After a decade with MAZ-SPORTauto in which he contested the Dakar Rally five times, Aliaksei Vishneuski has departed the team and his rally raid career as a whole seems to be on the backburner now. On Friday, the team announced he has parted ways and teased that he plans to focus on drifting instead.
“Aliaksei Vishneuski is leaving the MAZ-SPORTavto team today,” begins the team statement on Friday.
“Aliaksei has been a part of the team since 2015. In 2016, he made his debut as a pilot of the MAZ sports truck at the Zoloto Kagana race. Over nine years of work, he has taken part in more than 30 rally raids as part of the MAZ-SPORTauto team.
“Now, Aliaksei is a five-time participant of the international rally raid Dakar Rally, an eight-time participant of the international Silk Way Rally, a prize winner of the international rally raid Morocco Desert Challenge, and a multiple title winner of the Championship of the Republic of Belarus in rally raids.
“Aliaksei’s crew has competed on equal terms with the best crews in the world in the truck category for many years, representing the Minsk Automobile Plant and the Republic of Belarus in the international sports arena.
“All these years of working together have left many bright emotions and good memories in our hearts.
“We thank Aliaksei for his work and contribution to the development of the MAZ-SPORTauto sports team and wish him to achieve new goals.
“P.S. NEXT – DRIFT.”
A three-time Belarusian drift champion with consecutive titles from 2013 to 2015, Vishneuski joined MAZ in 2015. He first appeared at the Silk Way Rally in 2016 and was a mainstay in the Truck category over the next seven edition. His last SWR in July saw him finish sixth in class, mainly focusing on supporting team-mate and defending winner Siarhei Viazovich by offering parts from his truck in times of mechanical trouble.
He ran his first Dakar Rally in 2017, where he finished twenty-first. This was followed by a fourteenth and eleventh in the 2018 and 2019 editions, respectively, before breaking through in 2020 with an eighth. Vishneuski was MAZ’s best finisher in his fifth and latest Dakar in 2021 after Viazovich dropped out halfway. MAZ has been barred from entering the Dakar since 2022 due to sanctions.
His experience also includes racing the Morocco Desert Challenge, finishing third in 2019 while Viazovich won.