, just in case.
Length – 6900 cm, height – 3300 cm, width – 2550 cm, weight without fuel – 8600 kg, and with full tanks – 10200 kg. The engine remained the same as on the previous winning KAMAZs: a six-cylinder diesel engine with turbocharging and intercooling, a volume of 12.98 liters and a power of 1050 hp. The maximum speed is 165 km/h (but on roadsteads you don’t need more - due to regulations restrictions).
You can take a look inside thanks to this video from sponsor Red Bull.
The history of the new product began back in 2017, when the Russian auto giant showed a prototype of the K5 truck with a new cab. Around the same time, the first developments also started, but they were not very active - the racing team was waiting for the 6595 family dump truck to come off the assembly line. It’s just that the KAMAZ-54901 tractor presented in 2020 did not have a cabin suitable for the competition, and the regulations prohibit a radical restructuring of the production model. And the version for the dump truck is narrower than that of the tractor, without sleeping places (a plus for compactness), the bumper is made of stamped panels, and the suspension with the required travel will fit into the wheel arches.
From the moment the KAMAZ-6595 version went into production until the presentation of the racing version, only a year passed - very quickly by the standards of raids (the budgets here are still not prohibitive: 11 million euros of the Blue Armada cannot even be compared with the World Rally Championship).
“The car looks different from our previous models,” Dmitry Sotnikov described the visual changes. – There are similarities with the “humpbacked” 49252, which brought our team the first victory at the Dakar in 1996. In fact, we noticed this similarity after the car was built. From an aerodynamic point of view, this is simply the most optimal shape; the reference to a historical model was a coincidence.”
The first victorious KAMAZ for the Dakar: a 750 hp engine. from Yaroslavl, suspension from an airborne combat vehicle, legendary hump
Test of racing KAMAZ 43509 with automatic transmission: faster, higher, stronger
On the eve of the Silk Way 2019 rally raid, the KAMAZ-master sports team invited the press to visit to show the cars and familiarize them with the preparation process for the race. This summer, KAMAZ-43509 sports trucks with an automatic transmission and new instrumentation took part in a test drive at the test site for the first time.
Mikhail Ozherelev
Hot summer day. Two ten-ton sports trucks rush along the dirt road of the test track in Tarlovka, accelerating on straight lines to the maximum permitted 140 km/h. This is the first demonstration training of KAMAZ-43509 model 2022 - a new development of the KAMAZ-master team. Previously, journalists did not get into the cabin of the car, which outwardly differs from its older brothers in a more aggressive design.
There are no analog instruments in the KAMAZ-43509 cab; The driver, mechanic and navigator workplaces are equipped with digital displays.
Dry clicks of seat belt buckles, a slightly hissing background in the helmet headphones, a panel with navigational equipment in front of your eyes. The pilot’s seat is taken by Airat Mardeev, bronze medalist of the 2018 Dakar Rally. Preparing for the next start of the day, the athlete peers at the flat screen of the dashboard. First of all, he is interested in the remaining fuel. It’s not surprising, because today there are more people than usual who want to experience for themselves what a rally raid is like in the truck category.
The Russian team is finally switching to an automatic transmission.
By the way, in its new development, the KAMAZ-master team completely abandoned analog instruments, equipping the driver, mechanic and navigator workplaces with digital displays and connecting them with a CAN bus. “Everything has changed in the interior of the new cabin. They removed analog devices and everything unnecessary, leaving only what was necessary,” says Mardeev.
The OKO video terminal collects, stores and transmits video recordings from connected IP cameras to the transport monitoring system.
The list of necessary items included an OKO video terminal connected to the cloud platform of Omnicomm, one of the racing team’s long-time partners. The device collects, stores and transmits video recordings from connected IP video cameras to the transport monitoring system, which record all events even in night shooting mode. The terminal also records the location of the truck. This solution helps during training and when driving cars to the competition site, but before the start of the race the OKO is dismantled - the use of monitoring systems is prohibited on the Silk Road.
The new sports truck accelerates to 100 km/h in just 6 seconds. “We are testing engines on this section of the track,” I hear Airat’s voice in the headphones. “Now hold on, we’ll be a little shaken.” The experience of previous similar rides (usually they are arranged before the team is sent to the Dakar) suggests that you need to squeeze more tightly into the seat bucket. But there is also a springboard on the track...
Technical assistance vehicles use the ICON interactive display; it allows you to send service messages to the driver and assign tasks.
Pilots call this pace walking. It is difficult to imagine what kind of loads the crew has to withstand in real racing conditions, when the length of high-speed sections is several hundred kilometers. And you need to drive in such a way that at every moment you are ready for any emergency situation. Nevertheless, Airat playfully handles the “flying” truck, holding the steering wheel with one hand and the automatic transmission joystick with the other (the pilot selects the gear independently).
Suspension on sports cars will always improve.
