Present-day racing is hardly possible without polymer materials used for making car parts and spares, as well as racing gear. Racers’ safety is secured with carbon fiber helmets; seats with an EPS base that absorb the impact of vibrations and shocks; gloves and overalls made of Nomex, a very durable and transpirable material with excellent thermostability. Polymer and composite car parts ensure maximum reliability along with lightness, so the total weight of a racing Kamaz truck is 300–350 kg lower than that of a standard one.

The Silk Way Rally is a major competition among global rally raids. This year, it featured a transcontinental marathon across Russia, Kazakhstan and China. The rally started from Moscow's Red Square on 7 July and finished in Xi’an, China, on 22 July. SIBUR acted as the rally’s technical partner for innovative materials.

The Company sponsored a special nomination “For impressive vehicle reliability and excellent skills demonstrated in extreme conditions” to honour the best crew's driving excellence and the best vehicle integrity ensuring the crew safety at most challenging sections of the route. The jury and SIBUR representatives decided to grant the award to the Chinese Geely SMG buggy crew led by a renowned racer Han Wei.

The Silk Way Rally is a major competition among global rally raids.

In September, the racer visited Moscow to take part in the award ceremony and Tobolsk, home to Russia's largest polymer production facilities and a new ZapSibNeftekhim construction project. “I am happy to have won SIBUR’s Innovative Car award. My car and racing gear and equipment have certainly played an important role in my team’s victory. I cannot imagine auto racing without innovative and ultra-strong polymers, which enable us to race in the most comfortable way,” said Han Wei at his meeting with SIBUR’s representatives.

Han Wei, leader of Chinese Geely SMG buggy crew.

“Today, vehicle manufacturing, including racing cars, would be impossible without polymer materials. Advanced engineering solutions boost reliability and safety, drive comfort improvements, and open up multiple opportunities for new designs. However, the greatest advantages of polymer materials lie in their positive environmental effect: they make vehicles lighter, thus improving fuel efficiency, and are reusable,” said Alexey Kozlov, SIBUR’s Management Board member and Executive Director.

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