Circuit racing - a general name for several types of car racing, held on special paved tracks. The main feature of such competitions is that the track has a closed shape (ring).
Circuit auto racing is very popular and spectacular. Probably each of us has watched Nascar or Formula 1 races on TV at least once and sincerely rooted for one of the participants. Unfortunately, not everyone can engage in motorsports - you need to be a professional driver and at the same time be aware that auto racing is one of the most dangerous species sport that has claimed the lives of more than one star.
Our distant ancestors also loved driving fast. Perhaps the prototype of auto racing was chariot racing in Ancient Rome. Since then, this sport has been constantly improved with technological progress. From chariots, racers moved to bicycles, and later to motorcycles, cars/trucks and fireballs (cars of a special design that develop enormous speed). Almost every year, car designers improve their creations, improving streamlining and increasing the possible speed of movement.
Conventionally, circuit racing can be divided into open-wheel car competitions and touring car championships.
Auto racing with open wheel cars– racing in special cars with wheels removed from the body, the so-called fireballs. The main competitions of this type are as follows:
Formula 1- most popular look auto racing, a competition between cars with an engine power of up to 600 hp, which accelerate to 360 km/h. Racing cars firms participating in the racing process differ from each other in various improvements, mainly in the field of aerodynamics. This is the fastest, most expensive and, unfortunately, the most life-threatening type of auto racing;
Indy Racing League- a popular type of competition from the USA, which usually takes place on oval tracks. Unlike Formula, cars are created by only one or two companies, only individual modifications are allowed;
A1 Grand Prix- a type of competition created by an Arab sheikh, the “battle of nations” - as in it the main battle is between teams of racers from different countries. It is a monoclass - all participants’ cars are absolutely identical;
Formula Rus is the Russian answer to Formula 1. The races take place on special cars of the same name as the race, all settings are the same for different cars.
Body racing– competitions in cars with appearance serial Modification of cars in the field of suspension, wheels, engine, brakes, aerodynamics is allowed, within the framework of the regulations. Main competitions:
RTCC– the Russian Touring Car Cup, which has existed since 1955, is the most popular racing championship in the CIS. The number of participants reaches 80 people in four categories of cars;
NASCAR is the most popular racing series in America. The championship includes 36 tracks in North America;
DTM- German auto racing series. Includes many European trails. Among the participants there are many stars from other racing series.
The goal of the competitor is simple - to come first. Usually, before the main races, qualifying takes place to determine each car's place on the starting line. The higher the place on the starting grid, the earlier the driver will begin his journey to victory. The race takes place along a fast track with many turns and other surprises. Usually the race lasts 2-3 hours (Formula 1), but can last for a whole day (“24 hours of Nürburgring”). It is also necessary to make pit stops on the track in order to refuel and change tires.
Often the race is stopped due to an accident on the track. This is, unfortunately, an all too common occurrence in auto racing and is therefore its main drawback. If you got there, you can be glad that you returned safe and sound. In addition, there is a battle between the riders for scoring points based on the results of the race.
Don’t think that racing is for professionals; there are championships for car enthusiasts too.
For example, synchronized circuit racing among amateurs is regularly held at the KVC Autodrom in Tolyatti, Samara Region. By paying a participation fee, every car owner can take part in the competition.
GENERAL INFORMATION
Russian Circuit Racing Series (SMP RSKG) - since 2014, the official name of all-Russian competitions in the status of the Championship, Cup and Championship of the Russian Federation, as well as the RAF Cup.
SMP RSKG continues the glorious traditions of domestic motorsport: in 2020, circuit racing in Russia will turn 65 years old.
The Russian circuit racing series is held under an agreement between the RAF and the SMP Racing motorsport development program. Up to 90 athletes are registered for the stages. Competitions take place at modern circuits in the Moscow region, Grozny, Sochi, Kazan, Nizhny Novgorod and Smolensk. In 2020, the geography will expand thanks to the opening of the new Igora Drive circuit near St. Petersburg, where a joint stage of the SMP RSKG and the international DTM series will take place.
The races are broadcast live on the website smp-rskg.tv, where video recordings of past stages are also available. Since 2019, online broadcasts have become available to a large audience of the Yandex.Ether Internet portal.
