Ulyanovsk athletes entered the top three prize-winners of the stage of the championship of Russia in rally raids

Ulyanovsk athletes successfully performed at the Great Steppe Baja, which took place from October 14 to 18 in Kalmykia. Alexander Semenov and Dmitry Okhotnikov took third place in the T2 class, and Egor Okhotnikov, together with his partner Mikhail Mityaev, stopped a step away from the pedestal. In both cases, technical faults prevented the fight for victory.

The crew of Alexander Semenov and Dmitry Okhotnikov, who played for GAZ Raid Sport on the Sobol NN 4×4 car, completed the competition with a score of 11 hours 17 minutes 19 seconds. Ulyanovsk became bronze medalists in the standings of serial SUVs T2.

At the same time, on the final day of the race, the athletes showed the best time in their class. However, the problems with the car, which arose the day before, did not allow to rise above the third line.

According to Alexander Semenov, the last 200 kilometers of the crew passed at high speed, and the machine withstood the load without breakdowns. Dmitry Okhotnikov added that the track was not easy: sandy areas, sharp turns and heavy dust complicated the movement and overtaking.

Another representative of Ulyanovsk, Egor Okhotnikov, also fought for prizes. Together with Mikhail Mityaev from Togliatti, he played for LADA Sport Roseft on the prototype of LADA Niva Sport Turbo.

For the first two days, the crew led in the Raid Sport category, but a technical malfunction in the third stage led to a loss of time. Despite the best result on the final day, the athletes finished fourth.

In the team event, GAZ Raid Sport took first place, and LADA Sport Roseft became third, gaining four points. In addition, GAZ Raid Sport won in category R.

In total, 27 crews participated in the competition. In five days, the riders covered about 1,060 kilometers, of which 935 kilometers were high-speed sections.

Bach “Great Steppe” became the penultimate stage of the Russian Rally Raid Championship in 2026. The final competitions will be held from 5 to 8 November in the Chechen Republic. At the Grozny Baja, Ulyanovsk athletes will have the opportunity to improve their results and compete for final positions in the championship.