On 14 September the award ceremony for prize winners of “Amul-Khazar” car rally was held in Avaza with15 Turkmen crews competing. Two of them ranked third in their categories.
The state information agency TDH reports that the stage for the award ceremony was decorated in the style of a racing car.
“A big central circle depicts a wheel with the inscription “Turkmenistan” outlining a racing car with the number 100 and the image of Central Asian Shepherd Vepaly on board.
It is the vehicle that the head of the state drove to open the racing event.
Other vehicles of Turkmenistan’s racing team are featured above the inscription and on both sides of the steering wheel in smaller circles in the shape of a wheel”.
According to the news outlet, before the award ceremony the President was awarded with the certificate to list the Akhal teke horse called Akhan in the Guinness World Records.
Then President Gurbanguly Berdymukhammedov and Director General of Africa Eco Race rally Jean-Louis Schlesser presented the car rally winners with prizes a set of commemorative coins “2018 Amul-Khazar” and gift sets of Turkmen national dress sheepskin coats “ichmeks” and sheepskin hats.
Gold was won by Spanish car racers Nani Roma and Alex Haro, “MAZ” Belarus team made of a pilot Sergei Vyazovich and co-pilot Pavel Garanin and engineer Andrey Zhigulin, Kazakhstan crew of NISSAN Kirill Chernenkov and Alexey Mun, French crews of Thierry Pitavi and Gillies Colombes, Ivan Pierre and Veronica Dart.
Miroslav Zapletal and Marek Sikory from Czech Republic, Russian KAMAZ team of Ayrat Mardeyev, Dmitry Svistunov and Ahmet Gilyautdinov, French racers Hervé Diers et Alain Brousse Herve Dirs and Alan Bruce Kazakhstan’s team of Marat and Nursultan Abikayevs, British pilot Harry Hunt with his co-pilot Wouter Rosegaar are silver winners of the race.
According to TDH, “the crew under number 100, which started the race with the head of the state as a pilot, won the bronze prize”.
The team is made up of pilot Hojaguly Annamammedov, a driver of the motor transport enterprise under the Office of the President of Turkmenistan, an athlete of the Motorsport club of Turkmenistan’s Interior Ministry and navigator Gaigysyz Akmyradov, an officer of Motor vehicle administration of the Defense Ministry.
The crew with number 104 also won the third place.The team includes pilot Guvanch Hommadov, an athlete of the Motorsport Centre of Turkmenistan’s Interior Ministry and navigator Rejepniyaz Annaberdiyev.
Among bronze prize winners are KAMAZ representatives Dmitry Sotnikov, Ruslan Ahmadeyev and Ilgiz Ahmetzyanov, French racers Jean Claude Rufie Jerome Bosch, Dutch Gert Jan van der Valk and Branco Da Langa.
After the award ceremony Jean-Louis Schlesser addressed Berdymukhammedov and “expressed gratitude for extensive support in organizing and hosting the rally and referred to the President as “a true winner of the sports event”.
The ceremony was followed by the festive concert with the participation of Turkish singer Hadisa Achikgyoz, the singer of the song “Karakum” Igor Sarukhanov, also performed by the President, Anjelika Sultanova, Alabina band from France and Morandi from Romania.
TDH reported that “the audience cordially welcomed the song entitled “Sports in Turkmenistan” the lyrics to which are authored by Gurbanguly Berdymukhammedov and music is written by his grandson Kerimguly, who performed it together with “Gunesh” band.
In conclusion, the song “Go ahead, our home country Turkmenistan!” authored by the President was performed at the concert.The head of the stage was not singing on stage this time.
The festivities ended with big fireworks.