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Half time at the Transsyberia Rally 2008: The teams have entered Mongolia
After a crisp night in the Altai Mountains and more than 5000 km on and off the Russian roads in seven days, the teams of the Transsyberia Rally 2008 powered by Sony Ericsson have left Russia. The pilots crossed the border at Taschanta not far from the Russian village Kosh Agash. Translated this means “Good bye tree” and points out to travelers that they won’t be seeing any trees in the Mongolian Steppe from now on.
After last year’s experiences, the border crossing procedures on the Russian, as well as on the Mongolian went smoothly. Almost 70 vehicles had to be processed, an operation which took the entire day. The drivers had to wait in the back of the line for hours in midsummer temperatures.
The first entry in the road book on Mongolian terrain read: “End of the asphalt”. And they won’t find any of it in Mongolia until shortly before they reach Ulaanbaatar. After the entry, the 80 km route led up to an altitude of 2000 meters, through sparse steppe and across jagged, stony slopes to today’s stage destination, a camp above the town of Oelgy.
Starting Sunday, the teams have to prove the terrain capability of their cars, their own driving skills, as well as their endurance on the long off-road stretches and their navigation knowledge during the remaining six stages.
For tomorrow a day of rest is scheduled. “You definitely need a day of rest during a two week rally. Especially for the smaller teams and cars, as well as the younger drivers that day it’s a must. It’s however also really nice for us old hands”, said Said Rashid Al Hajri, pilot of Team Middle East, the current leaders in the overall standings. Together with his navigator Tim Trenker, the 51-year old pilot from Qatar is reckoning with good chances for successfully reaching the destination. “We wanted to drive very well in Russia, and we succeeded. Now it’s time for the second part of the plan, which is, to reach Ulaanbaatar as one of the first few. The Top 5 will all go full throttle, I’m sure. However the rally’s still long, very long”, Al Hajri reasoned. From years of rally experience he knows that a lot can still happen in the second part of a rally.
At half time, Team Middle East is still in the lead in the overall standings, followed by Team France, Team Portugal, Team Germany 3 and Team Germany 1. | |
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At half time of the Transsyberia Rally 2008 powered by Sony Ericsson, Team Middle East is in the lead. We invited the pilot Said Rashid Al Hajri to talk to us in the yurt just outside the gates of Oelgy, a city in Western Mongolia.
At half time of the Transsyberia 2008, you and your navigator Tim Trenker are in first place in the overall standings. Did you work towards that?
Al Hajri: Absolutely! We knew that we had to drive focused and well from the beginning on, in order to have a chance for a top placement. That was our plan and it worked out.
How did you like the route through Russia?
Al Hajri: It was well chosen. So many beautiful scenic impressions. Fields, water, forests and then the suitable special stages with various demands to go with it and in which we did really well.
The terrain is going to change enormously after today’s border crossing from Russia to Mongolia. How do you reckon you’ll perform on the dusty slopes of Mongolia?
Al Hajri: We wanted to drive very well in Russia, and we succeeded. Now it’s time for the second part of the plan, which is, to reach Ulaanbaatar as one of the first few. Unfortunately we didn’t cross the finish line last year, since our car got damaged while Armin Schwartz rolled over. That can happen. But we want to tackle next week’s long stages through Mongolia at full throttle. We have the vehicle and ability, as well as the motivation for it.
There are no streets in Mongolia. The first entry in the road book after the border reads “end of asphalt“. Steppe and desert characterize the almost 300 km long special stages. What else, except for the will and the car, plays an important part in driving in the front?
Al Hajri: The navigation of course. You don’t stand a chance without a good navigator. Tim does his job 100%, just as I do as the driver. There’s a mutual trust we have in eachother, which we implement on the stages.
You seem very well coordinated with eachother. How did you actually meet?
Al Hajri: That was a long time ago, around 1985 or 1986, when we were really young. At that time, Tim was racing motorcycles in Egypt and I was underway with a racecar. Then when Tim moved to Dubai, we saw eachother more often. The idea to start together as a team on an off-road rally came from Porsche Middle East. We liked it and after last year’s and this year’s Transsyberia we plan to also participate in other marathon rallies as a team.
How do you think the other teams will perform during the difficult and long Mongolian stages?
Al Hajri: The Top 5 will go “full speed”, I’m sure.
Now there’s a day of rest first of all. Do you need it?
Al Hajri: You definitely need a day of rest during a two-week rally. Especially for the smaller teams and cars, as well as the younger drivers, that day is a must. It’s however also really nice for us old hands. | | | |
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