September 1, 2009

Tatra racing along Silk Way

The Loprais Tatra Team is taking part in another race of the Dakar series with one racing and one assistance vehicle. The forthcoming race follows the Silk Way, and is called Silk Way Rally. It is 4,500 km long and both trucks and cars will be at the start. This time, motorbikes are missing. The route will go through Russia over Kazakhstan to Turkmenistan. It will start in Kazan, the capital of the Tatar Republic, a part of the Russian Federation, on September 5, and it will finish in Aschabad, Turkmenistan, on September 13.
The crew will consist of Aleš Loprais, a driver, Milan Holáň, a mechanic, who at the same time has a position of a team’s technical director, and Jaro Miškolc from Slovakia, a navigator, who is a new crew member. Jaro Miškolc has been cooperating with the team for several years and he, himself, is an ex-racer.
An accompanying role will be ensured by a service TATRA 4x4 truck with a 4-member crew. Milan Loprais, Aleš’s father, will join the three mechanics – Leo Loprais, Lubomír Kýpět and Radim Pustějovský – as a team coordinator.
The team’s preparation for the rally was a thorough one. Practically, the team is racing on a completely new special truck, although, from a visual point of view, the vehicle is identical with the one they had at Dakar 2009. The superstructure is still made of carbon, however, with a different version of an inner steel frame. The Deutz engine has undergone adjustments and final testing, and also further development. Currently, the engine is at its maximum performance level, which is 900 to 950 horsepower. The racing Tatra truck was improved with a new clutch made by the Sachs company; shock absorbers were adjusted.
Various terrains and surfaces on the entire track, perhaps only with the exception of snow, promise to be a perfect test of how well-prepared the crews of 62 cars and 21 trucks are. Out of the trucks, almost a half will be Kamaz trucks. With respect to the number of racing vehicles and the fact they will know the track, Kamaz crews will be difficult competitors to beat. With a brand new Iveco special truck, Gerard de Rooy, a very able Dakar competitor, will be racing.
“A look at the Silk Way Rally starting list commands respect. But despite this fact, we are going into the fight and we want to succeed. Strong competition means a challenge for us, only quality competitors will really test how ready we are for the rally, and they mean a move forward in our work,” said Aleš Loprais before his departure.

Loprais Tara Team racing crew for the Silk Way Rally (from the right): Aleš Loprais, a driver, Milan Holáň, a mechanic, and Jaro Miškolc, a navigator.