OREANDA-NEWS. June 30, 2008.  The tragedy which happened at the rally Transoriental with the participation of Vladimir Chaguin’s crew made the KAMAZ-master team withdraw from the race.

Although the Board of Sports Commissioners didn’t ascertain Vladimir Chaguin’s guilt in the tragic incident the participant of which he had become in a contingency, the leading racer of the team decided to abandon the competition at the very moment when he actually pretended to the victory.

To his mind, the victory against a background of the tragedy is incompatible with sports ethics. The rest crews of the team also didn’t think it possible to further participate in the race, thereby expressing support of their leading racer’s opinion.

On 22 June the racers came home.

And on 24 June Semyon Yakubov, the leader of the team, met journalists at the press conference.

“Before making a declaration that our company withdrew from the race I had high words with the organizers of the contests who tried to convince me to leave a part of the team to continue competing, – told Semyon Yakubov. – I had to tell my mind more insistently and argue well. Our team’s principle is sports victory shouldn’t go to us at the cost of human life.

According to Semyon Yakubov, even if the crews of Firdaus Kabirov and Ilghizar Mardeyev had stayed in the race, it wouldn’t have relaxed that tension which emerged in the team and among competitors of the rally in whole after these two tragic episodes.

“We all felt as well as Volodya Chaguin did. The team wasn’t guilty, and Chaguin wasn’t to blame either. And it was right to make a decision all together. Because it’s important for the team that we do not lose authority, save faces and show our attitude to things of this nature”.

Semyon Yakubov emphasized that the organizers of such races repeatedly put questions concerning safety. But, as regrettable statistics show, they are not always taken into consideration. However, the conclusion of the team is that in the future it is ready to lose in tempo and speed for the sake of safety.

The statement of the team about their withdrawal from the contests was received by other participants of the rally Transoriental with understanding. “We felt that all participants of the contests supported us and the organizers of the rally were grateful to us for our decision which enabled them to relieve the racers’ stress. Everybody expressed their approval, support and sympathy for us. And they were sorry that we wouldn’t participate in subsequent contests which lost its spice after the withdrawal of the team”, – said Semyon Yakubov.

Answering the question how Vladimir Chaguin felt and if he needed psychological help, the leader of the team said that, to his mind, it would be better for Vladimir to stay with his partners and work more. That’s why the leading racer of the team won’t take a vacation this year, said Semyon Yakubov.

Information about the withdrawal of the team from the competition was received by the managers of the company and sponsors with understanding. The Russian Automobile Federation also sent its letter in support of this decision, many fans expressed their support as well.

In his turn, Semyon Yakubov presented his condolences to the relatives of the French racer Philip Tonin. In particular, the letter reads as follows: “Philip Tonin was a really strong and brave man if he participated in the rally marathon where there are a lot of risky situations at times. The KAMAZ-master team took the tragedy keenly and withdrew from the rally Transoriental. We deprecate when excellent performances in sport cost human life…”