In 2025 MAZ-SPORTauto celebrates its 15th anniversary. During this time the team participated in 54 international and national races, in 34 of them became a prize-winner or winner. In 2023 they won all the races in which they participated. And finally they won the main start for them — the Silk Road Rally-Raid. This race is considered one of the most prestigious in the world racing motorsport. In 2024 the Belarusians became the third on the «Silk Way». MAZ-SPORTauto is a symbol of the enterprise, an important page of its rich history. This team is a part of the sports history of the country. But first of all MAZ-SPORTauto is people who can do a lot. Together with the head of the team Sergei Vyazovich we will tell in five words about this amazing team. 

Cars

People and cars in MAZ-SPORTauto are one and the same. «I love my car very much. I can sometimes talk to it. Before the race I apologize in advance for possible damage. If she stands the race well, I can give her a hug to thank her, pet her. And every scratch, dent on the car is like a blow for me personally,» admits Sergei Vyazovich. But seriously, racing trucks are literally the work of the drivers themselves. A sports car requires continuous thorough modernization. It’s a never-ending process. And since nobody knows the cars better than the crew members, they do everything themselves. Of course, with the help of the home factory. 

Good luck from the President

An interesting fact, which confirms that in MAZ-SPORTauto people and cars are one and the same. Now Belarusian designers and Bellegprom concern are working on new equipment for the team. The team boss told about the features of the collection: «It will be red in color. In principle, we adhere to the formula „red top — black bottom“ in our clothes — just like our car. Nothing will change in the new uniform collection compared to the previous collections of our outfit. The only difference is that before we had imported materials, and now we have completely Belarusian production.» 

Patriotism

The MAZ-SPORTauto Team are athletes, but first of all they are employees of the Minsk Automobile Plant. Their working schedule is the same as that of the whole enterprise — from 8 a. m. to 4.30 p. m. They are an important part of the life of the industrial giant. Meanwhile, many people are still interested in the question «What is in MAZ trucks from MAZ?». Sergei Vyazovich answers that except for the engine and shock absorber, these huge machines use serial parts, which are produced on the conveyor belt of Minsk Automobile Plant. Many of them have significant modifications, as they have unusual conditions of car operation. The President also drew attention to this. «They crumble, break this car. It withstands terrible overloads, and there we see all the shortcomings. And I told Vyazovich that he should work with MAZ designers, management, workshop managers to improve this car. We need it — quality,» said Aleksandr Lukashenko while communicating with MAZ employees. 

«We can take a serial part, implement it in our car, test it in different conditions, exceed its power reserves by several times, and give a conclusion on how durable it is,» said Sergei Vyazovich. «The situation in the world has helped us to realize the fact that it is better to trust our own. And we strive to ensure that our car is made entirely of Belarusian-made parts.»  

Power

Motorsport is the sport of strong people. Literally and figuratively. The body must be prepared to the maximum. «First of all, you need a strong vestibular apparatus. Even for me, after so many years, it can be difficult in certain terrain. There should not be any problems with the spine, with pressure, because we carry simply prohibitive loads. There were times when my heart rate was 180 beats per minute for the whole race. If something happens to a wheel during the race, it takes 4.5 to 6 minutes from the moment of stopping to replace it. The wheel weighs 180 kilograms. Three people have to remove it, load it into the back of the truck, get another wheel and screw it on. When the truck gets stuck in the dunes, you have to dig it out and get it out. You have to be physically prepared for that. At the Dakar in Bolivia, the altitude was up to 6,000 above sea level. And we had no time for acclimatization and adaptation. Altitude changes, temperature fluctuations — this is something we have not paid attention to for a long time. Fatigue, pain, shock load, compression load on the neck and spine, load on the vestibular apparatus — all this affects the race. We have training like astronauts,» says Sergei Vyazovich. 

Deserts and dunes do not forgive weaknesses. In these places as nowhere better manifest weak characters. And they are weeded out at once. That is why all people in MAZ-SPORTauto are strong in spirit. «In the team nobody begs anybody, nobody runs after anybody. Everyone understands what difficulties can be faced at the race and realizes the price of a mistake. And this is the main feature of our team», — says Sergei Vyazovich.

Devotion 

Yes, pilots and crew members are in the spotlight in motorsport. But behind them there is a wall of people who every day with their responsible and quality work lead the crew to victories, which are admired by the world. Without their professionalism and dedication, perhaps, there would be no beautiful MAZ-SPORTauto races. 

«It is unreal for us to recruit people with such experience, because our team is the only one in the country and there are simply no more such specialists in Belarus. That’s why we are very glad to those who come to us with burning eyes, who are ready to learn and work with us,» says the head of the team. He calls his colleagues hard workers with the highest level of dedication. And he gives an example that confirms it very loudly. One of the crews on the Silk Road had a gas burst under the cylinder head. To fix the problem, they had to lift the block head on the motor, replace the gasket, and put it back on. In a conventional truck, in order to do this you have to remove the cab, because the motor is under the cab in the center of the vehicle. And to remove the cab you have to disconnect all the electrics, all the pneumatics, everything there is to remove, disassemble the motor, replace the gasket, reassemble the motor, adjust everything, put back the cab and connect everything back. In a factory workshop such work would take a week. But the guys of MAZ-SPORTauto did everything overnight, in the desert. «What is that if not heroism? And I am very proud to be a part of such a team, proud to be a part of Minsk Automobile Plant», admits Sergei Vyazovich.

Future

Now MAZ-SPORTauto employs 30 people, 9 of them are crew members. For comparison, the KAMAZ-master team has 15 people in crews and 300 in the team. By the way, the only ones seriously feared by KAMAZ-master drivers are Belarusians. It is enough to compare the figures to realize what heroism the men from the Minsk Automobile Plant show at every race. «Undoubtedly, we need to expand, because the amount of work that the team members do exceeds the resource of human capabilities. It’s very important to me, as a crew chief, that they don’t burn out. We don’t need more sports crews. We are woefully short of specialists who will prepare crews for the race. Time demands that we expand, otherwise there will be a decline in the set bar», — shares Sergei Vyazovich. But even in such difficult conditions, the team has a future, there is a reserve. For example, Pavel Murylev is a very promising pilot, who is now actively preparing to reach a high professional level. It is not a quick job, but it is worth it. 

If we talk about the nearest plans, then very soon MAZ-SPORTauto will go to its first start in the new season. The main race of the season, of course, is the «Silk Way». «A lot of tasks have been set, which will have to be solved and strategized. I would like to win everything», Sergei Vyazovich shares his plans for the future with cautious optimism.

Valeria Stetsko

Photo of MAZ-SPORTauto Team