The Saturday race of the Formula 1600, the fastest national car racing championship, ended in the victory of current national champion Ivan Samarin (Istok Art-Line Racing).
The main sensation of the 7th stage of the Formula 1600 and the 5th stage of the Moscow Oblast Governor’s Cup is the fact that for the first time in many years a team that has the potential to win the championship title placed both pilots on a domestic formula, the ArtTech F1607. In the past, Italian Dallaras won all of the titles in the Formula 1600.
In the qualification round the Italian formulas of Lukoil Racing lost over half a second per lap to the Istok cars. This is a huge difference, considering the fact that the first six pilots usually make it to the finish line within a second of each other. The Lukoil pilots drove a little faster in the race, but could not even come close enough to try overtaking the leaders. After the race was over, Lukoil’s Chukanov was optimistic about the next race: “I plan to fight for first place and today’s race showed that this is possible.”
Sunday starting order:
1. Ivan Samarin (Istok Art-Line Racing), ArtTech F1607
2. Oleg Kazakov (Lukoil Racing), Dallara F399
3. Sergei Chukanov (Lukoil Racing), Dallara F399
4. Victor Shaitar (Istok Art-Line Racing), ArtTech F1607
5. Victor Antonov (MegaFon Motorsport), ArtTech F1605
6. Yuri Baiborodov (Forza Sport), Dallara F393
7. David Markozov (MegaFon Motorsport), Dallara F304
8. Sergei Mokshantsev (individual ranking), Dallara F399
9. Artem Kholin (individual ranking), Dallara F399
10. Emil Sildos (individual ranking), Dallara F399
11. Dmitry Dobrovolsky (AIMOL Racing), ArtTech F1606
12. Andrei Naboka (individual ranking), ArtTech F1605
The Sunday race begins at 3:20pm.
2007-07-22: Shaitar Wins Grand SlamThe latest racing weekend of the Formula 1600, the fastest Russian national championship, was held on July 21-22 at Raceway ADM in the suburbs of Moscow. The Moscow Oblast Governor’s Cup is also held as part of this series.
Istok Art-Line Racing clearly dominated the races on Saturday and Sunday, with new Istok pilot Victor Shaitar winning two “grand slams” (pole position, first place in the race, fastest lap and leading place from start to finish). His partner, current Champion of Russia Ivan Samarin gave up the bronze to Yuri Baiborodov (Forza Sport) a few seconds before the finish line. On Sunday, however, Samarin got the silver, maintaining his leading rank in the Formula 1600 championship as well as the Governor’s Cup.
Shaitar’s exemplory performance allowed him to skip two steps in the ranking. Now Istok Art-Line Racing pilots hold the first two positions in the Championship and in the Cup. The team has double the points of its nearest rival, Lukoil Racing.
The first Formula 1600 race of the weekend ended at 5:50pm. Victor Shaitar, who is driving an ArtTech formula again for Istok Art-Line Racing started in the pole position, won the race and had the fastest lap. This means that he will have the pole position again on Sunday.
Lukoil Racing’s Sergei Chukanov was more than 5 seconds behind the leader. The fate of the bronze medal was decided in the very last few meters before the finish line, though it was not a photo finish. Yuri Baiborodov (Forza Sport) passed current champion of Russia Ivan Samarin (Istok Art-Line Racing) in the last turn and finished 0.28 seconds ahead.
Saturday starting order:
1. Victor Shaitar (Istok Art-Line Racing)
2. Sergei Chukanov (Lukoil Racing)
3. Oleg Kazakov (Lukoil Racing)
4. Ivan Samarin (Istok Art-Line Racing)
5. Victor Antonov (MegaFon Motorsport)
6. Yuri Baiborodov (Forza Sport)
7. David Markozov (MegaFon Motorsport)
8. Artem Kholin (individual ranking)
9. Andrei Naboka (individual ranking)
10. Dmitry Dobrovolsky (AIMOL Racing)
11. Emil Sildos (individual ranking)
Saturday results:
1. Victor Shaitar
2. Sergei Chukanov
3. Yuri Baiborodov
4. Ivan Samarin
5. Oleg Kazakov
6. David Markozov
7. Victor Antonov
8. Artem Kholin
9. Dmitry Dobrovolsky
10. Emil Sildos
Shota Abkhazava, team manager and head of the design bureau:
“Starting with this stage, Victor Shaitar will be Istok Art-Line Racing’s second pilot. Shaitar had the best time (1:35.6 seconds) overall in the qualification round on Thursday, driving a formula with a Russian ArtTech chassis, produced by our design bureau. We say good-bye to Kirill Ovcharenko as he travels to Europe to race in the Renault 2000 series. We hope that our “graduate” will make us proud. The team did everything it could for him.
His results were brilliant, including a victory in the last race. We sincerely wish him the best of luck in international motorsports, in which the Formula 1600, the fastest and technologically most advanced class in Russia, was, as always, a stepping stone.”
Shota Abkhazava spoke about the qualification round, held at Raceway ADM in reverse configuration (counterclockwise).
“When you drive counterclockwise, Myachkovo becomes an entirely new track. Many pilots find it even more interesting. The new track is still somewhat slippery, but the quality of the surface has been improving with each race. The tire limits have affected all teams - they will only receive new sets for the race (under the regulations of the class, each pilot is only allowed to use one set of tires per weekend).
Our new development, the ArtTech chassis, has performed excellently and now our policy is to only have prize-winning pilots drive it. Istok will have one formula ArtTech at this stage; a second car will be prepared for Russian Champion Ivan Samarin by the next stage.