The Russian team is finally switching to an automatic transmission: on the “Silk Road” only Sergei Kupriyanov will have a manual transmission, since his car has a different engine - a gas-diesel engine, and adapting the gearbox to it is a separate process. On other KAMAZ vehicles, the Allison six-speed automatic transmission passed tests, showing its advantages and disadvantages, and was found to be reliable and more convenient for pilots.
The LLS 5 fuel level sensor provides reading accuracy up to 99.5%.
Sergey Savostin, deputy director of the KAMAZ-master team for production and development, spoke in more detail about the preparations for the Silk Way Rally. The conversation took place in the technical room, where what was happening spoke about the importance of the next start. Of course, most of the questions concerned the transmission of trucks. Savostin explained everything on his fingers: “In the sands and mountains with normal clutch, it’s better not to risk shifting: you can either stay there or roll away altogether. A box with a torque converter allows you to shift without losing torque. The pilot is also less distracted, paying attention to the road.
There is no limit to perfection in matters of suspension. Here the team is always looking for new interesting solutions. First of all, this concerns the settings of springs and springs in shock absorber struts. Moreover, each crew selects a setting that suits them. Experiments with cabin springing continue. The speeds and loads on the crew in racing are increasing. It is clear that this is a challenge not only for athletes, but also for engineers and designers. Another example of a professional solution to a problem is boosting the power unit. The new sports truck, like the previously widely known hood with the index 43509 K, uses a Cummins DCEC ISZ-13 inline six-cylinder engine. In this case, from a volume of 13 liters (limited by the Dakar rules), KAMAZ-master engineers managed to obtain 980 liters. With.
When you see all the work on the suspension and the new power plant, you get the feeling that nothing will stop the Russian team on the Silk Road. However, rivals do not stand still, also improving their cars. Mardeev notes philosophically: “In many things it is easier and faster for them to get some parts and conduct test runs. Our competitors always have two tasks: to win the race and to defeat KAMAZ.”
| Evgeniy Deshkin, leading engineer of NP KAMAZ-AUTOSPORT All three sports cars participating in the 2019 Silk Way Rally are equipped with Omnicomm's new LLS 5 fuel level sensors. Their main purpose is to collect information to calculate fuel consumption: instantaneous and in terms of 100 km. A special program is used to process the signal. The data is displayed on the electronic dashboard. This method is more accurate than interpreting information from the engine control unit. The sensors are made using Fuelscan technology, therefore they adapt to the properties of the measured fuel and provide reading accuracy of up to 99.5%. The new line has the highest possible level of protection against moisture and dust IP69k. On rear-end vehicles, the ICON interactive display is used; it allows you to send service messages to the driver, assign and change tasks. The technicians are also equipped with LLS5 sensors, as well as water level sensors. By the way, only Omnicomm has a solution for water level sensors, which is very important for accompanying the race. |
| Sergey Savostin, deputy director of the KAMAZ-master team for production and development The team will continue to develop automatic transmissions. They are installed on the cars of Andrey Karginov, Airat Mardeev and Anton Shibalov. The manual transmission will remain only on Sergei Kupriyanov’s car, where we decided to keep the proven “motor-manual transmission” scheme. His car runs on a mixture of diesel fuel and gas, which allows him to accelerate faster and achieve maximum power at low speeds, which is extremely necessary in the sand. In general, we actively support and begin to develop the theme of environmentally friendly fuel, the theme of a gas-diesel sports truck, which began back in 2013 with the support of PJSC Gazprom and VTB Bank. |
| Alexander Zinoviev, Head of Fuel Level Sensors at Omnicomm Omnikom has been cooperating with the KAMAZ-master sports team for more than 6 years. We supply fuel level sensors, navigation and video terminals. The team is one of the first in the world to test all our developments; this year we equipped racing KAMAZ trucks with the new generation LLS 5 fuel level sensors. During the race, it is important to control fuel consumption so that it is enough from start to finish and at the same time not to overload the car . In a race, every kilogram counts. Therefore, when developing a sensor, the most difficult thing is to calculate a mathematical model with a measurement accuracy of 99.5%. But when we assembled the LLS 5 prototype and saw how the sensor readings were adjusted to different types of fuel, we realized that the new development would contribute to the victories of KAMAZ-master. |
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Technical changes: new turbine, weight distribution, improved visibility and satisfied riders
The main work on testing, fine-tuning and tuning of the new product was taken by the crew of Sotnikov, the main KAMAZ suspension specialist among the racers. It was thanks to his efforts that the racing K5 was given the ideal weight distribution, steering and improved turbocharger after special tests at high altitudes.
“It would seem that we just changed the cabin, but this forced us to move the engine back, change the suspension settings of both the car and the cabin itself, and in addition, the weight distribution changed,” said the champion. – We have arrived at an almost ideal weight distribution along the axles – 50:50, which is what we have always achieved. The car began to handle better.
Since regulations now allow fenders and floor cutting, this allowed us to lower the cockpit as low as possible and push it further back. In order not to increase the height even further, we decided to use the ceiling as engine air intakes: in the [previous champion] KAMAZ-43509 they rise behind the cabin, and in the K5 they pass directly under the ceiling inside.
