TYUMEN, January 6, 2003. (RIA Novosti correspondent Aleksander Perestoronin) -- After the first five days of the Telefonica-Dakar-2004 rally, the Russian KAMAZ-Master team is leading the race in the overall. According to the press service of the Russian team, the truck of Vladimir Tchaguine surged ahead of its closest rival, Johannes De Rooy (DAF) of the Netherlands, ending 2 minutes and 46 seconds ahead. The third winner is Andre de Azevedo (Tatra), Brazil, who is 16 minutes and 43 seconds behind the leader.
The 26h Paris-Dakar rally began on January 1st in France. The participants will cover more than 11,000 kilometres across Spain, Morocco, Mauritania, Mali, Burkina Faso and Senegal, ending on the shores of the famous Retba (Pink) Lake outside Dakar, capital of Senegal, on January 18th.
Taking part in the rally this year are 563 participants from 38 countries: 180 motorbikes, 140 cars, nearly 70 trucks, and auxiliary vehicles.
