Smolensk Ring Explained

The Smolensk Ring is a circuit in western Russia near the town of Safonovo in the settlement of Verkhnedneprovsky. It is located 90km (60miles) east of its namesake city of Smolensk and about 250km (160miles) west of Moscow. The construction of the 3.362km (02.089miles) circuit started in 2007, and the inaugural international event was a round of the FIA European Truck Racing Championship in August 2010.^[1]

The Smolensk Ring was initially supposed to host rounds of the FIA GT3 European Championship in 2011,^{[2] [3]} however this was later postponed to 2012 because the track didn't complete in time modifications required to garner the necessary FIA track license.^{[4] [5]}

History

The track was designed by Hermann Tilke and his design bureau using the features of the pre-existing landscape of the designated area, resulting in a 3.362km (02.089miles), wide track containing fast corners, straights and twisty sections.^{[6] [7]}

The race track, with the prerequisite modifications in place, will fulfill the International Automobile Federation (FIA) requirements for a Grade 2 race track, and the first category according to the classification of the Russian Automobile Federation (RAF). With the FIA Grade 2 license, the Smolensk Ring would be able to host motor racing for all classes except Formula One.^[8] But it was lastly graded by Grade 4 until 24 May 2020.

Russian Touring Car Championship driver Yuri Semenchev was killed in an accident at the circuit in August 2012.^[9]

Action sports

August 2010 — 5 stage FIA European Truck Racing Championship (Truck Battle Russia 2010)
22 May 2011 — 1 stage RTCC (Russian Touring Car Championship)
30–31 July 2011 — 6 stageFIA European Truck Racing Championship (Truck Battle Russia 2011)
9 October 2011 — 7 stage RTCC (Russian Touring Car Championship)

Lap records

As of May 2023, the fastest official race lap records at the Smolensk Ring are listed as:

Category	Time	Driver	Vehicle	Event
Full Circuit: 3.362 km (2010–present)
	1:25.408^[10]			2012 Smolensk Formula Russia round
	1:27.257^[11]			2017 Smolensk SMP F4 round
	1:31.618^[12]			2023 Smolensk RCRS round
	1:32.401^[13]			2021 Smolensk RCRS round

External links

• Circuit website

Notes and References

1. Web site: Smolensk Vorbericht . 3 August 2010 . 22 May 2023.
2. Web site: Races . Superleague Formula . 2011-06-05 . 2011-06-10 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20101224085255/http://www.superleagueformula.com/races . 2010-12-24 .
3. Web site: SF : Superleague Formula announces World Cup 2011 races across 4 continents . F1sa.com . 2 May 2011 . 10 June 2011.
4. Web site: SF : Smolensk round postponed . autosport.com . 22 June 2011 . 23 June 2011.
5. Web site: Russian GT3 Race Postponed for 2011. FIA GT3 European Championship Website. 19 August 2011.
6. Web site: 2011 Superleague Formula of Russia at Smolensk Ring - 9–11 September 2011 . Superleague.gptickets.com . 2011-06-10.
7. Web site: Автодром "Смоленское кольцо" - российская гоночная трасса . Smolenskring.ru . 2011-06-10.
8. Web site: Google Translate . Translate.google.com . 2011-06-10.
9. News: Golyshev. Gregory. Yuri Semenchev killed in Russian touring car crash. TouringCarTimes. touringcartimes.com. 20 August 2012. 23 August 2012.
10. Web site: Russian Touring Car Championship 2012 8. Smolensk Smolenskring 29.-30.9.2012, 3.357km Formel Russia, Rennen 1, 10 Runden . 30 September 2012 . 16 November 2022.
11. Web site: 2017 SMP Formula 4 - North European Zone 2. Smolensk (RUS) 27.5.-28.5.2017, 3357m Rennen 1, 18 Runden . 28 May 2017 . 15 November 2022.
12. Web site: TCR Russia 2023 » Smolensk Round 3 Results . 20 May 2023 . 22 May 2023.
13. Web site: 2021 RCRS Smolensk GT4 Race 1 Results . https://web.archive.org/web/20220706202707/http://raf-rcrs.ru/media/documents/stages/2021_1_gt4_r1.pdf . 15 May 2021 . 6 July 2022 . 31 March 2023.