Gazprom Neft’s G-Energy team wins Africa Eco Race 2017 marathon rally
Gazprom Neft’s G-Energy team (Vladimir Vasiliev and Konstantin Zhiltsov), driving an off-road mini and supported by Gazpromneft-Lubricants, have secured a landslide victory in the Africa Eco Race marathon rally, having been using a range of G-Energy Racing lubricants (specially developed for professional racing and the latest sports cars) in various off-road competitions over the past three years.
The Africa Eco Race 2017 — a trans-continental marathon running from Europe to Africa and covering more than 6,000 kilometres overall (including 3,800 kilometres of “special stages”) — passes through Morocco, Mauritania and Senegal to finish at the Pink Lake near Dakar. Having started in Monaco on 30 December 2016 the race finished in Senegal on 14 January 2017 with only 63 of the 87 teams at the start (on motorbikes, off-road vehicles and trucks) manging to overcome the almost overwhelming challenges presented by the impassable roads and desert sands of the Sahara.The G-Energy team held their lead from the very beginning, with drivers managing to avoid repairs and any subsequent loss of time throughout the most complex “special stages”, allowing the Russians to increase their lead over their rivals at every stage, helping them win by a significant margin.
Vladimir Vasiliev, lead driver, commented: “There weren’t really any bad moments in this race — on the contrary, quite a few good ones: a good track, and a colossal amount of fun — plus, of course, the fact that we won. But the most memorable moment — that would have to be the dunes. We’re very glad equipment didn’t let us down and G-Energy lubricants yet again delivered a flawless performance.”
Alexander Trukhan, CEO, Gazpromneft-Lubricants, commented: “Congratulations to the team on its victory, it was an outstanding and beautiful race! For us, as a producer of high-performance lubricants, this victory represents not just a sporting victory, but also a victory for technology, with our G-Energy lubricants yet again ensuring the trouble-free operation of a racing sports car engine.”