Samarin performed very well at the tests and his results are stable, but we still need to find the optimal settings. We will try to do that tomorrow.
ArtLine Engineering, the designer of the ArtTech chassis is currently the only domestic automotive equipment producer whose products perform better than analogous imports, such as the Italian Dallara, even though Lukoil Racing has spent all of its efforts and budget to tune the Dallara. Lukoil still supports a foreign manufacturer, while we are transitioning to Russian equipment.”
Another stage of the Formula 1600, the fastest national racing series, was held on Sunday. The championship’s youngest pilot, Kirill Ovcharenko (16 years old, Istok Art-Line Racing) was the winner. This was his first race in the series. David Markozov (MegaFon Motorsport) took the silver in the race and in the Moscow Oblast Governor’s Cup. Current Champion of Russia Ivan Samarin (Istok Art-Line Racing) came in third for the race weekend.
Race results:
1. Kirill Ovcharenko
2. David Markozov
3. Oleg Kazakov
4. Sergei Chukanov
5. Andrei Naboka
6. Ivan Samarin
7. Dmitry Dobrovolsky
8. Emil Sildos
9. Victor Shaitar
On Saturday Istok Art-Line Racing pilots once again reaffirmed their team’s leading place in the Championship, albeit not as impressively as two weeks ago. Despite his strong performance in the qualification round (4th place, 1:34.361 sec., 0:00.748 behind the leader), Kirill Ovcharenko finished 5th, clearly below his potential.
Ivan Samarin, who was fighting Shaitar for first place throughout the race, treated viewers to some exciting moments, but never completed a decisive attack. Second and fifth places at the finish line attest to the honest and intense battle among the pilots of Russia’s fastest series, the Formula 1600. On Sunday the team’s pilots will have the starting line, Kirill Ovcharenko with the pole position and Ivan Samarin second.
The first race of stage 3 of the Moscow Oblast Governor’s Cup and stage 3 of the Formula 1600 Championship were held at Raceway ADM on June 30. Victor Shaitar (Art-Line Engineering) won the race, driving a Russian ArtTech formula. Ivan Samarin (Istok Art-Line), who has the highest ranking in the tournament, was less than 2.5 seconds behind him. The main sensation was the third place of MegaFon Motorsport’s David Markozov: His Dallara F304, the most modern of the foreign formulas used in the national championship, was more than 1.5 seconds behind the leaders in the beginning of the season.
While the three fastest pilots came to the finish line in the same order in which they started, the race was captivating. Throughout the 12 laps, two pairs of competitors kept viewers in suspense: Ivan Samarin was a fraction of a second behind Victor Shaitar and almost passed him during the hairpin turn; Sergei Chukanov (Lukoil Racing) pressed Markozov throughout the race, but was unable to attack successfully.
Formula Rus Champion Kirill Ovcharenko, who was making his debut in the Formula 1600 championship, was less lucky. The youngest pilot had secured a solid 4th place in the qualification round, but lost his position during the start of the race.
Stage 4 of the Formula 1600 Championship begins at 2:15pm on Sunday.
The preliminary results are in for stage 2 of the Moscow Oblast Governor’s Cup and 1/2 stage of the Formula 1600 Championship.
Russian Champion Ivan Samarin (Istok Art-Line Racing) won the Saturday and the Sunday races of the Formula 1600. While he was far ahead of his rivals in the first race, on Sunday he had to fight off the attacks of series first-timer Sergei Chukanov (Lukoil Racing). The fight was especially close in the last laps: Chukanov was only half a second behind Samarin.
Formula 1600 is the oldest class in Russian motorsports. It survived the collapse of the USSR and retained the status of the “feeder series” for national car racing. This is the class that prepares young Russian pilots for serious international races. Formula 1600 is the fastest of all national series. The power-to-weight ratio of the racecars is about 330 hpw per ton.
Formula 1600 cars are complete carbon-fibre formulas that meet international safety standards. The formulas are analogous to the formulas of international Formula 3 series.
The Formula 1600 Championship of Russia is the premier championship in Russian motorsports. The races are held between May and October in 6-8 stages. Two races are held each weekend. Up to 15 pilots participate in each race, and this number has been growing with every year.
Formula 1600 team sponsors include Lukoil, MegaFon, ISTOK, Interavto, AIMOL, Sitronics and others. The races are covered by Russian television channels: about 80 hours on 7TV and DriveTV each, plus spots on RenTV news, and reports by RBC-TV, TVTs and TNT.
ArtLine Racing is one of the most experienced teams in the Formula 1600 with 7 years and 4 championship titles. ArtLine Racing “graduate” Vitalii Petrov (2005 champion) represents Russia in the GP2 international championship, the last tier before the Formula 1. No other Russian racer has made it this far in the hierarchy of international motorsports.
The team is preparing to participate in the traditional season opening race, which is also stage 1 of the Moscow Oblast Governor’s Cup. The race will take place at Raceway ADM (Ramensky region, Moscow Oblast), the most modern track in Russia. The opening ceremony is scheduled for 2:10pm, Sunday, May 27, 2007.
The first closed-circuit race of 2007 will be held on May 27. Almost all Russian circuit classes will be there: Formula 1600, Formula Rus, Touring, SuperProduction, Touring Light, National, Honda and Lada.
The first race of stage 1 of the Moscow Oblast Governor’s Cup will take place at Russia’s most modern racetrack, Raceway ADM, in the Ramensky region in the suburbs of Moscow.
The opening ceremony begins at 2:10pm. The award ceremony will be held at 5:10pm and a final press conference will take place at 5:40pm.
