Jiayuguan is not only the starting point of the western end of the Great Wall, but also the traffic hub of the ancient Silk Road, and the end point of the ninth stage of the 2019 Silk Road Rally. After a long journey of more than 4,000 kilometers, this rally has entered its final stage. The total distance from Alashan to Jiayuguan is 501.2 kilometers, of which the special stage is 290.3 kilometers. Although the length is shorter than the eighth stage, the difficulty is not compromised at all. As a typical desert stage, I believe that the tall sand hills will leave a deep impression on all participating drivers, especially those who come to Badain Jaran for the first time. After the sand hill stage has come to an end, the next continuous small sand dunes also require the driver’s skill, piloting and precise navigation to overcome them one by one. After crossing the long and difficult tests set in the yellow sand, the drivers are only one step away from standing on the Dunhuang platform and celebrating their victory.
In the car group, Atiyah continued his steady strategy of winning the eighth stage, won the ninth stage champion without any suspense, and also won all the stage champions of this Silk Road Rally so far. An unprecedented record! Yes, since there is no suspense in the championship, then the real highlight is the battle for the top three, especially the battle for the runner-up. The Chinese driver Han Wei, who has always been ranked top, ranked second in this stage with a gap of 9 minutes and 12 seconds. The time spent was only 12 seconds behind the Dutch driver Van Luen who won the third place in the stage.
Chinese drivers continued to perform steadily in today’s stage. In addition to Han Wei who entered the top three of the stage, Sun Ping and Zi Rong of Shaanxi Yunxiang Racing Team entered the top ten of the stage. They ranked fifth in the special stage And the eighth place, Chen Feng of Longxing Tianxia Rally Team ranked tenth in the stage. After the race, Han Wei said confidently: “Today’s desert stage is quite difficult. In addition to sand hills, there are continuous ups and downs, which especially test the driver’s driving skills. Our strategy is not to have similar Problems such as stuck car and navigation error, as a result, we did it!”
In the overall score list, the advantage of Attia, who occupies the top of the list, has expanded to 1 hour and 10 minutes, and the distance between Han Wei and French driver Perrichet has also reached 29 minutes. Wei Chaochao, temporarily ranked third. Drivers Sun Ping and Zhang Ming of Shaanxi Yunxiang Team occupy the fourth and fifth places in the overall standings respectively. Zi Rong and Chen Feng of the Longxing Tianxia Rally Team moved up one place in the overall ranking after the ninth stage and ranked in the car group Seventh and eighth in the overall standings.
The competition in the ninth stage of the motorcycle group was also very fierce. The American driver Andrew Short, who had won the motorcycle super championship, was a blockbuster in this stage, and finally led the Portuguese driver Paul Gong of the Indian HERO MOTOSPORTS team by 43 seconds. Salvis won the stage championship, and the French driver Van Beveren of the Yamaha team ranked third. Although the famous British player Sam Sunderland had a bad start in yesterday’s stage, after a night’s rest, he caught up and ranked fourth in this stage. In the overall standings, Sam Sunderland leads with 22 minutes and 51 seconds due to his stable performance. Andrew Short is currently ranked second in the overall standings due to his excellent performance in the ninth stage. France Driver Van Beveren was only 1 minute 9 seconds behind Andrew Short and ranked third in the overall standings.
In the truck group, Kamaz Masters continued to shine in the ninth stage as in the previous stage, and once again won all the top three places in the stage. Sparov ranked first ahead of teammate Kakinov with 8 minutes and 52 seconds, and Maltif won the third place in the stage. In the overall standings of the truck group, Kamaz Masters also took the top three places, with Sparov leading his teammates Kakinov and Maltif by 24 minutes and 48 seconds.
Tomorrow’s stage
Jiayuguan – Dunhuang
Distance: 556.66 km
Special stage: 255 km
10% sand; 20% gravel; 70% gravel
Stage 10: White Tiger towards victory
The track on the last day will be in the hills. The first half of the race will increase in difficulty. The car will pass through canyons, grasslands, winding roads and dry riverbeds. Navigation will be a big challenge. The drivers will reach the valley after halfway, and the final stage will start in a smooth and high-speed stage, and finally decide who will win this year’s crown.
