The Silk Way Rally () is an annual rally raid held in Russia and neighbouring countries. The first Silk Way Rally was run in 2009 from Kazan, Russia, to Ashgabat, Turkmenistan. It is organised by the Silk Way Rally Association.
The race is part of the Russian Rally-Raid Championship. From 2009 to 2011, it was on the ASO's Dakar Series, followed by being a FIA World Cup for Cross-Country Rallies round.
Rules Silk Way Rally is a rally raid that goes both through off-road spaces and by public roads. Each crew, which usually consists of a driver and a navigator (with a mechanic for truck crews and only of a rider for motorcycles), must complete the Selective Sections (also called Special Stages) of the itinerary indicated in the Road Book (the legend) and pass through all compulsory Waypoints. The crew with the shortest total time on all specials of rally route becomes the winner.
Road sections (or liaisons) between the specials go on public roads and highways and must be covered within the target time, observing Road Traffic Code. The failure to respect the target time incurs a penalty, which is marked on the control card (carnet) and is taken in account during the calculation of total results.
Since 2012 any competitor that fails to complete a special stage is allowed to continue the race with a penalty of 50 hours, added to the total time. This option can be used only one time and must be performed on the next day after the failed stage.
The rally compete in three categories: moto, cars and trucks. The motorcycle class was added in 2019. Along with the division into basic categories of moto, cars and trucks, each of them having its own overall classification, all vehicles that participate in Silk Way Rally are split into separate competition groups as required by FIA.
Winners
YearRouteCarsTrucksBikesQuadsDriverCo-DriverMakeDriverCo-DriverMechanicMakeRiderMakeRiderMake2009Kazan–Ashgabat Carlos Sainz Lucas CruzVolkswagen Touareg Firdaus Kabirov Andrey Mokeev Tanin AnatolyKamazNot heldNot held2010St. Petersburg–Sochi Carlos Sainz Lucas CruzVolkswagen Touareg Eduard Nikolaev Viatcheslav Mizyukaev Vladimir RybakovKamaz2011Moscow–Sochi Krzysztof Hołowczyc Jean-Marc FortinBMW X3 Aleš Loprais Vojtěch Štajf Milan HoláňTatra2012Moscow–Gelendzhik Boris Gadasin Dan SchemelG-Force Proto Ayrat MardeevKamaz2013Moscow–Astrakhan Jean-Louis Schlesser Konstantin ZhiltsovSonangol Schlesser Original Dmitry Sotnikov Viatcheslav Mizyukaev Andrei AferinKamaz2014–2015 not held2016Moscow–Beijing Cyril Despres David CasteraPeugeot 2008 DKRKamaz2017Moscow–Xi'an Cyril Despres David CasteraPeugeot 3008 DKR Dmitry Sotnikov Ruslan Akhmadeev Ilnur MustafinKamaz2018Astrakhan–Moscow Yazeed Al Rajhi Timo GottschalkMini John Cooper Works Rally Andrey Karginov Andrey Mokeev Igor LeonovKamaz2019Irkutsk–Dunhuang Nasser Al-Attiyah Mathieu BaumelToyota Hilux Anton Shibalov Dmitry Nikitin Ivan TatarinovKamaz Sam SunderlandKTM 450 Rally Factory Rafał SonikYamaha Raptor 7002020not held2021Omsk–Gorno-Altaysk Guerlain Chicherit Alexandre WinocqCentury Racing CR6 Dmitry Sotnikov Ruslan Akhmadeev Ilgiz AkhmetzianovKamaz Matthias WalknerKTM 450 Rally Factory Replica Alexander MaximovYamaha YFM 700R Raptor SE2022Astrakhan–Moscow Alexander Rusanov Evgeny PavlovGAZelle NEXT Dmitry Sotnikov Ruslan AkhmadeevKamaz Alexey NaumovKTM 450 Rally Factory Replica Dmitry KalininCan-Am Outlander2023Kazan–Moscow Andrey Rudskoy Dmitry KarpovG-Force Bars Siarhei Viazovich Pavel Haranin Andrei KrahelskiyMAZ Ilya ScheglovHusqvarna Anatoly KuznetsovCan-Am2024Tomsk–Ulaanbaatar Aleksandr Semenov Dmitrii OkhotnikovGAZ Dmitry Sotnikov Ruslan Akhmadeev Ilgiz AkhmetzianovKamaz Alexey NaumovHusqvarna Danil LoginovCan-Am2025Irkutsk–Gorno-Altaysk Pavel Andreev Gleb MokeevToyota Anton Shibalov Alexander Kupriyanov Daniil TelepovKamaz Murun PurevdorjKTM Alexey ZverevRussian Mechanics
