Dakar 2025: Third year without the Kamaz, the monsters of the Russian army that no one can surpass

On January 3, the Dakar Rally 2025, held in Saudi Arabia, will kick off. Competitors on motorcycles, cars, quads, light prototypes, SSVs, classics and trucks are already fighting to conquer the Arabian desert. More than 5,000 special kilometers make this Dakar one of the toughest in history. A demanding edition that once again suffers a significant absence.

Dakar 2025 route@dakar.com/

For the third consecutive year, Dakar loses its absolute king in the Truck class. The 2022 Dakar concluded with a major success for KAMAZ in the truck category, as the Russian manufacturer won a new victory among the desert elephants. Dmitry Sotnikov achieved his second consecutive ‘Touareg’ to bring KAMAZ’s Dakar wins to nineteen, eighteen of them since the 2000 edition. Nobody doubted that KAMAZ was a big favorite to win in the T5 category of the Dakar in 2023, It would have also been in 2024 and even in 2025. However, nothing could be further from the truth. The war between Ukraine and Russia has changed the world completely and has caused, among other things, KAMAZ to once again be eliminated in 2025 from the toughest rally-raid in the world.

In 2023, drivers and teams will be required to openly repudiate what happened between Russia and Ukraine by signing certain documents. As Kamaz refused, it did not participate in 2023 or 2024 and will not do so in 2025 either. Without the presence of the Russian team, the category has lost part of its competitive level and the extra motivation that came with facing a rival of its caliber.

«The participation of Russian athletes in the next edition of the Dakar is subject to the signing of the FIA ​​document denouncing the Russian special operation in Ukrainian territory. In our opinion, the content of the document is political in nature and violates the principles of equal conditions for athletes,” read the statement issued by KAMAZ.

«We consider that it is impossible to sign these types of documents and participate on equal terms in the test. Our choice is clear, we will always be with our homeland, especially when you are in a difficult situation,” the document added. Something normal if you take into account that it is the reference brand that supplies trucks to the Russian army. Kamaz is a well-known brand both in the field of rally raid and in the Russian military industry. Its trucks are used to transport troops, as armored vehicles and in various logistics and support functions on the battlefield. This relationship with the army is the main cause of the team’s stance towards sanctions, prioritizing its role within the national context over international competition.

IVECO, favorite again

Thus, the Russian military beasts once again leave one of the most impressive categories of the Dakar orphaned for the third time. A gap that IVECO aspires to fill again.

IVECO has dominated with an iron fist the last two years after Kamaz (Russian manufacturer) and MAZ (Belarusian firm) were banned from participating.. This year, it seems that the winner of the toughest rally in the world will once again be one of the participants that the Italian firm competes in, as it has the best technical level and the top favorites for the title run with it.

Now, within the list of IVECO competitors there are several teams and drivers but the main favorite for victory is the current champion, Martin Macik, who will ride alongside his traditional teammates Frantisek Tomasek and David Svanda.

What are these Russian beasts like?

Nineteen victories since 1996, the figure indicates the power of the team that receives support from the government of President Vladimir Putin. Considered by many to be some of the strongest trucks in the world, KAMAZs are not only desert champions or cargo haulers. They provide indispensable help to the Russian army and police. Watching them compete, overcome the highest dunes, jump up to 30 meters with more than 10 tons of weight and perform unimaginable maneuvers is quite a spectacle.

The legend of the Russian supertruck

The first KAMAZ appeared in 1976. It was the legendary KAMAZ-5320, which remained in production for almost 25 years. Soviet designers were in a hurry to meet the needs of the Soviet industry of the time. During its first year of existence, 21 trucks left the assembly line each day. The truck was also used to serve Soviet troops in East Germany.