The SMP RSKG races are coming out in live TV channels “Match TV” and “Match! Country”, and review programs on the “Auto Plus” channel.
Intense competition between the best pilots, competition between foreign cars and original domestic models, show programs and entertainment for fans - you can see all this at the stages of the Russian circuit racing series.
Under the leadership of Oleg Petrikov and the support of SMP Racing, Russian circuit motorsport received a new impetus: new information partners were attracted, online broadcasts of races were organized, reports, reviews and thematic programs about SMP RSKG were broadcast on television and radio stations. The official tire partner of the Russian series is YOKOHAMA. The number of spectators at the stage reaches 22,000 people.
The teams are sponsored by oil companies LUKOIL And ROSNEFT, holding TAIF, a well-known manufacturer of auto components Delphi, company Industrial Power Machines, oil brand G-Energy and many others.
In the 2017 season SMP Racing And LADA Sport ROSNEFT entered into an agreement, according to which AVTOVAZ and ROSNEFT acted title partners of SMP RSKG. This made it possible to increase the audience of fans of the Russian circuit racing series, and spectators of each stage got a chance win a new hatchback LADA Kalina Drive Active.
The SMP RSKG starts before 90 pilots, number of participants per season - up to 118 people.
Thanks to the support of the Women in Motorsport committee and Women's Health magazine, three of the most successful pilots of the Russian circuit racing series in the 2017 season they shared the prize money million rubles.
Live broadcasts of races are available on TV channels Match TV, Match! Country And AUTO24. Also, online broadcasts and archives of races of all seasons of the SMP RSKG can be found on media site smp-rskg.tv. In the new season, you can follow the SMP RSKG races on the Yandex.Ether portal.
CLASSES
Since 2015 in SMP RSKG cars presented 5 classes: Touring And Touring-Light in the status of the Russian Championship, Super production And National (from 2019 - S1600), where the country's Cups are played, as well as Championship SMP RSKG National Junior (from 2019 - S1600 Junior). In the 2020 season, the number of classes will increase to 8 - thanks to the introduction of tests S2000(in it, gentleman drivers in TCR cars with DSG gearboxes will compete for the Russian Cup), SMP GT4 Russia(tournament for amateur drivers who choose prestigious models of the international category GT4) and Sports prototype CN(MitJet 2L, Legends and Shortcut “silhouettes” are allowed here). The last two classes have RAF Cup status.
Touring- the most powerful cars with a power of about 350 hp. A similar class exists in European national championships; such cars are used in the FIA ETCC European Cup. In the 2014 season in Russian Touring, pilots competed in BMW 320si, LADA Granta Sport, SEAT Leon Supecopa, Subaru BRZ. Since 2015, SEAT Leon Racer cars, prepared according to the requirements of the new international championship TCR International series, have been admitted to this class. In 2016, the number of such cars increased to eight, and in the SMP RSKG 2017 season there were twice as many TCR category cars: in addition to SEATs, Audi RS3 and LADA Vesta sedans will appear in the field. A year later they appeared Volkswagen Golf TCR, the number of drivers in Touring has reached 24.
In the 2019 season, Hyundai i30 N hatchbacks debuted (on one of them Dmitry Bragin defended the championship title for the fourth time in a row), and in total they took part in the races 27 athletes. In addition, pilots with international licenses competed in the open competition for the first time TCR Russia, approved by the FIA.
Super production- Touring class cars of previous years or specially designed on the basis of serial ones, developing about 250 hp: Honda Civic, LADA Vesta, LADA Granta, Subaru BRZ and Mazda3.
Touring-Light- compact cars with a power of about 200 hp. This is an engineering class that allows you to deeply modernize cars of a wide variety of brands and models: Kia Rio, Volkswagen Polo, Ford Fiesta, SEAT Ibiza, Renault Twingo, Peugeot 208, LADA Kalina NFR. For the 2017 season, a Hyundai Solaris hatchback was built according to the requirements of the Touring-Lite class. And in 2019, Ravon R3 Nexia sedans started for the first time - and one of them brought Efim Gantmakher the title of vice-champion.
