REC Endurance Race: Final

Let’s start the report again with a disclaimer. If for some reason you missed how the prestigious and beautiful discipline of endurance racing gained popularity in Russia, we recommend [репортаж Дмитрия Ласькова](https://motor.ru/reports/russkii-endurans.htm): it will help you understand the meaning of long races, what are the features of the Russian championship and why it is so interesting to follow. And also – to feel the atmosphere of the REC series.
Evgeny SafronovThe season finale took place in the same place as [первый этап](https://motor.ru/news/rec-mrw-2023.htm) – at Moscow Raceway. The autumn race set a record both for the championship itself and for the circuit before it even started: an unprecedented number of participants! With all 33 cars lined up on the grid, the tail of the peloton stretched around the corner of the starting straight
Larisa LaschenovaThere were 17 cars entered in the GT and GT Pro categories alone!
Larisa LaschenovaThe placement on the starting grid was determined by the qualifying results. And the surprises began here.
Larisa LaschenovaPole position was won by crew No. 85 of the BlackThorn team on the Ligier JS 53 Evo sports prototype. Unfortunately, he was unable to finish due to engine problems.
Evgeny SafronovSecond place in the front row went to the crew 48 of the Yadro Motorsport team driving a Mercedes AMG GT3.
Evgeny SafronovBut where is the prototype, the number of which has already become legendary? Yes, we are talking about “26” and the G-Drive Racing team. The crew of Roman Rusinov and Vadim Meshcheryakov encountered technical problems and found themselves at the very tail of the peloton.
Evgeny SafronovThis situation in itself created intrigue: will Roman Rusinov be able to break through a whole swarm of cars that are very different in speed? The answer was not long in coming: the titled rider needed only 40 minutes to cut through the peloton and lead the race.
Evgeny SafronovThe role of the safety car was played by one already familiar to readers of Motor. [Exeed RX](https://motor.ru/testdrives/samaya-dorogaya-model-exeed.htm).
Evgeny SafronovThis Mercedes 190 E immediately became our favorite. Including thanks to the fervent whistle of the compressor with which it rushed past the stands. But, unfortunately, he retired as a result of an accident.
Evgeny SafronovWe sincerely hope that the damage to the veteran car is not too serious. Before the accident, he completed his best lap of one hundred and ninety in 1 minute 57 seconds. This is a little slower than the Shortcuts and a little faster than the Mazda 3 of the Mazda Karting Academy team and the three-ruble BMW E92 from the same Classic Car Racing team.
Evgeny SafronovOnce again, the one of a kind graced the race with her presence. [Marussia GT](https://motor.ru/lab/marussia-gt-video.htm). The IYengineering & Mospolytech team took third place in the GT Pro category. Marusya’s best lap is 1:48. This is the pace of racing Seat (see next slide).
Evgeny SafronovRacing Seat, in a sense, is the quintessence of European circuit racing. They even had their own category: GT Pro Seat. In the foreground is its winner: crew No. 10 of the DRTeam team on a Leon Cupra of the TCR class. But behind him you can see the no longer young, but still militant Leon Supercopa of the VMPAuto AK Racing Team (72).
Evgeny SafronovHe took second place in the category. If we compare the best laps, the old Seat was less than 0.02 seconds behind the new one.
Nikita ShorinovTaped up after a collision, the Mercedes-AMG GT4 of the RSCar Motorsport team had a very dashing look – well, exactly like a pirate with an eye patch. Unfortunately, the team was no longer able to make up for the time spent in the pits – 10th place in the GT category and 25th overall.
Larisa LaschenovaWell, what would REC be without Shortcuts! First place in the CN category was won by crew No. 43 of the Alex Racing Team
Nikita ShorinovBMW M3 E36 of OBAGRA Racing Team
Evgeny SafronovThe fastest lap of the day was scored by Roman Rusinov: 1:33.794
Larisa LaschenovaYadro Motorsport’s Mercedes-AMG GT4 takes first place in the GT category
Evgeny SafronovThe middle-aged Lamborghini Gallardo GT3 of the Spora GT 63 team became second in the GT Pro category and third overall.
Evgeny SafronovIt’s amazing how much faster the Lambo is than the GT category leader: the best lap time is 1:36 versus 1:40 for the number 33 AMG. In essence, this is the difference between the GT3 and GT4 classes.
Evgeny SafronovAnd in general, evaluate the difference in pace between the categories: the fastest of the Shortcuts, the same Mercedes-AMG gains 12 seconds per lap
Larisa LaschenovaThe only “body” car that was faster than Lamborghini was the Mercedes-AMG GT3 of the Yadro Motorsport team. First place in the GT PRO category and second overall! At the same time, crew No. 48 completed the best lap in a mind-blowing 1:35.938.
Evgeny SafronovMoreover, the Mercedes-AMG racing car was actually hot on the heels of the Ligier JS 53 Evo. Before the retirement, the green prototype completed its best lap in 1:35.669 (just 0.027 seconds faster) with an average speed of 147.92 km/h versus 147.51 km/h for the Mercedes.
Evgeny SafronovTeamGaris’ Midget 2L, ruthlessly styled after the SLS AMG, was placed in the same category as the prototypes, and even won silver in it. The bottom line is that there were only three cars entered in the CN Pro category, and Team BlackThorn’s Ligier was eliminated.
Larisa LaschenovaThe brave Midget loses almost 20 seconds per lap to the invincible G-Drive G01 prototype. Overall – 13th place.
Evgeny SafronovThe Mazda3 of the Mazda Karting Academy team won the GT Light category. In absolute terms, this is the 18th result. Crew 53’s best lap was under two minutes, and its average speed over the entire four hours of the race was 109.67 km/h.
Evgeny SafronovAt dusk, the colors of the race fade, but… a glow appears. Literally
Evgeny SafronovEvgeny SafronovEvgeny SafronovEvgeny SafronovLarisa LaschenovaThe G-Drive Racing team and G-Drive G01 prototype pilots Roman Rusinov and Vadim Meshcheryakov after the finish. Absolute victory!
Evgeny SafronovOnce again we state that the result in long races is not guaranteed to anyone, and until the very last seconds. That is why the joy of the pilots, even after hundreds of victories, is sincere, and the spectators are interested in watching the race. After the technical meeting [на последнем круге](https://motor.ru/reports/garage-fest-2023.htm) (!) St. Petersburg stage and problematic qualifying in the final, the victory of G-Drive Racing does not seem predetermined at all.
Evgeny SafronovEvgeny SafronovLarisa LaschenovaLarisa LaschenovaEvgeny SafronovEvgeny SafronovMeanwhile, the organizers of the series are already preparing in full for the next season. Anastasia Bendikova, director of the ASPAS sports club, the general organizer of REC: “The calendar will be updated by February next year. I am glad that next year many teams are already purchasing and preparing equipment specifically for our series. We will also be consulting with class teams to ensure we meet their expectations as best we can. We need to pay more attention to the teams’ comments on the championship rules for the next season. There is a lot of interest in the series from the sport side.”
Evgeny Safronov

On September 23, the 4th stage of the Russian Endurance Racing Series (REC) took place at the Moscow Raceway near Moscow. The 2023 season finale set a record number of participants for both the series and the circuit – for the first time, 33 crews lined up at the start! In total, more than 50 crews and 110 pilots from different cities and countries were entered for the season. The final race of the season was very bright – see this in our photo gallery.