In six days the 33 participants contesting the Transsyberia Rally have completed around half of the 7,100 kilometre distance from Moscow to Ulan Batar. The sixth leg of this long distance rally started in Omsk and finished in Novosibirsk. Once again, the 25 Porsche Cayenne S Transsyberia vehicles, which were specially modified for the Transsyberia, ran without problems. Still holding the lead are ex-European rally champion Armin Schwarz (Austria) and Oliver Hilger (Germany).
Sitting just 1.89 seconds behind are the Polish team of Jarek Swiwka und Andrzej Bryl ranking second. “It’s a great feeling to drive in the front group against top professionals like Armin Schwarz, René Metge, Rod Millen and Said Al-Hajri,” enthused Swiwka. “The Cayenne is simply a fantastic car for this rally. And it’s unbelievably the stresses it faces here and easily withstands.”
Equally as enthusiastic is fourth-placed Rod Millen from America. “By now everything is running according to plan. We are about five minutes behind the leader in fourth. Once we get to Mongolia things really hot up. I’m looking forward to that. One small error there can cost a lot of time,” declared the multiple winner of the Pikes Peak “Race to the Clouds” in the USA.
Another competitor eager to enter the long rough stages is the multiple Middle East Rally Champion Said Al-Hajri, who competes with co-driver Tim Trenker: “The route is new for us all. Driving into the unknown is particularly exciting. But I have to say, the drive through Russia was a great experience. After around 3,500 kilometres I feel at one with my Cayenne. The car handles beautifully and is excellent to control even when the surface gets really tricky.”
René Metge won the Dakar marathon twice with Porsche and simply enjoys the journey through Russia and Mongolia. Metge, co-driven by Silvain Reisser, commented: “The long drive through these expansive landscapes here and in Siberia are familiar to me from other long distance rallies. Now the terrain gets tough. Of course I’m hoping my experience will help in finding the right route through the mountains of Mongolia.”
A good example of just how quickly competitors can slip down the results table was given by the Porsche team from Columbia. Christian Pfeil-Schneider and Klaus Vatter rank 30th with their Cayenne S Transsyberia. “We took a wrong turn during the first leg and got completely lost. The rest of the stages were quite challenging, but I’m amazed how easily the Cayenne handles the stresses of the extremely bad tracks. I can only recommend to those who aren’t here this time – come next year. Every car enthusiast should experience such an adventure once in life,” said an enthusiastic Pfeil-Schneider.
Porsche’s team boss, Jürgen Kern, also made a favourable balance: “So far the Cayennes have survived the tough tracks without any technical problems. Huge praise should go to my mechanics. They have accomplished the necessary maintenance work in a quick and straight-forward manner to the complete satisfaction of all competitors.”
Rally organizer Richard Schalber outlines the coming legs: “The stages will now become longer and harder. As compensation the landscape becomes even more picturesque than the long transit legs through Russia.”
The next stage over 846 kilometres runs from Novosibirsk continuing towards Kosh Agash. There, participants will sleep in tents for the first time. This will be the last overnight stay in Russia before crossing the border into Mongolia.
Overall standings after nach 6 of 15 stages:
1. Armin Schwarz/Oliver Hilger Porsche Cayenne S Transsyberia 1:08.52.92 hours
2. Jarek Swiwka/Andrzej Bryl Porsche Cayenne S Transsyberia 0:01,89 minutes behind
3. Carles Celma/Jörn Pugmeister Porsche Cayenne S Transsyberia 0:51,31 minutes behind
4. Rod Millen/Richard Kelsey Porsche Cayenne S Transsyberia 4:46,12 minutes behind
5. René Metge/Silvain Reisser Porsche Cayenne S Transsyberia 4:57,64 minutes behind
6. Biagio Capolupo/Angelo Lancelotti Porsche Cayenne S Transsyberia 5:32,97 minutes behind
7. Richard Meaden/Neil Hopkinson Porsche Cayenne S Transsyberia 6:09,42 minutes behind
8. Adel Abdulla/Norbert Lutteri Porsche Cayenne S Transsyberia 6:48,55 minutes behind
9. Pau Soer/Laia Peinado Porsche Cayenne S Transsyberia 6:56,35 minutes behind
10. Simon Garnham/Matt Garnham Toyota Landcruiser 7:13,52 minutes behind