Russians Krotov, Kuzmich, Zhiltsov ready for Dakar 2023 with new licences

It’s no secret that Russian competitors in international championships have staggeringly decreased in number following their country’s invasion of Ukraine in February due to the FIA’s “emergency measures” stipulating they must condemn the war and agree to race without their nation’s emblems. While many refuse to sign the terms, a trio of Russians did and thus confirmed their entries in the 2023 Dakar Rally, though they will have different nationalities.

In the T1 class, Denis Krotov will race the #238 Mini Cooper for X-raid Team alongside co-driver Konstantin Zhiltosv. The latter confirmed the two’s Dakar entry in September, with Zhiltsov switching to an Israeli licence while Krotov will represent Kyrgyzstan.

A Moscow native, Krotov has raced at Dakar since 2019, finishing fifteenth in his début and twenty-eighth with Zhiltsov in 2022. After the invasion, the duo remained in Russia to take part in the Russian Rally-Raid Championship, winning the T1 category at the premier Silk Way Rally in July. Krotov was second in the standings to Vladimir Vasilyev prior to this weekend’s Serif Line race in Ulyanovsk, but opted for the FIA World Cup for Cross-Country Bajas’ season finale and competed in the Dubai International Baja.

“It is necessary to race, otherwise you lose your skills, and then you need to stop all this altogether,” Zhiltsov told Match TV in September after his switch. “A career in professional sports is rather fleeting, so some cardinal decisions must be made.”

Meanwhile, Alexey Kuzmich will be the navigator for Yasir Seaidan‘s #410 in the T4 category at Dakar. Like his fellow Russians, Kuzmich was in Dubai as co-driver to Middle East Bajas Cup runner-up Hamad Al-Harbi. Unlike Krotov and Zhiltsov, however, he elected to race with no stated nationality and used the FIA emblem.

Kuzmich first competed at Dakar in 2009 and won a stage three years later in a Truck driven by Artur Ardavichus. He and Seaidan ran as high as fourth in the 2022 edition before crashing out.

The topic has torn Russian racers, with opponents of the FIA rule like 2017 Dakar Quad winner Sergei Kariakin unable to take part in overseas FIA races; he even lobbied personally and fruitlessly to FIA President Mohammed ben Sulayem to overturn it. KAMAZ-master, nineteen-time Dakar Truck champion, also called off their 2023 Rally plans. Conversely, Formula One test driver Robert Shwartzman now uses an Israeli licence while Alexander Smolyar raced for the 2022 Formula 3 Championship under the FIA flag.

The FIM does not have this rule but is more restrictive than its four-wheel counterpart with a full ban on riders from Russia and ally Belarus. Consequently, no Russian riders are entered at Dakar.

Despite the switch, all of those mentioned remain Russian citizens and carry such passports.

Russians were already racing without their tricolour prior to the invasion as the state-run doping scandal forced them to compete as the Russian Automobile Federation. The RAF’s name is among those prohibited in the FIA’s post-invasion policy.

The 2023 Dakar Rally begins on 31 December 2022.

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