2023 Silk Way Rally Route Announced

The Organizers presented the route and dates of the 13th edition of the Silk Way Rally.
On November 15, 2022 the Project Organizers presented the route that they had prepared for the 2023 Silk Way Rally. The largest rally-raid competition in Eurasia will be held from 6 to 15 July 2023 in thirteen regions of the Russian Federation and will cross three time zones. The route is planned to include new areas for the Silk Way Rally: the Orenburg, Samara and Saratov regions, as well as Magnitogorsk in the Chelyabinsk region.

Oleg Matytsin, Minister of Sports of the Russian Federation, “The Silk Way Rally has been one of the largest international motorsport competitions and the flagship of the Russian rally-raids for many years. Today this event is one of the most ambitious and large-scale sports projects in Russia, as well as a unifying platform for economic and cultural interaction.

Continuing the traditions of the pioneers, this year the Silk Way Rally competitors will have to fight in unexplored territories again, discover the regions of the country, meet the local culture and nature, and reveal the potential in a new way. Year after year the Silk Way Rally Directorate creates the most exciting
and unusual routes, and 2023 will be no exception”.

The administrative checks and scrutineering will take place in Kazan on July 5 and 6. During the Ceremonial Start the competitors will drive through the Starting Podium on the Millennium Square. Then, through Tatarstan and Bashkiria, the field will reach Magnitogorsk located on the eastern slope of the Southern Urals. Due to the difficult terrain, these tracks will be an unusual experience for all crews. From the Urals drivers will go to discover the steppe and flat high-speed tracks of the Orenburg region, Samara and Saratov regions; and the final test will be the Archeda-Don Sands in the Volgograd region, as well as impassability
and fords of Tula and Lipetsk regions – the competitors know these places well and know how treacherous they can be. The Rally will finish in Moscow.

Viktor Sokolov, First Deputy Head of the International Project Silk Way Rally
“The rally duration is ten days, during which the competitors will have to overcome 5,230 kilometers. 2,350 kilometers will be competitive, most of the special stages will be held on mixed surfaces. The assistance route total distance will be 3,800 kilometers.

In April the reconnaissance team will go on the second expedition for the final check of the upcoming rally route. Our goal is to make each leg not only surprising for the most experienced drivers, but also comfortable for the smooth work of all assistance technical support teams, journalists, rally organizers, and, of course, our devoted fans of rally-raids”.

The Silk Way Rally is not only an international sports event for professional crews. The Organizers adhere to the development of automobile and motorcycle sports in Russia, so they continue to support initiatives aimed at involving both amateurs and nonprofessionals in the rally-raids. A special amateur category, where they are trained in the rally-raids basics, will be held for the second year in a row.

Vladimir Chagin, Head of the International Project Silk Way Rally, “It’s nice to see that every year rally-raids attract more and more enthusiasts and fans of motorsport in terms of nonprofessional crews – in 2023 the Grand Tour category will be held again as part of the Silk Way Rally.

It has been introduced in 2022 for people who would like to get their first experience in order to begin preparing for future starts as a professional driver or just go on an unusual journey, see our country in a new way and plunge into the atmosphere of rally-raids. We received a lot of rapturous feedback from this
category competitors and therefore we will continue to develop this direction. The new chapter of the Silk Way Rally is just beginning and we will open it together.”

The organizers will announce the entry fees for the scoring categories and assistance teams later – in midDecember. Competitors will be allowed to participate in the rally in all types of vehicles: motorcycles, quads, SSVs, cars and trucks.

RALLY PROGRAM:
February 15 – Entries open
June 01 – Entries close
July 5 and 6 – Administrative checks and scrutineering (Kazan, Tatarstan)
July 6 – Ceremonial Start in Kazan
July 6–15 – Nine legs on the territory of Russia
July 15 – Ceremonial Finish in Moscow