2008 TransSyberia Rally

Red Square Start

On July 11th, 2008 more than 30 teams from 23 nations will set out on the trying journey from Moscow to Ulaanbaatar.

The adventure will begin in exactly one month: On July 11th, 2008 the Transsyberia Rally 2008 powered by Sony Ericsson, one of the toughest rallies for close-to-production vehicles worldwide starts. The participating pros, as well as the amateurs can barely wait to set off on the strenuous route from Moscow to Ulaanbaatar.





FACTS :

Start: Moscow – Russia
Destination: Ulaanbaatar – Mongolia
In between: Ural, Altai Mountains, Gobi Desert and 7.200 km
Stages: 14 stages with daily special stages
Route: On-and off-road
Difficulties: River crossings, swamps, stony fields, trails, sand dunes,
snow and sand storms
From: July 11th, 2008
Until: July 25th, 2008
For: all off-road adventurers with a valid driver’s license
Participants: 31 teams
From: 24 nations
Vehicles: Land Rover, Mitsubishi, Nissan, Porsche, Puch, Suzuki, Toyota

Start @ Red Square

All teams have set themselves the goal to at least arrive in Ulaanbaatar. Especially those who didn’t make it to the finish line in 2007 have been gripped by ambition. „Last year we weren’t able to complete the rally after a crash in the Gobi Desert. We have to attend to unfinished business! We’re not giving up!“, says Paul Watson (Australia) of Team Oz – Unfinished Business. The same applies to Kees Nierop (Canada) and Armin Schwarz (Germany). In 2007, Nierop drove his Porsche Cayenne S Transsyberia over a bank, flew approximately 25 meters and overturned multiple times. Thanks to the high safety standards of the vehicle, both occupants were almost uninjured. Armin Schwarz also completed the Rally 2007 with several flips. This year he wants to steer towards a victory with his navigator, the dual Dakar winner Andi Schulz.

The Ural Mountains, the swampy Siberian Lowlands, the Altai Mountain passes which are up to 3700 meters high and the offshoots of the Gobi Desert are only some of the obstacles the teams have to tackle on their tour from the Russian to the Mongolian capital. From Canada to Columbia, from Qatar to Japan – representatives from all five continents are competing for the victory at the Transsyberia Rally 2008 powered by Sony Ericsson. Whether it’s Land Rover, Mitsubishi, Nissan, Porsche, Puch, Suzuki or Toyota – which team of human and machine will be harmonizing, navigating and operating best, will reveal itself during the special tests which in part stretch out over hundreds of kilometers. For speed is not the key to success at the Transsyberia Rally.

07.11.2008 stage 1 Moscow – Vladimir 231 km.

07.12.2008 stage 2 Vladimir – Kazan 711 km.

07.13.2008 stage 3 Kazan – Ekaterienburg 986 km.

07.14.2008 stage 4 Ekaterienburg – Tyumen 483 km
Cancellation of the fourth test due to strong rainfalls.

Result :
Day 4 Overall Result .. Click

To be continued..

[Source : Official Transsyberia Rally, Germany]