Over 60 pilots had four spectacular races at Sochi Autodrom.
The start of the new season of the championship and the Cup of Russia, as well as the RAF Cup in automobile circuit racing, united in the G-Drive Russian series of circuit racing, gathered 61 participants in 5 different classes. The return of legendary pilots and the emergence of talented debutants, the confrontation between new and proven models, changeable weather — the first day turned out to be eventful. />
In the most professional class SMP TCR Russia(Touring) the main sensation was the return of Alexey Dudukalo after a two-year pause — moreover, driving a new Hyundai Elantra sedan. Two more novelties, Cupra Leon and Audi RS3 LMS of the current generation, were brought to the start by teammates Dmitry Bragin and Pavel Kalmanovich.
However, the winning combination was another. The most productive driver of the stage was Vladimir Atoev, a debutant of the class, who performed on a proven Hyundai i30. He scored maximum points for qualifying and finished twice on the podium — first in third place, and then in second. As a result — an impressive 49 points.
Pavel Kalmanovich revealed the potential of the new Audi RS3 only in the second race — starting from the first row, he led the entire distance and added victory to fifth place in the Saturday race, earning a total of 40 points .
Ivan Chubarov, who first sat down at steering wheel LADA Vesta category TCR — thanks to the finishes in 2nd and 4th places and good qualifications.
В Super-production newcomers also managed to impose a struggle on the old-timers of the class. The first lines of the protocol after the stage are occupied by experienced Mikhail Mityaev in LADA Vesta (54 points) and Nikolai Vikhansky in Honda Civic (49 points), who scored the victory and prizes. But the former karting driver Maxim Turiyev, who got behind the wheel of a LADA Vesta for the first time, was on the third place: he earned 35 points for the stage thanks to his stability and bronze in one of the races.
The Touring Lightclass is enjoying a renaissance with 16 drivers at the start of the season! Moreover, the fight here attracts not only due to the appearance of debutants who challenged the titled pilots, but also because of technical innovations. : Audi A1 brought him to the «gold» and «silver» and allowed him to score a total of 54 points.
Mikhail Simonov scored exactly the same amount on the proven Volkswagen Polo thanks to the victory and third place in the races, and also points for the second result in qualifying.
Artem Fridman in the Audi A1 is the third most successful driver in this class: the best time in qualifying and the “silver” in Sunday's race hint at big plans for the season .
In S1600Artem Antonov on Kia Rio X became the best in qualifying, won the race on Saturday and was second on Sunday. The clear favorite of this standings starts the season with 61 points in luggage!
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Vasily Korablev recorded on his score a win in one race and third place in another, earning 45 points in the end.
This time Mikhail Dralin defended the honor of the LADA brand on his own, driving the Granta hatchback, and was able not only to qualify second, but also to hold this position in the Saturday race. Plus the fifth position at the finish line on Sunday — and, as a result, 41 points. SMP GT4 Russia supercar class pilotsran three races. The struggle was serious — after the clashes, the judges issued a number of punishments, but not all participants agreed with them: the Court of Appeal is ahead. So far, the most successful drivers are Mercedes-AMG GT4: Rinat Salikhov has two victories and a silver medal, which brought him 83 points. The second in the table is Danila Ivanov: a triumph in qualifying and a victory in the first race, plus a fourth place in the final, even with the retirement in one more race, allowed him to score 54 points. Denis Remenyakov didn't perform as brightly this time, having climbed the podium only once during the weekend, but finished in the top 5 in other races and earned 49 points.
All race cars, regardless of class, were refueled with G-Drive high-tech fuel from the Gazpromneft filling station network, which is used not only by ordinary motorists, but also by professional pilots. In order for gasoline to help racers improve performance, it is regularly tested under extreme conditions. G-Drive has already been tested by the Russian Circuit Racing Series, Silk Way Rally Raid, Drift and Endurance. jpg» />
Fans again became participants of the real Festival of Speed. They were waiting for entertaining activities of the teams, excursions to the pit lane and to the pits of the teams. The next round of the G-Drive Russian Circuit Racing Series will be held at the Smolenskoye Koltso circuit on May 20 and 21. You can find out more and buy a ticket on the website of the Festival of Speed SMP RSKG.
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