The air flow is directed by a sun visor from the outside, which required serious work with aerodynamics: the optimal flow through the cabin was calculated on the computer so that the engine receives as much air as necessary. We also looked at the behavior of the air under and behind the cabin.”
After the first tests of K5, Eduard Nikolaev was also happy - and immediately noticed the improvements.
“The first feeling: we don’t go to work in vain! New cars are getting faster, which is the most important thing. This immediately gave inspiration, and the decision was made to build a second car.
The transition to a new cabin has improved visibility: both the windshield and side windows are now higher, giving the crew an almost panoramic view. This greatly helps the pilot when storming sand dunes.
When the guys from Sotnikov’s crew drove the new truck for the first time, they immediately began to say that it was a very good overview. It helps add pace but still make the sharp rocks visible. It's also great for navigation and navigator work. Well, in general, the cabin has become more spacious, which allows you to keep up the pace.”
The body was also changed: to maintain and improve weight distribution, even more skin parts were transferred to composite materials - just like in the best Audi prototypes and all kinds of Formula cars.
KamAZ-master team
"KAMAZ-master" is a Russian team of racing drivers whose specialization is participation in rally raids. It performs only on KamAZ trucks. A regular participant in the Dakar rally (the former name of the Paris-Dakar rally) - Russians became its winners 14 times!
The team's birthday is July 17, 1988. Its composition, one might say, is stellar - eight international masters of sports, five World Cup winners. KamAZ-master is rightfully considered the strongest team in its class. Just like the excellent KamAZ car from Dakar.
The permanent leader and mentor of the team is Semyon Yakubov, an international master of sports. In the period 1996-2002. The pilot of the KamAZ-master was the well-known Vladimir Chagin. He has seven victories in the Dakar race, two World Cups, and the title “Best Russian Racer - 2003”. The team's sponsor is also serious - VTB Bank.
Results of the Dakar Rally 2017
The last Dakar took place in Bolivia. Many participants recognized it as the heaviest rally in the history of the rally. And landslides, rains and mudflows are to blame. But this did not prevent KamAZ from showing its best side in Dakar 2017. The KamAZ-master team returned from the competition, as in many past years, as a champion:
- The first among sports trucks was the crew of E. Nikolaev, E. Yakovlev, V. Rybakov.
- The KamAZ truck of D. Sotnikova, I. Leonov, and R. Akhmadeev came second to the finish line.
“Gold” and “silver” are KamAZ’s awards in this year’s Dakar. Both the sports truck itself and its legendary team have once again confirmed the title of the best in the world rally raid. However, racing is not the only path of the “flying” car. Among other things, it can be used for emergency delivery of goods - the car, jumping on springs, will rush like an arrow across the off-road.
Kamaz DAKAR: technical characteristics, features
Recently, the Kama Automobile Plant presented a new version of its famous rally truck KamAZ 43509. A new modification of the titled vehicle became a necessity for reasons.
- Changes in the regulations of the transcontinental Dakar rally marathon.
- Completion of homologation of the previous version of the machine.
Accordingly, the technical characteristics of KamAZ for the Paris-Dakar race (now simply Dakar), prepared in 2018, have also changed. Thus, the new truck received a 13-liter engine, which replaced a power unit with a displacement of 16.2 liters. In total, the KAMAZ-Master team received 4 modified combat vehicles.
The new KamAZ Dakar 2022, in addition to its characteristics, is significantly different from its sports predecessors in its exterior. Two updated trucks, which managed to take part in official races, performed excellently following the results of the Silk Road 2018, as well as the Dakar Rally 2019. Therefore, this model deserves closer attention.
Race results
Who won Dakar 2022 and which trucks showed the best results is no longer a secret: KAMAZ-master once again won. The competition started on January 2 in Jeddah. According to Dakar participants, the race was the most difficult in the last 5 years. The complexity of the route increased gradually. 44 cargo crews took part in the rally. KAMAZ-master entered 4 trucks into the rally.
The Dakar Rally racing caravan had to cover 7,800 km. The combat distance is 4800 km. Difficulties awaited the rally participants, especially since the competition took place in unbearable heat of +45 degrees.
All Dakar prizes were taken by representatives of the KAMAZ-master team. The champion was Dmitry Sotnikov, who had already won the 2013 Africo Eco Race and twice on the Silk Road.
Silver in the Dakar Rally was won by Anton Shibalov, who had an unusual incident during the race. The television helicopter sank so low that while jumping on a springboard, a KAMAZ almost hit it, but the contact was not strong, and the vehicles were not damaged. Airat Mardeev won 3rd place. All Dakar Rally 2022 truck results are presented in the final table.
In the victory of KAMAZ-master, not only the human factor played a role, but also the efforts of the car designers, who achieved optimal technical characteristics. Participation in new competitions is ahead, which means that the cars will still undergo modifications and improvements. I would like to believe that in the next Dakar rally they will bring KAMAZ-master new victories and prove their effectiveness.
