MOSCOW, January 14 (RIA Novosti) - Trucks from Russia's Team Kamaz are occupying the top two spots of the overall standings of the 2009 Dakar Rally in South America after 10 of 15 stages.
Team Kamaz entered three trucks in this year's race, each with a three-member crew.
Five-time Dakar Rally champion Vladimir Chagin is just 14 seconds behind his teammate Firdaus Kabirov with Gerard De Rooy of the Netherlands in third place in a Ginaf truck, trailing 32 minutes behind the leader.
This year's event involves 230 motorbikes, 30 quads, 188 cars and 82 trucks, from 49 countries.
The world-famous rally, founded in 1979, is taking place in Argentina and Chile, the first time it has been held outside Africa. The 9,500-kilometer (5,900-mile) race began in Buenos Aires on January 3 and will end in the Argentinean capital on January 17.
