KAMAZ-master Team

The KAMAZ-master team founded in 1988 celebrated its 35th anniversary. This is the only factory team in Russia that successfully represents the country in world motorsport. It is a multiple winner and nineteen-time winner of the Dakar super marathon, deservedly topping the world ranking of automobile teams. The team leader is 5-time winner of the Dakar Rally, International Master of Sports, Honored Master of Sports of Russia Eduard Nikolaev.

Today, the KAMAZ-master team of only KAMAZ racers includes 16 international-class masters of sports, 12 Honored Masters of Sports of Russia, 19 masters of sports. The uniqueness of the team is that it is the only one among the elite of international rallies that itself develops, designs, assembles racing trucks and competes in them. For this work, the organizational structure of KAMAZ-master includes the necessary functional units: design bureau, support bureau, marketing department, chief engineer service, accounting department and production workshop.

Since its founding, the team has been racing only domestic trucks popularizing Russian motorsport and promoting domestic technology at the global level. In total, 18 generations of KAMAZ sports trucks were created. The main principle of the team is that when designing and building a sports truck, components, units and assemblies are used from manufacturers who supply products to the conveyor of the parent enterprise. In turn, for KAMAZ, rallies are a kind of testing ground for technical innovations and design developments which then go into mass production. Thus, technologies for creating an off-road sports truck bring results not only on competition tracks, but are also widely used in the modernization of serial products of KAMAZ PTC. The team's main rivals at international competitions are IVECO, MAN, TATRA, RENAULT, GINAF, MAZ, etc.

The team has been participating in the Dakar Rally since 1990. In 1996, the team won this prestigious race for the first time. In addition, KAMAZ-master is a ten-time winner of the international Silk Way Rally and the undisputed leader of the Russian rally-raid championships. Almost the entire galaxy of KAMAZ drivers have been repeatedly awarded high government awards.

The team is a subsidiary of KAMAZ PTC and operates with the personal support of the company’s General Director Sergey Kogogin. In 2007, the team got its own multifunctional building: the KAMAZ-master sports center was built. It is here that people and equipment are prepared for competitions, new models of KAMAZ racing trucks are born, sports trucks and team support vehicles are assembled. Also in this place is the KAMAZ-master Museum and an exhibition of historical team vehicles.

The team does a lot of work to support children's and youth motorsport, patriotic education, and orienting young people to receive technical education. KAMAZ-master pilots are role models for the younger generation. In 2015, by decision of Rais of Tatarstan Rustam Minnikhanov, the Chelny karting track was transferred to KAMAZ PTC under the management of the KAMAZ-master team, and karting in Naberezhnye Chelny received a new impetus for development. Today, more than 120 children practice at the karting track. Most of the students are part of the training group, which defends the honor of the city at intercity competitions.

In 2022, the KAMAZ-master team, with funding from KAMAZ PTC, mastered the production of children's karts of the Micro 4T KAMAZ-master Junior class. A unique model with a 4 hp four-stroke engine produced by the KAMAZ-master team is designed for the youngest pilots from 6 to 8 years old. The main idea is to make an affordable, competitive, high-quality children's kart model and let as many children as possible try themselves in technical sports.