Fort Grozny Circuit, October 5-7, 2018. After two podiums in a row at the Moscow Raceway and Sochi Autodrom Circuits, the Autoproduct MATCH TV GTE RT team arrived at the Fort Grozny Circuit in high spirits being set to worthy complete the Russian racing season.
Stage 7 of the SMP RCRS Championship was held on one of the shortest tracks of the season, Fort Grozny. Unlike the first race of the SMP RCRS season, which also took place in Grozny, the final stage of the SMP RCRS used an alternative configuration, which raised the competition degree in all classes to a new, more spectacular level. With a length of just over three kilometers, the Fort Grozny track offers drivers a combination of high-speed S-turns of the first sector, two straights, and two hairpins, where the main activity related to overtaking takes place.
In addition to the pressure associated with the soon end of the racing season and the decisive title races, the drivers had to deal with quite cool weather, not typical of this time of the year for warm and sunny Grozny. It had been raining, the layer of used rubber was washed off together with the grip, the racing surface temperature dropped and in some places the asphalt still remained quite wet, drying out not as quickly as the pilots expected.
Friday’s qualification for the Autoproduct MATCH TV GTE RT pilots was quite successful; our pilots Philipp Tuponosov and Evgeny Meites took the 7th and the 4th places on the starting grid.
The first race started successfully for Philipp and Evgeny, and by the first corner, both of our drivers won back one position each. An intense and spectacular, but clean battle between the teammates lasted till the finish, where in the fight for the 4th position Philipp led Evgeny only by one tenth of a second, making the final overtake on the start-finish straight up to the checkered flag. This photo finish in the best traditions of classic races will be long remembered by the Autoproduct MATCH TV GTE RT team.
Finishing only one step away from the podium was the best result for Philipp in this challenging season, and it once again confirms the progress of Philipp in speed and competitiveness. These two factors, as well as the goal of stable point collection, were Philipp's main challenges in his debut in the SMP RCRS Championship.
Our pilots started Sunday's race in the 2nd and the 3rd places, which promised good chances for the podium for both drivers of the Autoproduct MATCH TV GTE RT team. Evgeny Meites started confidently and grabbed the lead already in the first corner. Philipp Tuponosov also had a good start and by the first corner was the 3rd, but unfortunately, after making contact with one of his rivals, Philipp's car was damaged and he had to let the entire peloton go to return to the track safely. After a few laps, Philipp had to withdraw from the race after making contact with the guard rail, which was a result of the damage received in the collision on the first laps. Evgeny tried to keep the pace as high as possible, defending against the constant pressure and attacks from the racing Lada Vesta of Lada Sport Rosneft. Our driver passed this difficult test with honor and, to the joy of the Autoproduct MATCH TV GTE RT crew, brought the team the first-ever victory in the SMP RCRS Championship!
At the end of the season, the Autoproduct MATCH TV GTE RT team took 4th place in the Super Production class, and its drivers Philipp Tuponosov and Evgeny Meites took 8th and 5th places in the individual classification, respectively.
Given that the Autoproduct MATCH TV GTE RT team missed the first two stages in the 2018 SMP RCRS Championship, the final performance of the team and its drivers deserve high praise.
By the end of the season, technical issues with racing Lada Granta cars were a thing of the past, and both drivers showed a steady improvement in results, including the first podiums and wins already in their debut year.
Autoproduct MATCH TV GTE RT team heads into the traditional fall-and-winter break before the 2019 championship with great memories of their debut season and promises to return in the new year with new strength, results, and victories!
We thank our drivers and wish them success and victories in 2019.