“The first half of today was a good run, all of which were high-speed gravel roads, but the ups and downs were quite violent, and the car was basically jumping. At 100 kilometers, it began to enter the desert, which was also the beginning of the challenge of this stage. Sand dunes of different sizes need to be surmounted. The last part of the desert is very soft, and it is especially easy to get stuck.” – Sha He, the navigator of the Beijing Off-Road Family Team

The 2019 China Ring Tower (International) Rally and the Xinjiang Substation of the China Automobile Cross-Country Championship ended the competition for the third stage (Knowing the Emperor Stage) on May 23. In this stage, which is known as the top three in terms of difficulty in this competition, many drivers encountered various troubles and failed to complete the competition. In the motorcycle group, the Spanish driver Armand Hernández, who represented the KTMR2R star team of Kailicheng, performed a hat-trick with a time of 7 hours, 04 minutes and 39 seconds. In the car group, Liu Yangui/Sha He of the Beijing off-road family team ranked first in the national four-wheel drive group with a time of 6 hours, 09 minutes and 43 seconds, and was also the fastest time in the car group. Xu Dali/Liu Zhigang of the Geely Shell Lubricant Team ranked first in the national two-wheel drive group with a time of 6 hours, 50 minutes and 34 seconds.

The starting point and end point of the third stage are located at the Populus euphratica Forest Farm and the N39 Tourist Base in Maigaiti County, respectively. The mileage of the special stage is 333.55 kilometers. This stage will enter the Taklimakan Desert. In terms of difficulty, this stage can be ranked among the top three in this year’s competition. The competition on that day will also become one of the watersheds for this year’s competition.

At the racer meeting held at 10:00 p.m. that day, Song Jun, an official from China Automobile and Motorcycle Motorcycle Co. Due to the sandstorm weather, the organizing committee will cancel the SS4 originally scheduled for May 24th and change it to a rescue rest day for safety reasons, plus the official first rest day on May 25th, the team and drivers will usher in “Double rest”.

Motorcycle class: Hernandez three-peat

The Spanish driver Hernández of Kailicheng KTMR2R star team won the third stage championship of this competition by leading his teammate Zhang Min by nearly 40 minutes. After the race, he said that the race of the day was very challenging.

“The desert gave me a feeling of Dakar today, we kept a good pace, the car had almost no problems, very happy to finish this difficult stage in first place. The cancellation of the fourth stage It was the right decision, after the rest day, we will still maintain the current rhythm,” Hernandez said after the game.

Zackel Yakefu of the Wubao Racing Team and Fang Mingji, a veteran of the Shell Amway XS Rally Team all the way to the south, ranked second and third respectively. The best stage result of the competition. Wang Yun of the Bayi Iron and Steel Great Wall Lubricant Team and Zhou Tian of the Xinjiang Daredevil Team ranked sixth and seventh respectively. Zhao Hongyi of Kailicheng KTMR2R star team still has not escaped the bad luck since the start of this race. He stopped the car due to heatstroke on the day, and the ENB failure of the car made him finish the race before dark. After arriving at the finish line, Zhao Hongyi said wearily that he never thought that he would finish the race after dark in the Ring of Towers Rally.

After the two stages, Hernandez took the lead with a total time of 12 hours, 01 minutes and 28 seconds. His teammate Zhang Min and Zakel Yakefu of Wubao Racing Team ranked second and third respectively. three.

Auto Country 4WD Team: Liu Yangui Demonstrates His Strength in the Desert

In terms of the national four-wheel drive group, the BAIC Legion has continued to firmly occupy the top two positions since the start of this competition. Although French riders Christian Lavigne/Jean-Pierre Gassin reached the finish line first on the day, teammates Liu Yangui/Sha He who followed him took the stage championship by less than six minutes.

“Today’s race ran very smoothly. We basically didn’t stop once. The difficulty of this stage is really great. On the track, I saw many masters getting stuck in their cars and digging sand. Fortunately, we have a better grasp of the rhythm,” Liu Yangui said after the game.

Zhang Lei/Xiang Liang of the RZOIL Longxingtianxia Team finished the race with the best personal result since the beginning of the race, and finished the race in third place. Zhang Guoyu/Liu Yuan of the Beijing Off-road Family Team ranked fourth. Wang Xiang of the RZOIL Dragonxingtianxia Team / Before Yang Tao. In an interview after the race, Zhang Guoyu said that not only the continuous desert was a challenge, but also the high temperature of nearly 70 degrees also tested the physical fitness of the drivers. During a stop, he said that his feet were also burned due to the high temperature .

Ma Hailong/Tian Lei of the Ningxia Yuanhang Racing Team showed their personal combat strength in the desert and finished the race in sixth place. Wang Hai of the Beijing off-road family Run Racing team led the first 200 kilometers of the day, but he lost nearly three hours because of a mistake 20 kilometers before the finish line. As the fast rescuer of the team, Lu Binglong also regretted entering the “Baijia Club” that day. He and Wang Hai will escort the two teammates in the subsequent games.

In the mass production group, Tao Yongming of the Zhengzhou Nissan Navara Racing Team and Wu Ritunasheng of the Jiangxi Isuzu Nomad Racing Team ranked first in the gasoline and diesel groups. In terms of total score, Liu Yangui surpassed Christian and ranked first with a total time of 10 hours, 59 minutes and 40 seconds, and Zhang Guoyu ranked third.

Automobile National Two-Wheel Drive Team: Xu Aili takes the lead

In terms of the national two-wheel drive group, Xu Eli and Han Jianqiang/Chen Qingkai of the Geely Shell Lubricating Oil Team took the top two. Jin Jianyun, a veteran of the Hard Tiger Racing Team, gave full play to his years of desert racing experience in this stage and finished third. game.

“Today’s race was really difficult, and our car got stuck several times. Fortunately, the car has a hydraulic jack, which helped us save a lot of time,” Xu Elie said after the race.

Zhang Ming/Qin Xu of Shaanxi Yunxiang Club, Tian Baoguang/He Yongsheng of Hard Tiger Racing Team, and Jin Jianmin/Wu Fuxi of Ningxia Yuanhang Racing Team ranked fourth to sixth. Han Wei of the Geely Shell Lubricating Oil Team encountered trouble in the race that day and lost a lot of time in the process of getting stuck. He finished the stage and took the lead for nearly an hour. When reaching the finish line, Han Wei’s front mechanical cover of the car has fallen off. In terms of overall results, Xu Eli surpassed Han Wei to take the lead with a total time of 12 hours, 04.27 seconds, and Zi Yungang of Shaanxi Yunxiang Automobile Sports Co., Ltd. ranked third.

After the end of the day’s competition, the drivers will take a two-day rest in McGate County, and then they will start the competition for the second half of the competition.

(Text/China Automobile and Motorcycle Federation Special Correspondent Fei Chaotu Huanta official photography team)