Sherpa Takes Home Sensational Bronze Medal From Silk Way Rally
24.7.2016
It’s official now. The truck built North Bohemia wins a bronze medal in the currently fastest and toughest rally of the world. The Renault Sherpa arrives at the finish on third place in general classification and records a historic result for the MKR Technology team in its first race ever. The Dutch pilot Martin van den Brink shares the great result with his team including the Roudnice mechanic Daniel Kozlovský.
“It’s a truly euphoric feeling. We were toiling here the whole time but the mood in the team was amazing and we had a great atmosphere. We’re tired, yet extremely happy. We’re definitely going to celebrate because we’ve achieved all the goals we have set for ourselves. The car was going great, we even beat the kamaz trucks, which outnumbered us substantially. We easily could have won but for that you need to have more luck and must avoid making a single mistake during the whole race. However, things might be different at the Dakar. I’m already looking forward to it,“ commented the beaming Daniel Kozlovský, young mechanic from MKR Technology who built the Renault racing specials for the Dutch Mammoet Rally Sport.
The final leg fifteen of this year’s Silk Way Rally was only a formal one. In it the teams had to move over five hundred kilometers from Hohhot to Beijing. The trucks were not racing and chasing after minutes to improve their times. Therefore, no changes took place in the general classification. The overall victory went to the Russian Kamaz pilot Airat Mardeev, Dakar winner from 2015. Silver medal goes to Dmitry Sotnikov and bronze to the truck no.301 with Martin van den Brink (pilot), Peter Willemsen (co-pilot) and Daniel Kozlovský (crew mechanic) on the board. The Dutch-Czech crew stood out already upon their win in the opening prologue. They managed to triumph in as many as five stages this year. After seventh leg the team seized the lead and gave a hard time to the Russian Kamaz dominance.
They simply were not a match in those stages until a tyre defect befell the newly constructed Sherpa in stage twelve, causing a fifteen-minute loss and drop to third place. This standing was securred until the very end of Sherpa’s premiere at Silk Way in Beijing. However, the other truck from MKR Technology’s workshop, the Renault K520 carrying number 305 here, was also doing great. Its pilot Pascal de Baar also scored the winners’ podium during the race – twice, indeed! He celebrated third place in the prologue and later also in leg four. In the overall ranking he occupies seventh place. “We were gradually adjusting both trucks and made some changes. Both the specials have their specificities. While with Sherpa the main trouble was the engine temperature, with „K“ we’re still working on the suspension system. I’m truly happy that we we’re able to fine-tune the machines on the road and constantly improve them. This allows us to be competitive and we’re able to keep the pace with the Kamaz trucks. After this rally I dare say that it’s even harder than the Dakar. We’ve learnt an important lesson here and I believe that we’ll be able to utilize it to prepare for the legendary race in January. Dakar is Dakar, its prestige is still unachievable,“ commented the chief constructor Mario Kress.
The Silk Way Rally is in the past now. The crews had to tackle fifteen stages and only rested for one day. On their way from Moscow to the Chinese capital of Beijing they had to overcome ten thousand gruelling kilometers including sand dunes and rocky roads. The trucks reached the deepest point in China and one of the hottest places on the planet when they were passing through the Turfan depression. As a result of severe weather conditions the organizers were forced to cancel legs two and eleven. The final stage fifteen is not a timed one. Four thousand one hundred kilometers were planned in the special stages and the winner Mardeev managed to complete them in less than forty hours. Van den Brink on third place lost
by only a 30-minute margin. “The results are minimal. We are actually able to keep the pace with the best ones and win. This is a great starting position for the upcoming Dakar. My special thanks go to the entire team. They’ve all done a great job here and I’m sure that together we’re about to add many more wins in the future,“ summed up the satisified boss of MKR Adventure Mario Kress who enjoyed the prize ceremony directly at the famous Bird’s Nest in the Beijing Olympic park.
