ITECO Racing Team concluded the 2026 Russian circuit racing season with both the drivers’ and teams’ titles in SMP F4, the Russian Cup in the individual and team standings in Super Production, and third place in the GT4 drivers’ standings. The season finale took place at Moscow Raceway on 9–10 October, with changing weather adding to the challenges of the decisive weekend.

Founded in 2023, the team was competing in its second season of professional Russian circuit racing. Its programme now spans karting, single-seaters and production-based racing cars, with opportunities for young drivers to progress between categories.

SMP F4 titles for Pigaev and ITECO

Sixteen-year-old Ivan Pigaev secured the Russian SMP F4 drivers’ championship, while ITECO Racing Team won the teams’ title. His speed and consistency throughout the season gave him a substantial points advantage heading into the final round.

Pigaev opened the Moscow Raceway weekend with his seventh consecutive pole position. The first two races proved more difficult: he finished eighth in the opening race and retired from the second. His accumulated points nevertheless allowed him to clinch the championship after the third race, before the final race of the season. He became the first driver from Nizhny Novgorod to win the Russian Formula 4 title.

Team-mate Maxim Orlov delivered a particularly strong finale, taking pole in the second qualifying session and finishing on the podium in all four races, including two victories. His performance in wet conditions was a highlight of the weekend.

Timur Shagaliev recorded two fourth-place finishes and one sixth place. He crossed the line second in the final race, but a penalty dropped him to 15th in the official classification.

Gleb Solovov made his Formula 4 racing debut at the final round and completed all four races, gaining experience in the changing conditions. Ivan Ovsienko also raced for the team during the season and contributed to its overall result.

The Formula 4 programme also provided opportunities for drivers from ITECO’s karting operation. Tigran Bunatyan and Sofia Grinevich both had the chance to try a Formula 4 car during the year, as the team continued to develop a pathway from karting to single-seater racing.

Russian Cup success in Super Production

ITECO also secured the Russian Cup in both the individual and team standings in the Super Production class of the Russian Circuit Racing Series. Timofey Buyanov won the drivers’ competition, with team-mate Azat Kalimullin finishing third overall.

Buyanov arrived at Moscow Raceway leading the standings and clinched the title with victory in the first race. A driveshaft failure forced him to retire from the second race, but the result no longer affected his position at the top of the final standings.

Kalimullin finished third in both races at the finale. Those two podium results helped him secure third place in the season standings, giving ITECO two drivers in the overall top three alongside its team title.

GT4 bronze for Turiev and Grishanov

In GT4, ITECO Racing Team continued its partnership with Team Garis. Maxim Turiev and Sergey Grishanov, sharing a Toyota Supra GT4 EVO, finished third in the Russian Cup drivers’ standings.

The pairing competed for podium positions throughout the season and remained in contention for the overall title heading into the final round. However, a crash shortly before the end of the opening race at Moscow Raceway ended their bid for first place in the season standings.

Despite the difficult finale, the partnership concluded the year with Russian Cup bronze, adding a GT4 podium finish in the season standings to ITECO’s achievements in Formula 4 and Super Production.

A broader racing programme

The 2026 results marked a significant step in ITECO Racing Team’s development since its foundation three years earlier. The team has expanded from karting into several circuit racing categories and now holds national titles in both single-seater and production-based competition.

Alongside those results, its youth programme remained a central part of the season. By giving karting drivers access to Formula 4 machinery, ITECO continued to build a route into higher categories within the same team structure.

ITECO MEDIA