Wacky races

By Yelena Andreyeva

Special to The St. Petersburg Times

Published: November 11, 2005 (Issue # 1121)

Driving on Russia’s roads has never been much fun but devotees of “off-road” racing have found that the Russian countryside is the perfect terrain for their sport.

Starting as a club movement 10 years ago, off-road events called “trophy-raids” in Russia, have gained worldwide popularity with big competitions, such as the Ladoga Trophy, that take place from April to October.

For people not in the know, it’s hard to imagine what trophy-raids are. Unlike other car races, speed is not a crucial factor. Driving fully modified monster jeeps that look more like tractors that move at an average speed of 2 kilometers per hour across impassable woods, steep slopes and deep marshes, it seems more like a death race than an average sporting tournament.

This year’s Ladoga Trophy attracted 162 crews with 324 participants from 13 countries including Germany, Poland, the U.K., Norway, Finland, the Netherlands, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Kazakhstan, Belarus and Ukraine. The winners in the TR2 class were Andrei Kuznetsov (pilot) and Alexei Alexandrov (navigator) of Russia.

Alexandrov, an experienced off-road racer, is sure that the off-road competitions held in Russia has no equivalent abroad.

“Many foreign teams who come to the trophy-raids here have just no idea what they are,” he said. “Trophy-raids in other countries like, for example, Malaysia, are held in specially made open pits but not in the woods where routes are laid.”

Despite enjoying the competitions, Alexandrov has no illusions that because they cause irreparable damage to natural sites, such trophy-raids would be illegal anywhere other than Russia.

“When 150 crews, as in the Ladoga-Trophy competition, pass through a marsh, they bring all the peat and trees out of it. So it just ceases to exist. And, taking into consideration that marshes can only be restored after about 10 years, it could happen only in Russia.”

For Alexandrov, who is very experienced in different kinds of sport, taking part in extreme off-road races is a new challenge. A professional first-degree skier, Alexandrov, has, also, been involved in gliding and captained the yacht “Alphei.”

More than 15 years ago he became involved in classical motor rallying and has attained the title of “master of sports” in motor racing. In regular motor rallying competitions, Alexandrov, takes the role of navigator.

In order to survive unbearable conditions during the race, all cars are totally modified and look more like tanks than just common vehicles.

Alexandrov says that besides the Land Cruiser he navigates in the competitions, among other popular models taking part in the trophy-raids are Land Rovers, Suzuki jeeps and UAZ jeeps from Russia. However, Nissan Patrols or Lada Nivas are rarely used in the off-road racing.

The trophy-raids test the vehicles to the limit. Often getting stuck in swamps and deep mud, the 2.5-ton vehicles need to be winched out by navigators who wade into water up to their necks.

“It really kills the car,” says Alexandrov. “Concentrating only on the result and aiming to win the race, we have to overcome all the barriers in our way. Neither broken windows, nor smashed doors in the car can cool our enthusiasm to do our best in a race.”

He says that’s why only “crazy,” foolhardy people who enjoy risk-taking participate in trophy-raids.

Off-roaders are people of different professions and ages — from 18 to 68 years. And although most of them are men, there are a few brave women who compete in the races. However, Alexandrov thinks that female participants are still very rare and “exotic” in the sport.

Because not much money can be made in the sport, trophy-raids gather wealthy enthusiasts most of whom spend considerable amounts of money on preparations for, and participation in, the races.

“The average budget for a crew participating in trophy-raids is $50, 000 per year,” says Alexandrov. “So not even large prizes can cover the expenses.”

Apart from the championship of Russia where participants are required to have special category “D” and “E” sport driving licenses, other big tournaments, like the Ladoga-Trophy, are open for all comers willing to take part in them without any qualification restrictions.

That seems reasonable to Alexandrov, who explains that there is almost no training that can be provided for trophy-raids.

“I could probably teach basic off-road racing for beginners in a week,” he says. “But it would hardly help during the race where how things go depends on how ‘crazy’ the sportsman in question is taking part in this sheer madness.”

Participating in classical motor rallying as well as trophy- raids and other risky sports, Alexandrov thinks that some ways of getting a dose of adrenaline are totally unacceptable. He says “Russian Roulette” street motor races that are held in Moscow at night fall into this category.

“I even watched the commercials for street races on TV,” he says. “It’s really incredible to officially promote illegal races — a tournament for killing machines in which no professional sportsman would take part.”

As a professional road racer, Alexandrov has something to say about everyday transport problems in Russia as well.

“I think that if drivers at least start parking in the proper parking places and don’t enter busy crossroads — that would ameliorate the traffic problems and decrease the number of road accidents.”

He also points to the lack of driving skills many motorists have in Russia which is, in his opinion, caused by bad quality driving courses that would-be drivers attend to get a license.

“The driving courses are so short that they can’t provide their students with all the necessary knowledge and practical skills enabling them to start driving without any risk,” he says.

“I think that it’s rare to find really good drivers in Russia. Every driver should take extreme driving courses in order to survive on modern city roads.”