Team Peugeot-Total make a flying start to Silk Way
© Florent Gooden/DPPI/Red Bull Content Pool
Rally Raid

Feel the rush as Silk Way gets started in Russia

Watch the marathon 15-stage rally embark on its gruelling 10,000km route between Moscow and Beijing.
By Tim Sturtridge
2 min readPublished on

2 min

See the Silk Way set off from Russia

Watch the 15 stage marathon rally-raid depart from Moscow and head out on the long road to Beijing.

From the ceremonial start in Russia’s Red Square and along wet and wild tracks crossing into Kazakhstan – one race has been giving us our rally-raid fix this week. The Silk Way Rally is back and it’s bigger than ever. Incorporating over 10,000km of testing terrain from Moscow to Beijing via Almaty the invitation to push the limit has been taken up by Team Peugeot-Total and Team Kamaz Master. Watch the clip above to see these two heavyweights of cross-country racing setting off on this year’s Silk Way.
The Peugeot camp have plenty of reasons to be cheerful following the opening stages of the marathon contest. Every stage so far has been won by either Stéphane Peterhansel or Cyril Despres. The third Peugeot 2008 DKR of Sébastien Loeb has also been in close contact with the leaders throughout the early sparring. The Silk Way marks Team Peugeot-Total's return to competitive racing following their Dakar win earlier this year and more success is clearly the target within the team.
Over in the truck race former Dakar winner Eduard Nikolaev has Kamaz leading from the front as he hits the trails in the new look Kapotnik machine. The Russian team were given a rapturous reception in Moscow before repaying their fans with stunning speed on each of the stages so far.

1 min

Team Peugeot-Total ready for the Silk Way

Join Stephane Peterhansel, Sebastien Loeb and Cyril Despres as they head out on the Silk Way.

Team Peugeot-Total make a flying start to Silk Way

Team Peugeot-Total make a flying start to Silk Way

© Florent Gooden/DPPI/Red Bull Content Pool

Following Friday’s rest day in Almaty the Silk Way crosses into China and heads towards the Gobi Desert. With the course taking competitors over some of the highest sand dunes on the planet expect the drama to intensify over the next week.
Get more news and features from the Silk Way on our dedicated event page.

Part of this story

Stéphane Peterhansel

French driver Stéphane Peterhansel is a legend of the Dakar Rally, having won a record 14 titles – six on motorcycles and eight in a car.

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Cyril Despres

A five-time winner of the Dakar Rally on a motorbike, France's Cyril Despres switched to the car category in 2015 and has his sights set on more success.

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Sébastien Loeb

French driver Sébastien Loeb's domination of the rally-driving world has earned him the nickname of Le Patron, or 'The Boss'.

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