As the only Marathon Rally on the calendar, the third round of the FIA World Cup for Cross-Country Rallies, the Silk Way Rally (July 01-11), will be the ultimate competitive adventure. Crossing the territories of the Russian Federation and Mongolia during 10 days of competition, the epic route traverses 5,200 kilometres of forestland, desert, mountain passes and swamps as the contenders vie for supremacy over more than 2,800 competitive stage kilometres.

After all the required pre-event documentation and scrutineering, the ceremonial start in the city of Omsk, Russia, on July 1 marks the beginning of the Silk Way Rally, which makes its debut on the FIA World Cup for Cross-Country Rallies calendar this year. From here, the route progressively heads east through Siberia until reaching Ulgii in the extreme west of Mongolia at the end of the third leg. Adding to the endurance challenge is a two-day Marathon Stage, which starts on the sixth leg. The first part is a loop in and out of Khovd, where only the competitors themselves can service their cars, while the second section of the Marathon Stage takes the crews over a long 313 kilometre selective section around Altai, where they are then reunited with their teams and service crews at the end of the leg. Two more days of action follow as the contenders head towards Ulaanbaatar. The final day, July 11, a relatively short but high-speed selective section loops in and out of the capital city, before the winners of the 11th edition of the Silk Way Rally are crowned at the prize-giving ceremony that evening.

Yazeed Al-Rajhi and returning British co-driver Michael Orr top an impressive provisional entry list and the duo will once again be in action in their Toyota Hilux. As the leading contender in the FIA World Cup for Cross-Country Rallies standings who is competing on the Silk Way Rally, the Saudi Arabian will be looking to repeat his 2018 victory and capitalise on the absence of his closest rivals.

Vladimir Vasilyev and Aleksei Kuzmich are yet to claim points in the series, after disappointing outings in both Spain and Kazakhstan. Competing in the MINI Cooper Countryman, Vasilyev - the reigning champion of the FIA World Cup for Cross-Country Bajas - will definitely be hoping for better luck on home territory.

Seasoned cross-country competitor, Guerlain Chicherit, is navigated by Alexandre Winocq in the Century CR6, the car that came so close to victory in the hands of fellow Frenchman Mathieu Serradori on the last round in Kazakhstan. Chicherit, who won the FIA World Cup for Cross-Country Rallies in 2009, is sure to be another contender for victory despite a five-year break from cross-country rallying. Denis Krotov and Konstantin Zhiltsov are sixth in the World Cup standings thanks to a fine second place on the previous round and will be competing in the MINI John Cooper Works Rally. Miroslav Zapletal and Marek Sykora were just outside the top 10 in Kazakhstan and are fielding a Ford F150 Evo, as usual.

Behind the powerful T1 vehicles is an impressive field of T3 competitors headed by Frenchmen Lionel Baud and Loic Minaudier in a PH Sport Zephyr, and Fernando Alvarez and Laurent Lichtleuter. Spaniard Alvarez claimed a fine eighth overall in Kazakhstan and took second in the category to sit second in the T3 standings. Pavel Lebedev and Kirill Shubin will be competing on home soil in their Can Am Maverick X3 XRS and are fourth in the standings after claiming the final podium position on the previous round. They are joined by a host of contenders in the category, including the all-female crews of Anastasia Nifontova/Ekaterina Zhadanova and Maria Oparina/Liudmila Petenko, also in Can Am machinery.

The T4 field is equally impressive with the American/Brazilian crew of Austin Jones and Gustavo Gugelmin topping the entries. With two category victories to his name, Jones has a 27.5 point advantage over Kees Koolen in the standings, with Italian Eugenio Amos third, a further seven points adrift. Dutchwoman Gesina Pol joins Koolen in the co-driver’s seat, and France’s Axelle Roux Decima will be alongside Matthieu Margaillan. Three crews from Turkmenistan have also entered T2 Nissan Patrol machinery.

RALLY DATA

LEADING ENTRIES

SILK WAY RALLY – TIMETABLE & MEDIA OPPORTUNITIES