2007-12-15: New Website Design

Art-Line Engineering introduces its updated website. Please see the History, News, Media, Partners and Contacts sections.

2007-09-30: Samarin and Art-Line are the Champions

Samarin and Shaitar battled for the 2007 Championship title. They started the race with the same number of points. Both pilots have driven Russian ArtTechF1607 formulas since the middle of the season. This is the first time since the introduction of the Italian Dallara to Russian racetracks in 1997 that a domestic formula won the fastest series in Russia. Ivan Samarin also won the 7-stage Moscow Oblast Governor’s Cup.

2007-09-29: Last 2007 Qualification Results

14:05 The results of the qualification round for the 13th stage of the Championship are just in. The order is: Sergei Chukanov, Oleg Kazakov, Victor Shaitar, Ivan Samarin, Marko Nevalainen, David Markozov, Sergei Mokshantsev, Artem Kholin, Yuri Baiborodov, Andrei Naboka and Dmitry Dobrovolsky.

2007-09-16: Sunday Race in Alastaro

The latest stage of the Formula 1600 was held in Alastaro, Finland. Istok Art-Line Racing achieved an early win, surpassing its main opponent, Lukoil Racing, for the first time in the history of the championship. Victor Shaitar won the race on Saturday, beating not only his Russian rivals, but also all of the Finnish pilots, including Rami Raikkonen, the brother of the famous Formula 1 pilot.
On Sunday, Istok’s second pilot, Ivan Samarin, the main contender for the season’s individual gold medal, had reached the second position and was preparing to challenge the Lukoil pilot. However, a third of the lap before the finish line his engine gave out.
It is important to give credit to the Russian ArtTech formulas the Istok pilots drove. For the first time, a Russian formula triumphed over the Italian Dallaras that most of the Finnish teams use.

2007-09-15: Shaitar Wins Saturday Race in Alastaro

Formula 1600 Championship Stage 11: Alastaro, Finland
A formula designed and built in Russia won an international race on a European racetrack for the first time in the history of motorsports. Victor Shaitar (Istok Art-Line Racing), driving an ArtTech F1607, posted the best results among 26 pilots, including Rami Raikkonen (the older brother of Formula 1 pilot Kimi Raikkonen).
The final stage of the Formula 3 Championship of Finland is held this weekend at the Alastaro racetrack. All Russian Formula 1600 teams are participating in the race. The Formula 1600s have smaller, but almost equally powerful (175hpw) engines.
The strength of the Russian pilots became obvious in the qualification round. The top ten positions included only 4 Finnish pilots (Jesse Krohn in 4th place, Tomi Limmonen in 7th place, Anssi Kela in 9th place and Rami Raikkonen in 10th place). The first row was held by 2 Lukoil Racing formulas (Dallara chassis). Ivan Samarin (Istok Art-Line Racing), the leader of the Russian championship, lost the starting position due to an incorrectly tuned gearshift and had to fight his way up from 8th place.
By the end of the race the Russian-made formulas became the fastest on the track: Shaitar passed both Lukoil pilots, while Ivan Samarin overcame Kramarsky (MegaFon Motorsport), Ladygin (Forza Sport) and Jesse Krohn.
The Sunday race begins at 3pm MSK. Oleg Kazakov (Lukoil Racing) and Ivan Samarin will start in the first row. It is notable that the fastest laps of the first four Russian pilots are within 0.08 seconds of each other, which attests to the high professionalism of the young athletes, who quickly got used to a new racetrack. The weekend’s races in Alastaro will count towards the national Formula 1600 championship.

2007-09-15: Just 5 Points between Shaitar and Samarin

The second to last stage of the Championship decided the fate of the team medal for Russia’s fastest series, the Formula 1600. This stage was held on September 15-16 at the Finnish Alastaro track. Victor Shaitar’s victory on Saturday and his third place on Sunday put Istok Art-Line Racing out of reach for other teams.
Istok Art-Line Racing won the championship at its 12th stage with 304 points, compared to 230 for its closest rival, Lukoil Racing. MegaFon Motorsport is another 90 points behind.

2007-09-1: Shaitar Wins Championship 9th Stage on Saturday

The 9th stage of the Formula 1600 Championship was held at Raceway ADM on Saturday, September 1. Victor Shaitar (Istok Art-Line Racing) won from the pole position. There was a lot of passing in the race and the first five pilots reached the finish line in close succession. The fastest laps of the top seven pilots were within a second of each other.
Oleg Kazakov (Lukoil Racing) came in second; he will be starting from pole position on Sunday. David Markozov (MegaFon Motorsport) received third place. Ivan Samarin, the main contender for the title of Champion of Russia, came in fourth and Sergei Chukanov (Lukoil Racing) was fifth at the finish line.
The Sunday race will begin at 2pm.

2007-09-1: Samarin Ahead in Individual Rankings for 2007 Championship

Shaitar could still take the individual champion title away from Ivan Samarin, although it would be difficult. The final scores omit the worst two results, and with this in mind Shaitar is now up to 109 points, while Samarin still has the same 123 points. This is a difference of just 14 points. To become the champion, Shaitar just needs to be 3 points ahead of Samarin at each stage.

2007-08-12: Istok Pilots get Double Victory

The latest racing weekend of the Formula 1600 resulted in a double win for Istok Art-Line Racing. Ivan Samarin and Victor Shaitar took the top two steps of the podium on Sunday, for the first time while driving Russian-designed ArtTech F1607. Samarin strengthened his individual position and Istok is now almost guaranteed the season team victory. The pilots of its main rival, Lukoil Racing, came in third and fifth.

2007-08-11: Istok Art-Line Racing Press Release

Today’s qualification round and first race may become a historical event. For the first time in the Formula 1600 national championship the team that is vying for the gold has transitioned entirely to a Russian-made chassis.
Istok Art-Line Racing pilots Ivan Samarin and Victor Shaitar are using ArtTech F1607 formulas, one of the latest developments of the ArtLine Engineering design bureau. Even though the pilots had to tune the cars from scratch, on Thursday Samarin and Shaitar posted the best times of the day. They came in an entire second ahead of next-best Lukoil Racing pilots, Sergei Chukanov and Oleg Kazakov, while in the Formula 1600 class the leader sometimes wins by only hundredths or thousandths of a second.