At
the wheel of the Polo was JariMatti Latvala: just like his car, a
three-time Rally Finland winner.
Close behind him in the Kamaz was Russia’s
Ayrat Mardeev, who won the Dakar truck category in 2015 and claimed a podium finish
on two further occasions. He also took a truck
win in the Silk Way Rally from Moscow to
China last month.
So a 10,200kg truck versus a one-tonne
car, with a 16.2-litre diesel engine doing battle with a 1.6-litre turbo petrol.
Photo Jaanus Ree - Red Bull Content Pool
“When you accelerate in the car, the power goes down so quickly that it takes some
time for the truck to catch up,” Latvala pointed
out. “But the funny thing is that under braking,
when the truck is coming a bit closer, you really feel like you want to run away. You don’t
want it to touch you… I was surprised how far
the truck jumps, it’s really quite something; I
got goose bumps.”