S1600 (formerly National)- the most accessible and popular class. Since 2014, along with the most common LADA Kalina, Volkswagen Polo Sedan, Kia Rio, Ford Fiesta and Renault Sandero of domestic assembly have been participating in the races. Now they will be joined by a new product from AVTOVAZ - the restyled hatchback LADA Granta.
S1600 Junior (until 2019 - SMP RSKG Championship National Junior) - youth series, created in 2015. Boys and girls from 14 to 17 years old take part in it, driving domestic cars - these are LADA Kalina hatchbacks and Volkswagen Polo sedans. Technical requirements assume the same high level safety, as in the senior classes of the SMP RSKG, but a lesser degree of modification, the use of inexpensive components and affordable entry fees.
SMP Formula 4- a formula series for young drivers, which started as part of the Northern European Championship in 2015. In the 2019 season, we saw pilots at the start who fought for the RAF Cup and shared the paddock with SMP RSKG participants from other classes.
AUTODROMS
In 2019 7 stages The Russian circuit racing series will be held on 7 racing tracks in the country:
Fortress Grozny
Smolensk ring
Nizhny Novgorod ring
ADM Moscow (Myachkovo)
Moscow Raceway
Sochi Autodrom
In 2014, SMP RSKG pilots became first, who spent a racing weekend at Sochi Autodrom a month before the first Formula 1 Russian Grand Prix, then competed as support races for the TCR International Series and SMP Formula 4 Championship.
COMPETITION RULES
Every race weekend pilots of each class SMP RSKG is carried out two races each lasting 20-30 minutes.
Until this year, cars from qualifying groups Touring and Super Production started in a combined race. However, in the SMP RSKG - 2017, the number of applications will allow separate races for each category without compromising the filling of the starting grid and entertainment.
Class participants Touring-Light, National And Championships SMP RSKG National Junior also start as part of their tests.
Thus, with the participation of all five classes at the stage, viewers will see eight races, some of which will pass on Saturday, Part - on Sunday.
At joint stages with the international touring series TCR International series and formulaic SMP F4 Chamionship the number of races will increase.
At each stage there are trainings and qualifying races, which will determine the pilot positions at the start of the first race, which is produced on the move. Positions are distributed according to the racer's time on the course. Anyone who shows a result worse than 107% of the leader’s time is not allowed to compete.
Starting places in the second race, where the start takes place from the spot are determined based on the results of the previous race. Top ten finishers starts V reverse order - this rule applies to all scoring groups.
ACCOUNTING POINTS AND AWARDS
This season the points system returns, close to that adopted in the FIA championships - the only difference is that points are awarded to the first 15 finishers:
1st place - 25 points, 2nd place - 20 points, 3rd place - 16 points, 4th place - 13 points, 5th place - 11 points,
6th place - 10 points, 7th place - 9 points, 8th place - 8 points, 9th place - 7 points, 10th place - 6 points,
11th place - 5 points, 12th place - 4 points, 13th place - 3 points, 14th place - 2 points, 15th place - 1 point
For best time in qualifying and in the race rely on 1 extra point . Thus, an athlete can earn up to 53 points .
Counts for the season results of all seven stages; dialed maximum quantity points becomes the winner in its class.
In SMP RSKG award ceremony winners of each race are held immediately after arrival. Cups are awarded for first, second and third places both in individual and team competitions.
Cups for prizes in individual and team competitions at the end of the season are awarded at the final stage Russian circuit racing series.
