The KAMAZ-Master team started off-road racing in 1988 with the 10 000 km, Paris-Dakar rally. To their credit, the Russian truck racing team has never missed a race even when financial setbacks and political changes burdened Russia and could have shut down the team.
Since 2000, KAMAZ-Master has been winning either first or second place in the desert endurance rally.
KAMAZ even won all three categories in the racing division of trucks weighing over 3,500 kg.
Anyone who says Russian products are shoddy should just look at their magnificent brands like Ural Motorcycles (this motorcycle is exclusively distritbuted by Ropali Classics in the Philippines), all of their watch brands like Raketa, Poljot, and Vostok, as well as our current example, KAMAZ trucks.
KAMAZ Team: Smart Ideas and Practical DesignKAMAZ trucks are still the same heavy military transport designs from the mid-70s that have achieved far more success than the hight-tech, western heavy truck brands in the Dakar rally. Which proves that the best brand you can count on if you want a heavy-duty vehicle that performs better than expected under the most rigorous road conditions may be Russian.
First generation KAMAZ heavy cargo truck from 1976-2000 shownhere carrying stuff in Afghanistan.
Image Credit: KAMAZ press photo
The Paris-Dakar endurance rally experience has allowed the KAMAZ design team to try out new truck components in the most stressful off-road conditions. Most of the great ideas for upgrading the truck's make, engine and suspension were made by KAMAZ-Master racing team which has a workshop with 100 technical and engineering pros calibrating the truck to perform better. All the new technology developed via testing in the Dakar race are then implemented in building KAMAZ's series-produced commercial cargo trucks.
On their website, KAMAZ has a configurator option for custom makes so you can choose the kind of heavy cargo truck (4x4, 6x5--wheel types, and cab configurations) or any-purpose truck you want to purchase from them.
If relations with long-time ally, America, get sour, and President Duterte chooses to get our country's needs with a better ally, like Russia, KAMAZ trucks may be one of the world's finest brands for the country to invest in. Both as military truck choice and as worktool for local truck cargo businesses.
