Russian road-racing championship reaches new heights

The Russian motorcycling championship will be held on May 24, 2008. This time it will have a different name and organizer. Only its location will remain unchanged – the Moscow circuit.

This year the event will bear a different brand (Sportbike Russian 2008) invented by the new organizer, the Corporate League Group.

According to the organizers, one of the top priority goals of the championship is to focus on the audience in order to maintain, expand and consolidate the amateur road-racing movement, which is the most popular nowadays. Among other things, the idea is to encourage existing teams and riders to improve their skills, as well as to attract new teams and riders by increasing the prize money. One of the most ambitious goals is to make sure that Russia has a real road-racing team by the time a professional circuit is built here.

“As for me, personally, I love motorcycle road-racing. I remember Hodynka – a popular and well organized tournament. As far as the Championship is concerned, I’ve been watching it since 2003. My friend takes part in it. I watched it in Dmitrov, St. Petersburg and Moscow,” said the Vice President of the Corporate League, Ildar Khairullin. “In 2007, Boris Gerelis asked me to be among its organizers and help him take the Championship to a higher level and make it more interesting for viewers, the mass media and sponsors. As I used to be a viewer and sponsor myself, I always wished that there would be more action both on the track and at the stadium. In 2008 I decided to do it all by myself,” Khairullin added.

The 2008 Championship will be based on a new concept. It will be organized in the form of a festival, which is most popular among viewers. Each stage will include free riding, such as stuntriding and mototrial, as well as test drives of the latest motorbikes, music, Paddock-Girls Cup, motorbike lottery etc.

Two additional stands will be set up for the fans to see the most interesting and “panoramic” sections of the track. In addition, there will be a big screen next to the main stadium broadcasting the race. In other words, this time no sections of the racetrack will go unobserved and the most spectacular moments of the race will be replayed, the organizers say.

The 2008 Championship will include four races on May 24, June 21, July 12 and August 30. The main race will be held in two classes – Superbike (motorcycles with engines of 750-1000cc, riders over 18 years old) and Supersport (motorcycles of 400-750cc, riders over 16 years old).

The Russian Cup will also be held as part of the 2008 Championship in three classes – Superstock 1000 (motorcycles with engines of 750-1000cc, riders over 18 years old), Superstock 600 (motorcycles of 400-750cc, riders over 16 years old), and Superstock 400 (motorcycles of 125-400cc, riders over 14 years old). There will also be a separate race for women.

The Moscow circuit is a professional racetrack built in line with the FIA standard. It was mainly designed for car and motorcycling road-racing. It is the major racetrack and the only one in Russia that has all the necessary equipment for safe sport, corporate and public events. It has everything including stationary service centers for teams, VIP lounges and stands, and even a mini hotel with a terrace overlooking the entire racetrack. The Moscow circuit is located 18km of the Moscow Ring Road on the Novoryazanskoye Shosse. The circuit it 3,275 meters long and 9-12 meters wide. The number of riders at the start can be up to 35. It has an asphalt surface which was last resurfaced in May 2006. The configurations of two bends have recently been modified in order to increase total racing speed and ensure safety.

This news has already received positive feedback from Russian motorcycling experts. “I’m always happy to see new people among the championships’ organizers. Especially when they are business people with good intentions and a clear program,” said President of the Russian Motorcycling Federation Alexander Nifontov. “Road racing is a very popular and promising type of motorcycling now. Despite the fact that there’s no real circuit in Russia at the moment, the Russian Motorcycling Federation maintains the ‘championship’ status of this event. We would like to give a chance to a new company and support the championship with its new concept and task, and agree that they are correct.”

The Corporate League is the organizer of professional and amateur corporate racings. Among its partners are the Russian Banks’ Association, the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs, the Russian Football Union and the All-Russian Volleyball Association. Various sports days in Moscow and St. Petersburg as well as corporate tournaments the CIS Football Cup and Russian Football Cup were held under the League’s support.

The first USSR moto road racing dates back to 1948. Soviet riders always took part in international championships, and in 1964 Nikolai Sevostyanov became the bronze medalist of the 350 cc World Championship. This is considered the most outstanding achievement in road racing in Russia. Following the USSR’s collapse the economic situation in the country worsened and road racing championships were no longer held in our country. It became impossible for both professional riders and amateurs to practice and take part in road racing championships. Consequently, people were losing interest in road racing and finally switched to other motorcycling disciplines. Everything changed in 1998, when the first “support race” was organized after the USSR’s collapse. It was held along with the car race. People’s interest in this event was above all expectations and it became clear that Russia needed official road racing tournaments. In the following year Alexander Nifontov and Boris Gerelis organized the Russian Cup on Hodynka. In 2000 Russia welcomed the first Russian Road-Racing Championship with the number of participants twice as high compared to the previous year. Since 2001, this event has been held twice a year bringing together around 3,000 spectators.