Kazakhstan came under the spotlight last week after the FIA Cross-Country Rally World Cup’s fifth stage brought together some of the world’s best long distance off-road racing enthusiasts, whose route passed through the country’s picturesque Mangystau region lying along the eastern shore of the Caspian Sea.
The 2,500 kilometer-long route started in the coastal city of Aktau and passed through regions along Kazakhstan’s northern border with Russia. More than 50 drivers took part in the six-day rally, which wrapped up Saturday, including those from Belgium, France, Russia, Ukraine, Lithuania, the Czech Republic and Slovenia.
Qatari racer Nasser Al-Attiyah was crowned champion, as he finished the six-stage race in 19 hours and twenty seconds. Al-Attiyah left behind Jakub Przygonski from Poland, who clocked in at 19 hours, eight minutes and three seconds, and Aron Domzala, also from Poland (19:26:37).
“It was a really enjoyable and fantastic rally, and I am sure many more drivers will come [to Kazakhstan] in the future,” Al-Attiyah, age 46, told Kazinform.
Located in the western part of what is Central Asia’s largest country, Mangystau holds more than 11,000 historical, state-protected monuments and archaeological finds. Although the region is considered to be harsh, it is surprisingly diverse given its yellow desert sand dunes, turquoise waves along the Caspian shoreline, as well as deep canyons, pointed chalk rocks and vast steppes.
In the first millennium BC, Mangystau was a part of the Great Silk Road, which stretched from China to Europe and the Middle East. While the area had been of great interest to merchants and travelers that camped at its caravanserais, or roadside inns, as a result of migration forces in the first millennium AD and the medieval Mongol invasion, this part of the Great Silk Road was finally erased.
Federation Internationale de l'Automobile, or “FIA,” races are held annually, and can cover territories in multiple countries. The next and sixth stage of the rally will be held in Italy, from June 15-18.
Meanwhile, Kazakhstan will again bring together off-road racing fans as the country hosts part of the Silk Way Rally 2017, which will start in Moscow’s Red Square on July 7 and finish in China’s Xi’an city in central China, on July 22. The more than 9,600 kilometer race will cross through Kazakhstan’s capital, Astana, on July 11, and cover nearly 2,800 kilometers of Kazakhstani territories.
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