The Kama automobile giant was built in record time. A significant part of the plant’s equipment was supplied from abroad. Thus, on February 16, 1976, the first Kamaz-5320 rolled off the assembly line. Its launch on the market coincided with the XXV Congress of the CPSU, and as a sign of the success of the implementation of the party’s plans, the first self-powered truck arrived in Moscow’s Red Square. At the wheel of the truck with factory number 0000001 was test driver Valery Peretolchin. The first-born Kamaz was for many years in Bashkortostan, then it was purchased, restored and is now a valuable museum specimen of the automobile giant.

The KAMAZ’s military career was key in Afghanistan, where it supplied the army with the majority of cargo transport vehicles. The models available at that time, Ural-375, ZIL-131, GAZ-66, were equipped with gasoline engines that not only had high fuel consumption, but also unstable operation in high mountains. In 1976, KAMAZ-5320 (6×4) trucks began to be manufactured in Naberezhnye Chelny, which were sent to the conflict zone almost immediately. One of the problems of this vehicle, as well as the rest of the vehicles, was its lack of power on high mountain surfaces and other complicated terrain. Manufacturers solved this problem with the creation in 1981 of the KAMAZ-4310 (6×6) all-terrain model.

From 1976 to 1978, the factory produced three basic models:

The Kamaz-5320 truck, with a capacity of 8 tons

Kamaz-5511 construction dump truck with a capacity of 10 tons

And the Kamaz-5410 truck tractor, with a total weight of 26 t.

Subsequently, the Kamaz-53212 (a 10-ton truck with a wheelbase increased to 3690 mm), the Kamaz-55102 (a 7-ton agricultural dump truck), as well as the Kamaz-54112 (a 33-ton semi-trailer for trucks) were developed. At the same time, the pace of production growth at Kamaz was at a record: already in June 1979 the truck rolled off the main assembly line. number 100,000, and by April 1980 150,000 heavy trucks had already been produced.

The KamAZ 4310 6×6 truck has a transport capacity of 6 tons, with transport versions, fuel or water tank, crane, cement mixer and semi-trailer tractor, among others. It has a 10.86-liter KamAZ 740 V8 diesel engine, capable of delivering a power of 220 hp at 2,600 rpm. It has a 5-speed gearbox and a 2-speed reduction gearbox. Currently some of the many vehicles acquired in 1994 from Russia and destined for the National Army are deployed in Peace Missions.

The beasts of the Russian Army

The stars of the Russian military forces are the KAMAZ-6350 and the KAMAZ-63968 Typhoon. According to the Russia Beyond website, The KAMAZ-6350 is one of the most successful KAMAZ trucks of all time. It works effectively in both extreme cold and intense heat, which is why it is very popular with Russian Arctic troops and the Royal Saudi armed forces. Modification 63501 of the truck, known as Oso, was designed to easily transport heavy artillery guns up to a total of 12 tons, including ammunition and crew.

The KAMAZ-63968 Typhoon is another military gem. The bitter experience of the Afghan and Chechen wars showed that transporting soldiers in normal trucks can cause many casualties, in case these vulnerable vehicles are ambushed. That is why KAMAZ designed the Typhoon armored vehicles, which are well protected against high-explosive devices and heavy machine guns.

He Development of the series of armored vehicles of the “Typhoon” family began in 2010, when the Ministry of Defenseapproved the “Development Program of the Russian Federation for military vehicles for the period 2010-2020.” In 2012, the first contract was signed between the Russian military and the Kamaz truck plant for the acquisition of Typhoon model armored vehicles.

The seats are equipped with supports for personal weapons, belts and headrests that restrict vehicle sway. These are tied to the roof of the vehicle to reduce the impact of the shock wave coming from an explosive mine/artificial devices/bombs. An FVUA-100A filter set and an air conditioning system are installed inside the module. There are emergency evacuation loopholes on the roof so that in case of overturning it can be exited. Disembarkation is done through a ramp at the rear of the hull or through a side door. A computerized digital management and control system and a closed circuit of cameras are incorporated into the vehicle.

Russian strength has dominated the category with an iron fist throughout the 21st century but now, for the second consecutive year, the Kamaz are waging another war.