The REC season has started at Moscow Raceway

Last Saturday the opening of the new season of the Russian REC endurance racing series took place at the Moscow Raceway. The first stage took place in the atmosphere of a large sports festival and gave the more than five thousand spectators in the stands lively impressions and a breathtaking spectacle.

26 teams in four different classes started the four-hour marathon. The race started in the evening, and the last part of the competition took place in the dark under headlights, allowing spectators to feel the full charm of marathon competitions. The main intrigue came down to the battle for victory in the general classification between the fastest teams of the CN Pro and GT Pro classes.

In qualifying, the best time was set by the Black Thorn team, which participated for the first time in the domestic race with the new prototype Norma M20, designated BT02. From the start, the team of Georgy Efrosinin and Igor Mukhin took a confident lead and began to increase their lead over their pursuers with each lap.

However, during the second part of the marathon, the Black Thorn crew had to make a pit stop earlier than planned due to a clogged radiator with pieces of used rubber, leaving the Mercedes-AMG GT3 of the Capital Racing team, consisting of Denis Remenyako and Sergei Titarenko, to in charge. From then on, it was the duel between the pilots of the French prototype and the German sports car that kept the spectators in suspense.

This showdown between Black Thorn and Capital Racing reached its climax when their cars braked side by side before the final corner. Efrosinin and Remenyako failed to avoid light contact, but both escaped safely to the straight, where another contact took place between them! Only miraculously did the second contact take place without serious consequences.

Then, thanks to their better pace, the Black Thorn crew managed to regain the initiative and the lead in the general classification. And even the overheating of the engine in the last segment did not stop Efrosinin and Mukhin from bringing the matter to victory. Together with the first place in the overall standings and the CN Pro class, the Black Thorn pilots won the opening stage of the Moscow Championship, the final victory of which will be determined after the next round of the Russian Endurance Racing Series at the Moscow Raceway in one month.

Remenyako and Titarenko made the most of Capital Racing’s Mercedes, finishing second overall and winning the race in the GT Pro class. The top three was completed by the crew of Kirill Kirakozov and Mikhail Loboda from the Balchug Racing team, which switched to the Ligier JS 53 prototype this season.

Unfortunately, another team that switched to Ligier – Aimol Racing – was not so lucky. For most of the distance, the crew of Alexey Khairov and Alexey Chernov were plagued by technical problems, but they still reached the finish line, winning cups for a prize in the prototype class and gaining important experience with new equipment.

In the GT class, Sergei Stolyarov was the main hero. The Yadro Motorsport team driver had to drive the Mercedes-AMG GT4 alone for the entire four hours of the marathon. But neither the double burden nor the penalty for overtaking off the track stopped Stolyarov from achieving a crushing victory in his class.

The trio of Obagra team drivers – Dmitry Obraztsov, Vladislav Agnivin and Rustam Ramazonov – drove a near-perfect race behind the wheel of a BMW M3 to take a crushing victory in the GT Light class.

In the GT Pro Touring subscore (GT Pro class), the strongest were the pilots driving the AUDI RS3LMS – Alexey Denisov, Evgeniy Chikinev, Anastasia Mikhailus – the DRTeam team, who also took 3rd place in the GT Pro – class.

It is worth noting that the entire race took place without serious incidents: the judges, led by Igor Konovalov, never had to deploy a safety car on the track or interrupt the battle with yellow flags. There was only one technical meeting, indicating an increase in the professionalism of the teams and riders.

Anastasia Bendikova, organizer of the Russian long-distance racing series REC: “The opening of the season was a success! The victory of the crew of Georgy Efrosinin and Igor Mukhin on the new prototype was the biggest surprise for us as organizers. I’m sure this will only fuel interest in the next phases.

Many teams did not have time to prepare for the first stage for various reasons, and we are waiting for them as the season progresses. Now we will prepare for the next marathon on June 22 at the Moscow Raceway, the track configuration for this stage will soon be chosen by the participants.”

The second of five REC rounds will take place on June 22 at Moscow Raceway.

Results of the first stage of REC 2024 – Grand Prix Auto Mail.ru

CN PRO

1. Black Thorn No. 111 (Mukhin Igor, Efrosinin Egor)

2. Balchug Racing No. 21 (Kirill Kirakozov, Mikhail Loboda)

3. AIMOL Racing No. 31 (Khairov Alexey, Chernov Alexey)

GT PRO

1. Capital Racing Team No. 13 (Remenyako Denis, Titarenko Sergey)

2. YADRO Motorsport No. 33 (Kizilov Maxim, Shaitar Viktor)

3. DRTeam No. 10 (Alexey Denisov, Evgeniy Chikinev, Anastasia Mikhailus)

G.T

1. YADRO Motorsport No. 16 (Sergey Stolyarov, Rinat Salikhov)

2. Team Garis No. 74 (Pogosyan David, Menshikov Vladimir)

3. APR Team No. 126 (Khairov Marat, Markov Alexey, Labazov Vladimir)

GT LIGHT

1. OBAGRA Racing Team No. 36 (Dmitry Obraztsov, Vladislav Agnivin, Rustam Ramazonov)

2. X-Rays Motorsport No. 23 (Elizarov Maxim, Dimitradze Vakhtang, Manuylov Roman, Shipov Anatoly)

3. Classic Car Race No. 92 (Ovsienko Roman, Volodin Evgeniy, Gordyushkin Maxim, Charikov Ilya)

Overall winners – Black thorn no. 111