Race of Champions Changes 'Hardware': Legends to Compete on Updated LADA Vesta
New Year — with new «hardware»
Near Tolyatti, on the legendary ice track in Sosnovka, the 28th Race of Champions will take place. This event will bring together the country«s best racers, and this year they will face an important novelty — the updated sports LADA Vesta.
Kirill Ladygin intends to win his tenth medal
«For the first time, pilots will compete for victory not only behind the wheel of the proven LADA Iskra Sport, but also in the modernized LADA Vesta Sport,» the competition organizers said.
In 2026, the tournament will mark its 30th anniversary, and the competitions will serve as a prologue to this major milestone. The first winner in 1996 was Sergey Alyasov.
The key update to the car is the installation of a 1.8-liter naturally aspirated engine. The unit will be paired with a sequential 5-speed gearbox.
«This will make the competition on the track even more spectacular and dynamic,» the organizers said.
The race format remains the same: after paired runs in groups, the strongest will advance to the quarterfinals, and then to the final. The main trophy is the «Silver Ladya» cup.
«This year, the confrontation in the star race will be interesting. The current record holder for number of wins, Kirill Ladygin (9 wins), intends to secure his tenth victory in the anniversary year of 2026 for the race. He will be challenged by multiple champions and young talents,» tournament representatives reported.
This year, taking to the ice will be:
Kirill Ladygin — 9-time winner of the Race.
Dmitry Bragin and Vladimir Sheshenin — multiple champions.
Vitaly Petrov — the first Russian Formula 1 driver.
Vladimir Vasilyev and Roman Rusinov — legends of Russian rally and rally raids.
Arkady Tsaregradtsev — the king of drift.
Champions and podium finishers of circuit racing: Mikhail Simonov, Nikolay Karamyshev, Alexander Smolyar, Artem Severyukhin, Yaroslav Shevyrtalov, and others.
Masters of rally raids: Bogdan Karimov, Dmitry Voronov.
How and where to see the ice show?
Tickets for the event are already on sale on the website lada-sport.ru. For all who cannot come to Tolyatti, a live broadcast will be organized on the social networks of the LADA Sport ROSNEFT team, and the final runs will be shown on the MATCH TV channel.
