Surprise at tank race in Russia: Vietnam team tops group again on second day of competition

VN2 crew waved flags after completing the test on August 6. Photo: QĐND.

The second crew of the Vietnamese team (VN2) yesterday competed in the qualifying round of the 2019 Tank Biathlon with opponents from Cuba, Angola and Sudan at the Alabino training ground, on the outskirts of Moscow, Russia.

On the second day of competition, the VN2 crew moved at a fairly high speed, reaching a maximum speed of 70 km/h and overcoming obstacles smoothly. However, in the test of firing at 3 simulated tank targets from a distance of 1,700 m, the gunner only hit one target.

In the target shooting test simulating enemy helicopters and tank destroyers, the VN2 tank crew missed all shots. The VN2 team finished the test in 31 minutes and 12 seconds, a remarkable achievement compared to the finish time of 32 minutes and 17 seconds and a maximum speed of 66km/h of the VN1 crew a day earlier.

The second-placed team in yesterday's group was Angola 2 with a time of 41 minutes and 52 seconds. The first-placed team in the August 5th round, Cuba 2, was disqualified yesterday after the engines of their racing car and the spare car caught fire when the crew forgot to open the floodgates during the dry river crossing. Sudan 2 was also disqualified for the same reason.

VN3, the last crew of the Vietnamese team, will compete on August 8. According to the competition rules, the 12 teams with the shortest total time of the three crews will enter the semi-finals.

In the Tank Biathlon qualifying round, after the start, the tanks will overcome obstacles such as zigzag roads, shallow rivers, steep slopes, anti-tank trenches, minefields, flat bridges, rough obstacles, vertical walls, and inclined walls. During the process of overcoming obstacles, the tanks must get into position to shoot at targets simulating enemy tanks, helicopters, and infantry, then race on different terrains to reach the finish line.

Tank Biathlon rules emphasize the skill and precision of the crew. Mistakes such as knocking down markers result in penalty points, while each missed target forces the crew to run an extra penalty lap.

Tank Biathlon is one of the biggest and most important competitions at the 2019 Army Games hosted by Russia from August 3-17. This year's tank race has the participation of 24 countries, including many military powers such as host Russia, China, Belarus and Iran. Each country sends three crews to compete in events such as total time and relay races.

The Army Games is an annual international military sports event. The 2019 Army Games opened on August 3 at Patriot Park, Moscow, Russia, attracting more than 6,000 soldiers from 223 delegations from 39 countries around the world, but without the participation of Western armies.

This year's International Army Games were held at training grounds in 10 countries including Russia, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Belarus, India, Iran, Kazakhstan, China, Mongolia and Uzbekistan.

The Vietnam People's Army sent 8 teams to compete in 8 events within the framework of Army Games 2019 including tank racing, field kitchen, engineering vehicle crew, rescue unit, performing arts competition, chemical reconnaissance vehicle crew, medical relay and sniper.