The 2024 edition of the Silk Way Rally marks the event’s 14th installment, with its route announced at the end of last year. The race is scheduled to take place from July 5 to 15, similar to 2023 (which ran from July 6 – 15). The rally will span across Russia, Mongolia, and China, starting in Tomsk, a city in southeastern Siberia, Russia, and concluding in Khorgos, Xinjiang, China. The total distance of the race is approximately 5,500 kilometers, with around 2,500 kilometers of special stages.
This year, the competition features several categories, including motorcycles, Quads, SSV all-terrain vehicles, cars, and trucks.
Established in 2009, the Silk Way Rally enters its 15th year in 2024. In 2016, it first included Chinese stages (Moscow to Beijing), followed by three consecutive years where China played a significant role: Moscow to Xi’an in 2017, Astrakhan, Russia to Alxa Left Banner, China in 2018, and Irkutsk, Russia to Dunhuang, China in 2019. In 2019, the motorcycle category of the Silk Way Rally became a part of the then FIM Cross-Country Rallies World Championship (now RallyGP or W2RC), with British rider Sam Sunderland winning the inaugural championship.
The 2020 event was canceled due to the pandemic. The subsequent 2021, 2022, and 2023 rallies were primarily held in Russia. However, the 2024 race returns to China.
Below are images from the 2019 Silk Way Rally motorcycle category (archive photos).