History Summary Year Start Finish #Stage Distance, km Date City Date City SpecialStage Liaison Total 2009 5 September Kazan 13 September Ashgabat 9With Prologue 2,621 2,007 4,628 2010 11 September Saint-Petersburg 18 September Sochi 8 2,014 2,845 4,859 2011 10 July Moscow 16 July Sochi 7 2,450 1,490 3,940 2012 7 July Moscow 13 July GelendzhikИз-за стихийного бедствия в Краснодарском крае ралли завершилось в Майкопе. 7 2,083 1,776 3,859 2013 7 July Moscow 13 July Astrakhan 8 2, 822 1173 3,995 2016 9 July Moscow 24 July Beijing 15 4,105 6,630 10,735 2017 7 July Moscow 22 July Xi'an 14 4,094 5,50 9,599201815 July Astrakhan29 July Moscow72,3278733,48820196 July Irkutsk16 July Dunhuang102,5892,4145,0032020not held20211 July Omsk6 July Gorno-Altaysk56512,4573,10820226 July Astrakhan16 July Moscow102,8001,5804,38020235 July Kazan15 July Moscow92,3503,8005,23020245 July Tomsk15 July Ulaanbaatar112,9922,2505,243202510 July Irkutsk23 July Gorno-Altaysk112,4022,4094,811 Note: the data are listed nominally - due to cancellations, abbreviations and changes in the stages may actually differ.
2009
Edition 1 of the Silk Way Rally set off from Kazan in Tatarstan and headed to Ashgabat in Turkmenistan. The nine days, 4,500-km rally featured 3,900 km of special stages. Carlos Sainz won his 1st international Rally-Raid. A perfect rehearsal for "El Matador" who the following January won the Dakar Rally in his 4th attempt. In the truck category, Kamaz dominated with two-time Dakar winner Firdaus Kabirov taking top honours in what was his last major international victory.
Stage Date Start Finish Distance, km SS Liaison Total Prologue 5/09 Kazan Kazan 2 - 2 1 6/09 Kazan Buguruslan 141 337 478 2 7/09 Buguruslan Uralsk 231 316 547 3 8/09 Uralsk Beyneu 580 296 876 4 9/09 Beyneu Zhanaozen 424 55 479 5 10/09 Zhanaozen Türkmenbaşy 514 184 698 6 11/09 Türkmenbaşy Balkanabad 345 72 417 7 12/09 Balkanabad Türkmenbaşy 360 154 514 8 13/09 Türkmenbaşy Asgabat 24 593 617 Total 2 621 2 007 4 628 Note: color is allocated distances, — not included.
Participating countries - 25 Total route length - 4628 km 62 cars and 20 trucks entered the marathon 34 cars and 16 trucks finished the marathon 113 media accredited - 347 journalists 753 TV broadcasts with total duration of 2,260 minutes 3,167 publications in media Team service cars - 96 crews 17 crews presented the raid category 60 т of petrol, 210 т of diesel fuel and 325 т of aviation kerosine were used Escort provided support to 160 vehicles of participants and 120 vehicles of Organization committee: 526 VIPs from four states visited the rally
2010
Stage Date Start Finish Distance, km SS Liaison Total 1 11/09 Saint-Petersburg Staraya Russa 85 330 415 2 12/09 Staraya Russa Vyazma 209 575 770 3 13/09 Vyazma Lipetsk 210 395 605 4 14/09 Lipetsk Volgograd 300 490 790 5 15/09 Volgograd Astrakhan 450 150 600 6 16/09 Astrakhan Elista 400 105 505 7 17/09 Elista Maykop 340 440 780 8 18/09 Maykop Krasnaya Polyana 20 360 380 Total 2 014 2 845 4 859
Participating countries - 22 Total route length - 4859 km 48 cars and 16 trucks entered the marathon 29 cars and 13 trucks finished the marathon 168 media accredited - 507 journalists 918 TV broadcasts with total duration of 3,660 minutes 4,015 publications in media Team service cars - 96 crews 12 crews in cars and motorbikes presented the raid category 51,675 L of petrol, 289,912 L of diesel fuel and 160 ton of aviation kerosine were used
2011
First departure from Moscow for the Silk Way Rally, which saw its number of entries rise, to the delight of the thousands of Muscovites who came to Red Square for the ceremonial start. Ahead of the competitors, seven days of racing and 3,983 km, with 2,366 km of special stages. After the week of hard-fought action it was Poland's Krzysztof Holowczyc scoring the biggest win of his career, ahead of the disciplines greatest driver, Stéphane Peterhansel, while in the truck category, Alès Loprais got revenge from the previous year.
