2014 Dakar: Russian KAMAZ is ahead after Stage 1

kamaz russian 2014 dakar
KAMAZ racer

2014 edition of the famous Dakar rally kicked off today.  It marks the beginning on 13 grueling days of off-road racing.  Today’s Stage 1 was a 112 mile (180 km) trek that included lots of spectators and water crossings.

2014 dakar tatra trucks racing rally
Tatra racer

KAMAZ of Ayrat Mardeev of Russia has a provisional first place with a pace of 02:46:52.  He is closely followed by the Tatra of Aleš Loprais from the Czech Republic and MAN truck of Marcel van Vliet from the Nederlands.  Other favorites, Gerard De Rooy and Eduard Nikolaev are just a few minutes behind in fourth and fifth respectively.

The 2014 Dakar is promising to be one of the toughest races in Dakar history.  More video coverage will be available starting tomorrow (January 6th).

Here is a fun TFLtruck video from the 2013 Truck Fest:

Andre Smirnov
Andre Smirnov is an Automotive Enthusiast, Producer, Reviewer, Videographer, Writer, Software Engineer, Husband, Father, and Friend.