The fourth stage of the RDS Open Championship will be held in St. Petersburg
On July 18 and 19, the Igora Drive circuit in St. Petersburg will once again host a round of the RDS Open Championship. The competition will take place as part of the anniversary GARAGE FEST Igora Drive and will be included in the extensive festival program.
Who will compete for a place on the podium?
The list of participants includes drivers from Samara, Yekaterinburg, Stavropol Krai, Moscow Region, Moscow, and St. Petersburg. Spectators will witness dynamic and intense runs from the regular representatives of the RDS Open peloton in the 2026 season: the current RDS Open champion and leader of the individual standings after the previous rounds, Anatoly Shcherbak; drivers Vladimir Afanasyev, Igor Ozolin, and Stanislav Antropov (all three representing the Tamashi Racing team); athletes from the STAR PËR STARS AIMOL team, Dmitry Dobrovolsky, Vladislav Erofeev, and Sergey Korneev; driver of the TsMRBank team, Ruslan Arefiev; as well as athletes competing in the individual standings – Sergey Davidadze and Alexander Leonov.
Additionally, as part of the fourth round, three athletes from St. Petersburg will join the lineup – Denis Bochkarev, known to RDS Open viewers from the 2025 season, as well as Elisey Nikitin and Matvey Vakhrushev.
“Media Races” in the Drift Discipline
As part of GARAGE FEST Igora Drive, the large-scale project “Media Races 2026” will be implemented. Its participants are bloggers beloved by millions of social media users, who will try their hand at various motorsport disciplines throughout the festival. The participants will also showcase their skills in drifting as part of the RDS Open Championship.
On Saturday, July 18, bloggers Big Russian Boss, Anton Forsazh, Yan Dylan, and Ekaterina Tyurina will take to the RDS Open configuration to show their fans and drift enthusiasts real drive and spectacular runs in the “Concrete Colosseum.” After the runs, the star participants of the competition will take part in an autograph session, where they will interact with festival guests, answer the most interesting questions, and, of course, take photos with everyone who wishes.
On Sunday, July 19, the bloggers will participate in the drivers’ parade for the fourth round of the RDS Open Championship and showcase their battle cars to festival guests.
Configuration Update in the “Concrete Colosseum”
Traditionally, the RDS Open Championship round takes place at the Igora Drive drift area. Spectators and athletes have nicknamed this location the “Concrete Colosseum” due to the extremely close proximity of concrete barriers to the cars’ racing lines – here, drivers take real risks, and mistakes are especially costly.
In the 2026 season, the layout will be changed – this time, the start and acceleration zone will be located directly under the grandstands, and then spectators and drivers will face a complex configuration with numerous transitions. Drift enthusiasts will see every meter of the track up close and will get a dose of adrenaline and vivid emotions. Athletes will need to find the most precise settings for their battle cars and demonstrate a high level of car control in controlled drifts.
Schedule of the Fourth Round of the RDS Open Championship
The competition weekend will follow a schedule familiar to regular spectators. On Saturday, July 18, spectators can expect qualifying runs, and on Sunday, July 19 – tandem runs using a double-elimination system.
Saturday, July 18
12:20-12:35 – Drivers’ parade on the track
13:00-16:00 – Qualifying and “Media Races”
16:30-17:15 – Autograph session in the service park
17:45-19:15 – Tandem practice
Sunday, July 19
10:30-10:45 – Drivers’ parade on the track
10:45-11:30 – Autograph session in the service park
12:00-17:30 – Tandem runs
17:50 – Award ceremony
What will GARAGE FEST Igora Drive be remembered for?
The anniversary GARAGE FEST will traditionally combine motorsport, culture, and entertainment. The festival program, in addition to the fourth round of the RDS Open Championship, includes the endurance race “1000 Kilometers of Igora Drive,” the third round of the GT Cup 2026, an exhibition of rare cars from the “Avtokultura” project, a dragster display, lectures and discussions on the history and future of automobiles, concerts by Vanya Dmitrienko, the band “Komnata Kultury,” and Polina Gagarina, as well as numerous activities for guests of all ages.
The RDS Open Drift Championship is held without age restrictions. A free live broadcast is available for online fans on the RDS TV platform.