Stage Date Start Finish Distance, km SS Liaison Total 1 10/07 Moscow Lipetsk 260 310 570 2 11/07 Lipetsk Volgograd 480 365 845 3 12/07 Volgograd Astrakhan 430 160 590 4 13/07 Astrakhan Astrakhan 400 15 415 5 14/07 Astrakhan Stavropol 690 75 765 6 15/07 Stavropol Maykop 170 220 390 7 16/07 Maykop Sochi 20 345 365 Total 2 450 1 490 3 940 Note: color marked distances included in the overall standings , — distance not included in the overall standings.
Participating countries - 28 Total route length – 3,940 km 95 cars and 35 trucks entered the marathon 50 cars and 26 trucks finished the marathon 138 media accredited - 605 journalists 969 TV broadcasts with total duration of 3,983 minutes 4,518 publications in media Team service cars - 153 crews 50,000 L of petrol, 551,700 L of diesel fuel and 160 ton of aviation kerosine were used
2012
The start once again from Red Square for the Silk Way Rally, which the number of entries is on the rise. On the programme, a completely new 4,000-km route to Sochi. Storms that battered southern Russian forced the race to stop at Gelendzhik. Boris Gadasin became the first Russian driver to win in the car category, while Kamaz returned to its winning ways thanks to another of its young hopefuls, Ayrat Mardeev, the future winner of the 2015 Dakar!
Stage Date Start Finish Distance, km SS Liaison Total Prologue 7/07 Moscow Ryazan - 184,85 184,85 1 8/07 Ryazan Volgograd 258 620 878 2 9/07 Volgograd Volgograd 309 125 434 3 10/07 Volgograd Elista 488189 677 4 11/07 Elista Elista 506159,5 665,5 5 12/07 Elista Maykop 453230 683 6 13/07 Maykop Gelendzhik69266 335 Total 2 083 1 774 3 857 Note: color is allocated distances, — not included.
Participating countries - 25 Total route length – 3,550 km 118 crews: 93 jeeps and 25 trucks entered the marathon Team service cars - 143 crews 270 media accredited - 581 journalists 712 TV broadcasts with total duration of 2,074 minutes 4,312 publications in media 360,000 L of motor fuel are used
2013
Stage Date Start Finish Distance, km SS Liaison Total Prologue 6/07 Moscow Tambov-452,91452,91 1 7/07 Tambov Volgograd373,43370,69744,12 2 8/07 Volgograd Volgograd478,3868,39546,77 3 9/07 Volgograd Astrakhan485,74144,29631,03 4 10/07 Elista Astrakhan485,0049,67534,67 5 11/07 Astrakhan Astrakhan499,0060,25559,25 6 12/07 Astrakhan Astrakhan512,0054,02466,02 7 13/07 Astrakhan Astrakhan87,3674,65162,01 Total 2 822 1 275 4097
2016
Stage Date Start Finish Altitude, m Distance, km Min. Max. SS Liaison Total 1 9/07 Moscow Kazan 2 852 854 2 10/07 Kazan Ufa 64 188 136 490 625 3 11/07 Ufa Kostanay 254 467 200 615 815 4 12/07 Kostanay Astana 108 378 345 510 856 5 13/07 Astana Balkhash 408 998 569 253 821 6 14/07 Balkhash Almaty 336 580 411 445 856 7 16/07 Almaty Bortala 1072 2575 77 505 582 8 17/07 Bortala Urumqi 294 471 257 648 905 9 18/07 Urumqi Hami 58 974 384 335 720 10 19/07 Hami Dunhuang 553 1916 340 144 484 11Stage canceled due to weather conditions. 20/07 Dunhuang Jiayuguan 1376 2508 330 231 561 12 21/07 Jiayuguan Alashan 1148 1811 425 242 667 13 22/07 Alashan Wuhai 1159 1792 367 357 725 14 23/07 Wuhai Hohhot 1039 1224 261 494 756 15 24/07 Hohhot Beijing - 508 508 Total 4 105 6 630 10 735 Note: the distances included in the overall standings are highlighted in , is canceled. The actual numbers may differ from the sum of the intermediate numbers, since all the numbers are rounded.
10735 km - total route length 17 days - rally duration, 14 bivouacs 41 countries presented their participants 1,100 participants and team members More than 2,500 people in Europe, Russia and China in the Rally organization 145 Russian and international journalists received permanent accreditation 560 media representatives received temporary accreditation TV reports from the "Silk Way 2016" Rally were broadcast in 196 countries of Europe, North and South America, Asia and Africa Bivouac hosted up to 2,200 people daily 550 vehicles arrived daily to the bivouac and went further along the rally route