Man is constantly on the move, and racing has become a way of life. We are chasing a dream, a goal, vicious circle around the current circumstances. But racing is also a sport that captivates passionate people and appears to them in different forms. Any type of vehicle or running person can participate in the race. This is the most ancient look competitions that man invented and continues to develop it, making adjustments. One type of racing competition is the ring road race. This means that the start and finish of the race converge at one point and the movement occurs in a vicious circle. These can be motorcycle, car or any other types of races where the road is prepared and laid out in a special way. But if in the real world such races take place on a flat road where there is good grip of the car on the road, then online circuit racing games offer many options. You may encounter obstacles on the virtual path, and you can even drive on relatively off-road roads, where the only impassable areas will be trees and bushes. But at the same time, the basic rules are preserved and you still need to overtake all rivals and reach the finish line first. These can be short races, where you need to complete a given number of laps on a car track, or a multi-day competition with travel through cities and return to the starting point. A similar race in real life took place at the dawn of organized races in 1895, ran along the route Paris-Bordeaux-Paris and amounted to 1178 km. In computer versions you will find realistic simulators and mini-games with simpler controls and requirements. Going to play circuit racing games, where events are presented in a form close to real ones, you will be able to experience the whole flavor of the show. Here you have the right to choose your own car or motorcycle and apply the available technical equipment requirements to it. As the races progress, you will have to fulfill all the nuances laid down in the game and gain points, which will be awarded to you by fastidious judges. You will feel the sensitivity of the controls and see the track through the eyes of the driver. Squealing brakes, skidding on corners, sparks from tires, sensor readings, a mini map in the corner of the screen, pit stops, applause from fans and persistent rivals - all this will accompany you throughout the game, and successfully completed tracks will bring you bonuses that you can use to improve your vehicle. In simpler games, you won't have to be distracted by all these nuances, and you can focus on the race itself. But even here you will have the right to choose both the car itself and the track, and you can see the competition process either from the first or third person. Different landscapes will appear before you, and if you are bored of racing inside the race track, you can easily choose the option of driving through colorful locations, where green spaces grow along the sides of the track and buildings flicker. Even the countryside will diversify the process with local flavor and add zest to the game. And when children don’t feel like eating, they come up with ideas at the table different stories and imagine themselves as a racer. Controlling an imaginary car, they maneuver it between bread crumbs, cutlery and invisible obstacles. It is this version of racing that is presented, among others, in our section. And the version of galactic racing will especially appeal to fans of the unusual. The space track is surrounded by walls to prevent you from flying off it, but to achieve victory, learn to control between the stars.
The main Russian circuit championship, SMP RSKG, finished in the capital of Tatarstan. The events on the Kazan Ring track more than once made the fans gasp and adequately ended, perhaps, the most interesting season in recent years. TO final stage in all classes there were, and the names of the winners of gold awards became known only in the last Sunday races!
The calmest competition was in the Touring class, where pilots competed in cars with two-liter turbo engines. However, it would be strange if the participants in the fastest class of the Russian ring started a teenage crush. Tolyatti resident Dmitry Bragin confidently won Sunday's race and became a two-time Touring champion. On Saturday, the first was the pilot of the Lada Sport Rosneft team, Kirill Ladygin, in Vesta, who no longer counted on gold at the end of the year. As for the other contenders for the title, neither Vladimir Sheshenin nor Alexey Dudukalo were able to give the fight to Bragin. Lada Vesta Sheshenina was not too fast due to the weight handicap the Ural driver received for his success at the previous stage. Well, Lukoil Racing team leader Dudukalo lost points due to leaving the track in the first race. As a result, the top three drivers in the individual competition retained their positions in Kazan, and the team title went to the Lada drivers.
With his victory in the second race, Tolyatti resident Dmitry Bragin (No. 1) put a golden point in the fastest class
In the RSKG Trophy, which is played in the Touring class among non-professional pilots, Irek Minnakhmetov won both times in an Audi RS3. The racer from Kazan had a strong season, winning several podiums in the overall classification, so his victory was natural. Second and third places according to the results of the RSKG Trophy were taken by St. Petersburger Klim Gavrilov and Muscovite Pavel Yashin in Seat.
In other classes, events developed with a high degree of intrigue. In the Super Production, after the first race, Maxim Chernev came close to again taking the title of Russian Cup winner: on Saturday, his main rival, Tolyatti resident Mikhail Mityaev, was out of action after a collision at the start. As a result, before the last race of the season, only one point separated the contenders for the title! Alas, on Sunday Chernev could not avoid contact with his partner Efim Gantmakher - in the second turn, VAZ driver Vladislav Nezvankin spun Nikolai Vikhansky's Honda and in the resulting crowd Maxim broke the suspension on his Subaru. Thus, Mityaev won the first Russian Cup in his career, Chernev finished the season second, and Gantmakher not only took bronze in the individual competition, but also helped the Otkritie team win the team championship.
