Driver Nikolaev undertakes a monster jump in deep snow

In a bid to keep ahead of the competition, they poured all their energy at Kamaz’s secret laboratories to perfect the 10-ton, 1,000-horsepower racing “Terminator”-truck.

For this one-off stunt in Arctic conditions, Nikolaev accelerated his 16-litre diesel monster to a speed of around 140km/h.

Once the former mechanic got his charge up to speed, he took off from a snow jump and flew through the air for over 30 metres pulling 12G.

Thankfully for the team the tyres gripped the snowy slush well, the suspension withstood the blows and, on landing, the truck carried on at maximum speed to show that they are the Kings of the Northern Desert.

Nikolaev explained: “To test the truck we went to Kirovsk, in the Murmansk region, to one of the snowiest regions in Russia. There, right through to the late spring, there’s a lot of deep snow.

“For our KAMAZ-4326, these conditions are very similar to driving on the sands of South America or Africa, and for the team this is great training in the skills of driving on the coming ‘silk’ dunes.”