Shibalov, a true contender

The secret for success in the Kamaz clan is found in its extraordinary heritage. Each newcomer behind the wheel of one of the blue trucks is a potential Dakar winner. As so many prodigies before him, Anton Shibalov was raised in Tatarstan, home of the prestigious Kamaz brand. He learned from the best including the master himself, seven-time Dakar champion, Vladimir Chagin. Since then the 36-year-old managed to finish four out of the five rallies he started. Since his first appearance in 2014 (5th), Shibalov has become a key figure of the squad. Saudi Arabia seems to suit him perfectly. It was there that he conquered his first special victory in 2020, there as well that he finished the last two editions in second position. Alongside his two usual partners, Dmitrii Nikitin and Ivan Tatarinov, the Russian will be competing in the same 43509 Kamaz model that he had last year and that he took to third place on this year’s Silk Way Rally, while his team mates Nikolaev and Sotnikov will be on the new K5 machine.

Anton Shibalov: “Second year in a row we finished the Dakar on the second position. As any sportsman, we want to win, but I am happy that on the first place appeared Dmitry Sotnikov. It was great that Airat Mardeev was in top 3. The two weeks of the marathon turned out very tough. But all of us did a great job and in the end arrived at this excellent result!”