A suspension failure on Maxim Chernev's Subaru BRZ coupe did not allow the Ural driver to retain the title of the strongest in the Super-production class
After Saturday's race in the 1600 cc Touring-Lite class, only four riders remained in the hunt for the title, and the main loser was Timur Boguslavsky. The young Kazan was confidently in the lead when the input shaft in the gearbox broke on his Peugeot 208! The first race was won by Denis Bulatov from the SMP Racing team, which strengthened the Muscovite’s leading position. However, on Sunday the Volkswagen driver was expected to start from eighth place - while his main rivals, Ildar Rakhmatullin and Andrey Maslennikov, occupied more advantageous places on the starting grid. Maslennikov’s position was especially strong: after an unsuccessful first race, the native of Kostroma reset his weight handicap and could compete for high positions. But on Sunday the Saturday scenario almost repeated itself: Andrey was confidently leading the race when the engine of his Fiesta suddenly stopped!
The head of the Russian drift series RDS Dmitry Dobrovolsky ended the season with a victory in Kazan. However, due to missing two races, the Muscovite was never able to intervene in the dispute for the title in Super-Production
After some time, Maslennikov was still able to revive the engine and even broke through from last to second place. Alas, this was still not enough to solve the maximum problem: Bulatov won the title. Maslennikov, together with Oryol veteran Vladimir Cherevan, was content with gold in the team competition, where their team Podmoskovye Motorsport excelled. In general, the season in Touring Light became one of the most striking events of the SMP RSKG: seven different pilots won 14 races in this class!
Andrey Maslennikov (No. 43) was very close to his first championship title, but at the last moment the gold still went to Denis Bulatov (No. 22)
In the “junior” 1600 cc category, the National final weekend of the season also turned into emotional American races, and the fate of the title was decided by two failures. As expected, the lower weight handicap gave an advantage to season leader Aidar Nuriev in qualifying: the driver from Kazan took pole while his main rival, Muscovite Gleb Kuznetsov, was only twelfth! At the start of the first race, the capital’s pilot was even more unlucky: he got into a blockage, “organized” by Yulia Strukova. Having returned to the race as one of the last, Kuznetsov could only finish eighth, while Nuriev came to the podium behind Togliatti's Roman Agoshkov.
The first race in the National class began with a failure at the start
But on Sunday, the contenders for the title swapped roles: Gleb started from the reverse pole, and Aidar got into the pile! On the first lap on Andrei Petukhov's Kalina, the engine exploded (this episode is in the title photo) and, having slipped on oil, several participants dropped out of the race at once. Nuriev was still able to continue the race, but his Kia Rio was driving slower and slower due to the damage received. It seemed that the fate of the title was decided in favor of the leading Kuznetsov. However, a few laps before the finish, a safety car appeared on the track, and after the restart, Egor Sanin took first place. Thus, the Ulyanovsk junior deprived Gleb Kuznetsov of the title: Aidar Nuriev became the winner of the Russian Cup with a difference of just one point! At the same time, the victory in Sunday’s race made Sanin third at the end of the season, while the team cup went to the capital’s Rally Academy.
Among the youth in the National Junior class, the fight for the title came down to a dispute between Maxim Kornilkov and Irina Sidorkova. The remaining contenders, Vladislav Seredenko and Rustam Fatkhutdinov, dropped out of the fight on Saturday after a massive accident, which was initiated by Kornilkov. And although the racer from Perm won the first race, the 30-second penalty imposed on Maxim by the judges allowed Irina Sidorkova to take the lead. However, the racer from Karelia was unable to take advantage of this advantage: at the start of the Sunday race, the Petrozavodsk resident was hit by hot hand rivals, and bent suspension arms did not allow her to finish higher than tenth place. Kornilkov confidently won the decisive race, securing victory in the junior class. Sidorkova earned silver, and third place in the series went to Ukrainian Vladislav Seredenko, who competes for Chechen team Akhmat Racing Team.
Two leaders of the junior class - Maxim Kornilkov and Irina Sidorkova
By the way, the season for many heroes of the SMP RSKG is not over yet - this coming Saturday, October 7, they will meet again at the Ahmat Race marathon race in Grozny.
Russian circuit racing series
Final results
Touring class (Russian championship)
Super-production class (Russian Cup)
Touring-Light class (Russian championship)
National class (Russian Cup)
National Junior class (RSKG championship)
