City-Center Gymkhana: How Ulyanovsk Hosted a Stage of the VOLGA Regional League
While some motorsport disciplines traditionally gather spectators at racetracks, gymkhana is increasingly moving into the urban environment. It was this format that the organizers chose for the second round of the VOLGA regional league of the Yuka Drive Gymkhana Lite Fortis series, which took place in Ulyanovsk as part of the Youth Day celebrations.
For one day, the “Art-Ulyanovsk Right Bank” venue turned into a true automotive festival. An exhibition of rare cars, a car audio championship, arm wrestling, a music program, and dozens of cars from different generations made the round interesting not only for regular motorsport fans but also for those who found themselves there for the first time.
However, the main event was still the gymkhana competition — a discipline where the result is determined not by horsepower but by precision of car control. Drivers need to navigate a complex configuration with turns and technical elements, while any mistake or knocked-over obstacle instantly translates into penalty seconds.
That is precisely why surprises regularly happen in gymkhana. Here, a powerful car does not guarantee victory at all, and a debutant is capable of challenging the recognized leaders.
From a debut win in qualifying to an unexpected final
The qualifying session alone showed how tight the competition would be. The best time — 01:58.139 — was set by Igor Sakharov (Moscow) in a BMW E30.
Interestingly, the current season is Sakharov’s first in gymkhana. At the same time, he is among the few drivers who decided to run a full Yuka Drive Gymkhana season, combining the professional PRO series and the regional LITE leagues.
Kamil Khamidullin (Ufa) in a Nissan Silvia S13 finished qualifying in second place, losing to the leader by just 0.064 seconds. The reigning champion of last season’s PRO and LITE series also competes in all rounds of the championship, so the battle between the two drivers looked symbolic — both are having the most eventful season possible.
Unexpected discoveries of the round
Despite the strong field of participants, one of the main discoveries of the competition was Roman Levashov (Saransk).
For him, this was his first start in Yuka Drive Gymkhana, and he competed in the car of his friend Sergei Ovchinnikov, who had prepared a new project for the current season and handed his previous car over to his friend. Despite his lack of experience, Levashov immediately managed to reach the semifinals and finished his debut round in fourth place.
Equally unexpected was the result of Pyotr Muntianov (Samara). For the Nissan Laurel driver, this was only his second start in gymkhana, yet he already managed to reach the final of the round.
Victory after a car change
The main hero of the competition was Maxim Skornyakov (Sochi).
During the round, his BMW E30 encountered technical problems, so the driver had to contest the decisive runs in Igor Sakharov’s car. There was virtually no time to get accustomed to it, but Skornyakov quickly adapted to the new machine and managed to maintain a high pace.
In the final run, the Sochi driver proved faster than Pyotr Muntianov — 01:56.197 against 02:00.940 — securing victory in the second round of the VOLGA regional league.
Third place went to Kamil Khamidullin, who also received the award in the “Best Livery of the Round” category. The organizers noted the updated design of his Nissan Silvia S13, prepared for the 2026 season.
The championship battle continues
After two rounds, the overall standings remain extremely tight.
Individual standings:
- Andrei Chetverikov (Samara, Nissan Skyline) — 271 points
- Maxim Skornyakov (Sochi, BMW E30) — 265 points
- Kamil Khamidullin (Ufa, Nissan Silvia S13) — 223 points
The final decider of the season will take place on August 9 in Samara. It is there that the winner of the VOLGA regional league will be determined, who will receive a berth in the final round of the Yuka Drive Gymkhana PRO series.
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