On August 8–9, the third round of the Russian SMP Formula 4 championship was held at the Igora Drive circuit. For the Nizhny Novgorod-based ITECO Racing Team, this race weekend became one of the brightest of the season: two pole positions, the fastest lap in three out of four races, a complete team podium sweep in the second race, further podiums in the third and final races, and a climb to second place in the team standings.
SMP Formula 4 was revived in Russia in 2025 after a five-year hiatus and quickly became one of the most prominent series in Russian motorsport. ITECO Racing Team arrived at Igora Drive third in the team standings and left the weekend in second place. Ivan Pigaev also moved up from fourth to third place in the drivers’ standings.
The third round got off to a strong start for the team already in qualifying. Pigaev took pole position, noting afterward that Igora Drive demands special attention to weather conditions and wind direction.
“The track is very fast. Here, a lot depends on the wind, because compared to yesterday the wind changed direction completely. In practice before qualifying I was testing different braking points, because at Turn 1 my braking point shifted by about 10–15 metres. Maybe because there was a strong tailwind on the start-finish straight, and now it’s blowing straight into us — and that changes a lot,” the driver said.
In Saturday’s first race, ITECO Racing Team’s drivers finished just short of the podium: Maksim Orlov came fourth, Pigaev fifth — though he set the fastest lap of the race.
The weekend’s headline moment came in the second race. The entire podium turned green in the team’s colours: Pigaev took the win, Orlov finished second, and Timur Shagaliev came third. It was the first time in the history of Russian Formula 4 that all three podium spots went to drivers from the same team. Pigaev once again posted the fastest lap.
On Sunday, the team kept up its run of strong results. Pigaev won qualifying again, while Orlov qualified third. Rain began falling just before the start of the third race, leaving the asphalt wet and conditions noticeably tougher. Even so, two ITECO Racing Team drivers made the podium: Pigaev won the race, and Orlov finished third.
In the weekend’s final race, Pigaev was back on the podium in second place, setting the fastest lap for the third time in the round. With that, ITECO Racing Team claimed the team trophy for the stage — its second of the season. The team had already won the same trophy at the season-opening round in Moscow.
The weekend was a strong one for the team beyond Formula 4 as well. In the Super-production class at round four of the SMP Russian Series of the Circuit Races, ITECO Racing Team also picked up two wins.
In the first race, Azat Kalimullin took his first-ever win in the Super-production class, with Ivan Ekelchik finishing second to complete a team one-two. Timofey Buyanov’s race, unfortunately, ended early due to technical problems with his car.
In the second race, Buyanov got his revenge for Saturday’s retirement: starting from pole, he led the race to victory. Kalimullin finished fourth and Ekelchik sixth.
The round was also a success for the ITECO Racing×TEAMGARIS crew in the Russian GT4 Cup. In the first race, Maxim Turiev held his position among the leaders from the start and built a gap of around six seconds by mid-race. After the driver change, Sergey Grishanov found himself in a tight battle and defended the lead all the way to the finish. As a result, car №52 took the win in the PRO/AM class.
In the second race, Turiev and Grishanov finished second, but after the finish the race winner was handed a penalty, promoting the crew to first place.
In addition, the ITECO group of companies recently marked its 22nd anniversary, and the successful weekend at Igora Drive became a fitting sporting gift for the team to mark the occasion.
The next round, the fourth stage of SMP Formula 4, will take place on August 29–30 at the NRing circuit in the Nizhny Novgorod region. For ITECO Racing Team, it will be a home round.
Material provided by ITECO Racing Team
