AVTOVAZwill hold the 28th Champions Race, one of the major events announcing the opening of the country’s motorsports season, on January 24, 2026.
The competition will be held on a traditional ice track at the manufacturer’s training complex located in the village of Sosnovka, Samara region.
This event is being held at a time when Russia is increasingly isolated from the international community due to the war in Ukraine. As a result, Russia’s participation in global sports competitions and international schedules is limited, and in this context, domestic competitions such as the Champions Race are gaining greater symbolic and competitive importance within Russian motorsports.
In the 2026 competition LADA Iskra SportThe race will take place aboard the updated LADA Vesta Sport, and 18 leading drivers representing Russian motorsports will participate. This year also marks the 30th anniversary of the Champions Race. The first race held on the synchronized track of the AVTOVAZ complex took place in 1996, with rally driver Sergey Alyasov winning.
Kirill Ladygin, who currently holds the record for most wins in the competition, is attempting a historic milestone of winning his 10th title in a monumental year. The grid includes established Togliatti winners such as Dmitry Bragin, Vladimir Sheshenin and Mikhail Mityaev, as well as notable newcomers. Among them are Formula 1 test driver and Silk Way Rally winner Roman Rusinov, KAMAZ-Master team member and Russian rally raid champion Bogdan Karimov, and national champion in the same event Vladimir Vasilyev.
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Race of Champions 2026 also introduces significant technical updates. The LADA Iskra Sport and the updated LADA Vesta Sport use a 1.8-liter naturally aspirated engine with increased torque and a 5-speed sequential transmission. This powertrain has already proven its competitive performance through racing Iskra in previous competitions.
The game format is the same as before. In the qualifying stage, drivers from each group race in pairs, with the fastest two advancing to the quarterfinals. Afterwards, the four finalists compete for the championship in the finals. The winner of the final race wins the ‘Silver Tower’ trophy, the symbol of the competition.
Source and image: AVTOVAZ JSC. This content was created with the help of artificial intelligence and was reviewed by the editorial team.
