The round at the Fort Grozny Autodrom became another important step for ITECO Racing team in the fight for the championship. Two pole positions, two victories, a triple podium and our fourth team classification victory of the season — the team will head to Moscow as the leader of the Russian SMP Formula 4 Championship.
The race weekend began with what has already become an almost traditional result for Ivan Pigaev. Ivan converted his fifth consecutive pole position into his seventh victory of the season and, following the first race, moved into the lead of the Drivers’ Championship. Maksim Orlov had a consistent race, retaining fourth position from start to finish. For Timur Shagaliev and Ivan Ovsienko, by contrast, the first race ended prematurely following an incident on track.
In the second race of the round, the drivers had to make up positions on one of the most difficult circuits for overtaking on the calendar. Once again, Ivan Pigaev achieved the best result among our drivers — P4 after starting from ninth position. Timur Shagaliev moved up from P10 to P7, while Maksim Orlov, who was unable to start from his grid position, began his fight from the very back of the field and managed to reach P8. It was an especially difficult day for Ivan Ovsienko: following the damage sustained in the first race, the mechanics continued working on the car, and Ivan started the second race from the pit lane. Later, after a heavy contact with the kerb, he had to retire from the race.
But Saturday showed just how quickly the picture can change in motorsport.
The morning once again began with pole position for Ivan Pigaev — his sixth in a row — while the third race gave the team one of the brightest moments of the round. At the finish, three ITECO cars were ahead of the entire field: Ivan Pigaev took the victory, Maksim Orlov finished second, and Timur Shagaliev third. It seemed that we had managed to repeat our Igora Drive success so soon and once again occupy the entire podium.
However, after the finish Timur received a penalty for a marginal false start and dropped to ninth position. The unfortunate episode deprived us of a triple podium, but it did not change the main thing — Timur’s pace throughout the race allowed him to fight among the top three. We hope that in the season finale, this pace will finally translate into the result he deserves.
Ivan Ovsienko also deserves a special mention. After a difficult Friday, the mechanics worked on rebuilding his car almost until nightfall so that Ivan could return to the grid the following morning. Starting from twelfth position, he fought his way through to seventh, earning important points in the process.
The final race was perhaps the most difficult challenge of the round. Fort Grozny leaves almost no room for easy overtaking: every position here has to be built up literally lap by lap. That is exactly why the progress made by our drivers in the final race was particularly valuable.
Maksim Orlov moved up from P7 to P4 and, following a penalty for a rival, ultimately secured another bronze podium for the team. Timur Shagaliev fought his way from ninth to sixth position. Ivan Pigaev was classified 14th after receiving a ten-second penalty for an incident in which another driver was spun around, while Ivan Ovsienko finished the race in P16.
Grozny was not a round where everything went perfectly. There were retirements, damage, penalties and results that did not always reflect the true pace of our drivers. But weekends like this demonstrate the strength of a team especially well: when the final result is not built on one flawless race, but on the work of four drivers, engineers and mechanics throughout the entire round.
It was this teamwork that allowed our team to finish the Grozny round with the most important result — our fourth victory in the team classification this season. The team scored 140 points over the weekend and not only overturned the three-point deficit to the championship leader with which it had arrived in Grozny, but also built a lead of its own ahead of the decisive round.
After five rounds, ITECO Racing Team leads the Russian SMP Formula 4 Championship team standings with 594 points. Our closest rival, Ilya Muromets, has 564 points. Therefore, heading into the finale, our team holds a 30-point advantage.
Grozny also changed the balance of power in the Drivers’ Championship. Ivan Pigaev arrived at the round in second place with 279 points and leaves it as the championship leader.
GT4: A Weekend in Which Circumstances Decided Too Much
The Grozny round proved particularly difficult for the ITECO Racing Team x Team Garis crew. This time, the speed and pace were there, but both race days ended earlier than we would have liked.
Maxim Turiev started the first race from second position. After the start and two hits to the rear bumper, Maxim lost several places, but gradually regained the positions he had lost and fought his way back into third. It seemed that, after a difficult start, the race was once again beginning to go our way, but on lap 14 something happened that could neither have been predicted nor prevented: a stone hit the car’s radiator. Continuing was impossible, and the crew was forced to retire.
The second race offered an opportunity to fight back. Sergey Grishanov started from seventh position and became involved in the battle already during the first lap, making a strong start to the race. But this race also proved very short for our crew. On the second lap, an overtaking attempt ended in contact, after which neither car was able to continue.
Two retirements in a single round are an especially difficult result at the stage of the season when every point matters. After Grozny, the crew of Maxim Turiev and Sergey Grishanov lost the lead in the Russian GT4 Cup, which they had held throughout the season.
But the championship is not over yet. The gap to first position is 22 points, with the final round still ahead. It is a deficit that can still be recovered, which means the fight for the Russian Cup will continue until the very end.
The decisive weekend will take place at the same venue where the outcome of the SMP F4 season will also be determined — on 9–10 October at Moscow Raceway.
Super Production: A Difficult End to the Round and a New Lead in the Russian Cup
The Grozny round in Super Production was unusual from the outset in terms of its entry list: our team fielded five of the six cars competing in the class. It was this expanded team line-up that made it possible to assemble the required number of cars and hold the category’s races at Fort Grozny.
Our drivers started the first race one position higher than their qualifying results following a penalty for the pole-sitter. Timofey Buyanov started from first position and went on to win the race. Maxim Turiev and Azat Kalimullin finished behind him in P2 and P3, while team principal Dmitry Lebedev, who returned behind the wheel of the Subaru, took fourth position. Samvel Iskoyants’ first race ended prematurely.
The second race proved far more dramatic. Maxim Turiev and Azat Kalimullin started from the front row, but the already small field gradually became even smaller over the course of the race — of the six cars that started, only three saw the chequered flag.
One of the key moments was an incident between two of our drivers. Exiting the final corner, Maxim Turiev found himself on a wider line, which Azat Kalimullin attempted to take advantage of. The fight for position ended in contact: Maxim was forced to stop almost immediately, while Azat was able to continue the race.
Timofey Buyanov also failed to reach the finish — midway through the race, a technical problem forced him to retire early.
Despite everything that happened in this race, all three podium positions at the finish were occupied by drivers representing our team. Azat Kalimullin took the victory, Samvel Iskoyants finished second, and Dmitry Lebedev third, completing his return behind the wheel of the Subaru with a podium finish.
But the most important outcome of Grozny is the situation in the fight for the Russian Cup. Timofey Buyanov arrived at the penultimate round just one point behind Roman Golikov. Even despite the technical retirement in the second race, victory in the opening race and the points scored over the weekend were enough to change the balance of power.
Timofey Buyanov now leads the Russian Cup with 281 points, while Roman Golikov is second with 253. Heading into the finale, Timofey’s advantage stands at 28 points. Following his victory in Grozny, Azat Kalimullin has 197 points and holds third position among the three.
Therefore, we leave Grozny not only with two victories and podium finishes, but also with Timofey Buyanov leading the Russian Cup. Another championship question will now be decided in Moscow.
9–10 October, Moscow Raceway. The final round of the season — and the final battle for the Russian Cup in Super Production. Less than a month remains until the outcome is decided.
Material provided by ITECO Racing Team
Author: Nelly Boronina
Photo: ASPPA IMAGES Europe / Alexander Seregin
