On February 6, Minsk /BelTA correspondent/. Severe frosts did not prevent the first stage of the Jaf Tea Rally Sprint Cup from taking place last weekend near Ushachi (Vitebsk region), as reported to BelTA by Danila Dolmatov, press secretary of the off-road competitions committee of the Belarusian Automobile Federation (BAF). Despite the thermometer in the Ushachi district of the Vitebsk region showing "minus 35", thirteen crews decided to challenge not only their rivals but also the weather. The rally sprint route ran in the vicinity of the settlements of Zamoshye and Ragutskie. The racers had to cover 8 special stages with a total length of 28.9 km. Despite the short distance, the race was rich in unexpected turns of events. After the first special stage, the crew of the reigning champion Sergey Vyazovich had to stop due to technical problems, and after the fifth special stage, the race leader Yuri Grishchenkov sharply reduced his pace due to a turbine failure – as a result, instead of an almost guaranteed victory, he took only fifth place. The fact that the situation in car racing can change at any moment was proven by the leaders of the B10 class. First, Andrey Tsygankov went off the track, and then Dmitry Yakimok followed suit. And yet, both crews had every chance to finish the race as winners. But this time, others climbed onto the podium. The absolute standings were won by the crew of Andrey Goloborodko and Tatyana Tsyrfa. Boris Lukomsky and Mikhail Milov finished second. The top three leaders were rounded off by the winner of the B11 class, the crew of Anatoly Shimakovsky and Alexey Krektun. The winner in the B10 class was Andrey Batechko, and this is also an unexpected result: Andrey last competed as a rally car driver several years ago. The second stage of the Jaf Tea Winter Cup is scheduled for February 25, and the participants hope it will take place in more pleasant weather.-0-

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