The Automotorsport Federation of the Republic of Kazakhstan has finalised an ambitious six-day route for round five of the 2017 FIA World Cup for Cross-Country Rallies, starting and finishing in the main square of Aktau City between May 20th and 27th.
Officials have planned a meticulous route for the Central Asian country’s first appearance in the world’s premier cross-country series. Pre-rally formalities take place by the Caspian Sea in Aktau City before the event moves to the Kenderly Sea Resort, around 220km from Aktau, for three nights after the second selective section on May 22nd.
The route
The opening Aktau-Aktau stage on May 21st covers 268.23km in a northerly loop of the coastal region between the former Soviet military base of Fort Shevchenko and Aktau, in a 337.63km day.
Stage two heads east from Aktau City in a loop via the town of Ushtagan and south of the oil and gas hub of Zhanaozen, finishing just north of Kenderly. It is split into sections of 325km and 41.6km by a short 1.4km neutralised track.
The next two selective sections on May 23rd and 24th loop around the deserts further east and north of the Kenderly Sea Resort, closer to the remote town of Senek, over 421km and 276.20km.
The penultimate stage takes the surviving crews back to Aktau City with a 370.90km competitive section in a 499.60km day, starting north of Kenderly and running anti-clockwise to finish near the small town of Zhetybay.
A shorter final loop of 147.94km north of Aktau City ends the action on May 26th. Of the compact 2,500.37km total route, 1,852.57km is competitive. Officials will also run a National class for vehicles not complying with FIA T1, T2 and T3 rules, plus a separate T4 section.
We have laid on a challenging six-day route which we know will provide a stiff test for every level of competitor.
Marat Abykayev, President of the Automotorsport Federation of the Republic of Kazakhstan
Abykayev contested last weekend’s Dubai International Baja, round two of the 2017 FIA World Cup, in a Toyota Land Cruiser with navigator Andrey Chipenko, running in the top five of the competitive T2 category before retiring on the final stage.
Kazakhstan is blessed with some superb terrain for cross-country rallying and I am sure that many competitors will enjoy the challenge of our sand dunes and the nature and beauty of our special stages for the first time.
Marat Abykayev
Previous winners
Many of the world’s leading off-road teams, including Overdrive Racing, X-Raid, the G-Energy Team, South Racing, the QX Rally Team and 4WD Jaton Racing, are expected to tackle the event for the first time, aiming to follow the two previous winners since it adopted its current format in 2014.
Experienced Kazakh driver Yuriy Sazonov won last year with navigator Dmitro Tsyro in a Mobilex Racing Team-run Land Rover Bowler, while Tsyro and Andrey Cherednikov won in 2015 in a Polaris RZR 1000. The closing date for entries is May 12th.