24h Le Mans
Along with China, Russia has emerged as a powerhouse nation in the discipline of Endurance racing thanks to two teams: SMP Racing and G-Drive Racing. Two years after making its mark on the 24 Hours of Le Mans, SMP Racing is gearing up for a new chapter in its remarkable history.
On Sunday, June 14, 2015, the Russian national anthem played for the first time ever at the 24 Hours of Le Mans circuit to commemorate the LMGTE Am class win for SMP Racing's Ferrari 458 Italia driven by Russian drivers Viktor Shaytar and Aleksey Basov. It marked a highlight in a meteroic ascension punctuated by titles, guiding the team to the LMP1 class in 2018.
In addition to its win at Le Mans, in barely five years SMP Racing has become one of the winningest teams in today's world of Endurance racing. Founded in 2013 by Russian businessman Boris Rotenberg - the owner of football club Dinamo Moscow and co-owner of SMP Bank - the team has accumulated titles over the last five seasons as successfully in the GT class in the European Le Mans Series (in 2013 and 2014) as in the World Endurance Championship (WEC) (LMP2 Drivers and Teams in 2014, then in LMGTE Am in 2015).
In 2015, Boris Rotenberg even became a constructor. To design his BR01, destined for the LMP2 class, he called upon Paolo Catone, designer of the Peugeot 908 HDi FAP winner at the 2009 24 Hours of Le Mans. Powered by Nissan, the BR01 finished in the top 10 in the class (sixth in 2015, third and seventh in 2016).
SMP Racing has also fostered signficant opportunities for young Russian hopefuls. In addition to winning drivers Sergey Zlobin (LMP2), Viktor Shaytar and Aleksey Basov (LMGTE Am) in the World Endurance Championship (WEC), Mikhail Aleshin (30 years old), seen the last few years at the 24 Hours of Le Mans and the Indianapolis 500 (the two oldest circuit races in the world), was one of the first flag bearers. In 2017, SMP Racing won its only victory in the European Le Mans Series thanks to Egor Orudzhev and Matevos Isaakyan, 22 and 19 years old respectively. Isaakyan just took part in the Rookie Test at Bahrain on Sunday, November 19th for the close of the World Endurance Championship (WEC).
In 2018, SMP Racing will make its debut in the LMP1 class with its own car, designed in collaboration with the Italian constructor Dallara and named the BR1, with two cars in its own colors and another for the American team DragonSpeed.
As we await the moment this new prototype hits the track, the next installment in this series will take a look at the impressive record of G-Drive Racing, a major player in the LMP2 class.
PHOTO: After its own BR01 at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 2015 and 2016, this year SMP Racing entered the P217 chassis of Italian constructor Dallara, which is also the designer of the BR1, the LMP1 prototype expected for 2018, recently presented at Bahrain.
