TYUMEN, January 10th, 2004 (RIA Novosti correspondent Alexander Perestoronin) - The Kamaz truck piloted by Firdaus Kabirov, of the Russian Kamaz-Master team, has won the ninth stage of the Telefonica Dakar rally, with his final time at 12h 1 min 38, team mates report.
Vladimir Tchaguine's KAMAZ finished second, 4min06 behind. The Dutchman De Rooy's DAF clocked the third time of the day.
In the truck overall, Tchaguine leads with 35h 57 min 20. Brazil's Andre Azevedo (Tatra) is second, 58 min 41 behind. And De Rooy, of the Netherlands, is third, 1h 55 min 57 behind.
A total forty-three trucks competed in the Telefonica Dakar Rally's 739-kilometre ninth stage. The next stage will be 910 kilometres long.
The 26th Paris-Dakar Rally kicked off in France on January 1. Its participants will have to cover 11,000 kilometres across Spain, Morocco, Mauritania, Mali, Burkina Faso, and Senegal before they finish in Dakar on January 18.
