2020 Dakar Rally glory for standard Goodyear tyres

The KAMAZ-master team finished in 1^st and 2^nd position after 12 challenging stages and won the renowned DAKAR 2020. Claiming their 17^th win, the KAMAZ-master team proudly adds this victory to their illustrious track record and celebrates with Goodyear as their official tyre partner.

The DAKAR, known as the toughest rally in the world, headed to Saudi Arabia for the 2020 edition. The race covered more than 7,500 kms, including 5,000 km of special stages that comprised of high speed and close racing. Starting in Jeddah on 5 January, this year’s edition was gruelling and at each stage of the race, the trucks encountered numerous challenges from tricky desert tracks with hidden stones to rocky canyons and river beds with sharp objects. Tyre temperature monitoring is vital, and teams had to balance speed with taking care of their tyres. Drivers had to master their driving skills and carefully manage the tyre pressure to achieve a good balance between grip/traction, speed and durability.

“On the outside the scenery was magnificent, however inside the truck we had to stay focused every second and work hard,” explains Andrey Karginov, driver of the winning crew 511 of KAMAZ-master. “This year’s race included hazardous sandy dune stages and misleading labyrinths covered with sharp stones. We encountered many risky situations, but the Goodyear tyres kept on going offering supreme traction driving up the dunes and were extremely robust”.

Dominant performance.
With 17 Dakar wins the KAMAZ-master team remains dominant and with years of experience, the team has attained an incredible amount of technical know-how. Although the environment was entirely new, the crews mastered the performance of the KAMAZ trucks in every stage. Travelling at speeds of up to 140km per hour on some sections, including spectacular jumps in the desert and moderating speed on risky tracks, the winning team finished the 7,839-kilometre race in 46hours 33minutes 36seconds.

“At Goodyear, we design our products to deliver winning performance for our partners. We are extremely proud that once again the victorious KAMAZ-master team could count on exceptional qualities of our standard products proven in probably the toughest race in the world” says Maciej Szymanski, Goodyear Director Marketing Commercial Europe. “This reaffirms the solid track record of the Goodyear OFFROAD ORD tyre’s durability and traction on rocky and sandy terrain in very challenging circumstances.” To ensure a podium finish, the optimal set-up of the truck is key and the vehicle and tyres need to work together seamlessly. Over the past years, the Dakar has been marked by teams finishing less than an hour apart after 12 full days of close racing.

Next level product testing and development
Dakar rules and regulations determine that all truck teams must compete on standard tyres. These must be developed for day-to-day operations and be available commercially. Giving the extreme driving, races like Dakar are the ultimate testing ground for the Goodyear OFFROAD ORD. The tyres selected by the winning KAMAZ-master team, are used to maximize operations in tough off-road environments such as mines and quarries. The tread pattern with massive blocks along with the optimised compound provides high resistance to tearing and cutting. Likewise, the FIA European Truck Racing Championship enables Goodyear to take its development process to the next level. Extraordinary testing conditions stress the carcass to cope with deformation and extreme forces on the tyre caused by conditions like in the Dakar as well as cornering at high speed in truck racing. This results in the advanced Goodyear carcass technology that offers enhanced durability and robustness. It ultimately has a positive effect on fuel efficiency across the full portfolio including on-road long-haul and regional haul, mixed-services, off-road as well as bus and coach tyres.

Goodyear has a long and successful history in motorsport and is very proud to be selected by leading teams as their official tyre partner. These teams participate in the most challenging rallies across the globe and count on the ultimate performance of our standard products. The tyres need to be always ready for the unexpected, whether it is a high jump at full speed in a race or on a slippery muddy slope in daily operations. The KAMAZ-master team will compete in the Silkway Rally in China from 3 – 16 July 2020.

2020 Dakar Rally glory for standard Goodyear tyres

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