The only snow race of the World Cup series took place on 20–22 February 2015 in Karelia , Russia. The ceremonial start took place on February 20 in the city of Sortavala , which is located near the Finnish border by Lake Ladoga . The route of the special stage, over 150 kilometers long, passed through the original forests of Sortavala and Suojarvi . In two days, the competitors completed over 350 kilometers in difficult snowy terrain. A heater was installed in the H3 Evo , the car received a new engine .
The originally snowy roads were covered by a layer of ice after the rain, and all outdoor areas became a slide. At 1 p.m., a press conference was held with the participation of representatives of the organization organizing this race and guests. Then, at 3 p.m., the ceremonial start of the first race day of the World Cup series for Cross Country Rallies began . After crossing the ramp, 39 crews set off on the 9.5 kilometer long prologue route. All cars were equipped with studded tires. For the locals it's normal winter equipment, for us it's a bit exotic. It is not unusual to see studs on car tires even on normal roads. It's a shame that this equipment is strictly prohibited in our country. On the prologue track, the snow was very soft and slushy thanks to the icing. The cars were difficult to control. Mirek Zapletal chose to drive carefully so as not to damage his H3 Evo . Our crew reached the finish line of the special stage in ninth place. Home competitor Žigunov won the prologue, Finn Suominen was second and Vladimir Vasilyev was third. At seven o'clock in the evening, the first ten crews agreed on the starting positions for the second day of the race. Saturday's special stage measured 158 kilometers. It passed through original forest stands, partly along the shore of Lake Yanisyarvi and around small lakes, which are interwoven in the forests.
The second day of the race was very much marked by frostbite. Driving in slush was very challenging. The track ran through the forest and narrow log bridges were laid over the streams, which were very slippery in the wet. Mirek Zapletal and Maciek Marton started the Saturday special stage from seventh place. They drove alone for a long time. The difficult terrain did not allow for very fast driving, yet in the second half of the race they managed to overtake the car of the Russian driver Žigunov . They rode in tow for several kilometers, then overtook him and on the way passed another rider, Firsov and Dabrowski , who was changing a bike. As track conditions worsened, all crews slowed down. Nevertheless, many drivers had great problems keeping their car on the special stage route. Some could not handle driving in the slush and traveled off the track. Of the four cars, from the G-force stable, only one crossed the track without a problem. The others ended up off the road. Kazakh driver Kanat Shagirov put his Toyota Hilux on its side and had to wait for a recovery vehicle. Van Loon got stuck in the snow and had to pull the ramps to get his car back on the road. The race was dramatic until the end, but it turned out very well for the Offroadsport crew. Mirek Zapletal improved his position and finished in fourth place. On Sunday, the race participants faced the same track as on Saturday, only they drove it in the opposite direction.
The Sunday part of the race was again marked by snow. " We drove slower at the beginning. I was worried about damaging the car with a risky drive, because we want to start the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge and there is not much time for possible repairs. We started fourth. At kilometer 50, Eric Van Loon overtook us and we followed him to the finish line, with a gap of about 20 seconds. We expected the route to be significantly worse than yesterday, but we had a good ride. Since we already knew the track, we didn't make so many mistakes. The race was very difficult for me. Considering that in our conditions we don't have the opportunity to train on snow, it was the maximum I could do, " said Mirek Zapletal after reaching the finish line. Even today, many riders did not estimate their strength and terrain well. The last 30 kilometers were critical for many crews. About 20 kilometers before the finish, Marek Dabrowski flew off the track and ended up on the roof. After a few kilometers he turned his Mitsubishi Aldis Vilcans onto the roof. A little further on, Yuri Sazonov 's H3 Evo collided with a Toyota -faced H3 Evo driven by Kazakh driver Dimitry Filonec . Sazonov did well, drove back onto the track and continued the race. Filonec ended up on the roof and only got on the bike with the help of other competitors. The Italian crew of the car with starting number 20 reached the finish line on foot. According to the unofficial results, the Finnish competitor Tapio Suominen took the first place. The Russian crew of Vladimir Vasilyev and Konstantin Žiltsov finished second and Reinaldo Varela and Gustavo Gugelmin were third. Mirek Zapletal and Maciek Marton took fourth place overall and were third in the T.1.1 category. If neither crew uses the protest time and no changes are made, the results will be final.
Source: Offroadsport
