Igora Drive () is a motorsport complex in the resort of Igora near Novozhilovo,

Leningrad Oblast Leningrad Oblast (, ; ; ) is a federal subjects of Russia, federal subject of Russia (an oblast). The oblast has an area of and a population of 2,000,997 (2021 Russian census, 2021 Census); up from 1,716,868 recorded in the 2010 Russian census ...

, Russia. It is located approximately north of

Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...

. On 26 June 2021, a contract was announced with the intention of moving the

Russian Grand Prix The Russian Grand Prix () was an annual motor racing event held at Sochi Autodrom – a permanent circuit built around the Olympic Park in Sochi – as part of the Formula One World Championship. The race was first held briefly in the 1910s ...

from

Sochi Autodrom The Sirius Autodrom (), known before 2024 as Sochi Autodrom () and originally as the Sochi International Street Circuit and the Sochi Olympic Park Circuit, is a permanent race track in the settlement of Sirius next to the Black Sea resort city o ...

to Igora starting on

2023 Catastrophic natural disasters in 2023 included the Lists of 21st-century earthquakes, 5th-deadliest earthquake of the 21st century 2023 Turkey–Syria earthquakes, striking Turkey and Syria, leaving up to 62,000 people dead; Cyclone Freddy ...

onwards. Due to Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022, the contract for the Grand Prix was terminated on 3 March.

Characteristics

The complex includes ten professional tracks for

oval track racing Oval track racing is a form of motorsport that is contested on an oval-shaped race track. An oval track differs from a road course in that the layout resembles an oval with turns in only one direction, and the direction of traffic is almost u ...

, drifting, rally-cross and

motocross Motocross is a form of off-road motorcycle racing held on enclosed off-road circuits. The sport evolved from motorcycle trials competitions held in the United Kingdom. History Motocross first evolved in Britain from motorcycle trials competi ...

, and

karting Kart racing or karting is a motorsport discipline using open-wheel, four-wheeled vehicles known as go-karts or shifter karts. They are usually raced on scaled-down circuits, although some professional kart races are also held on full-size motor ...

, as well a center for emergency management. The largest grandstand of the main circuit racing will accommodate five thousand people, and the total capacity of the circuit is fifty thousand people. The circuit itself was long and wide. In 2022, the circuit length was increased to by featuring of elevation changes instead of .

Competition

In 2019, the complex signed an agreement with the

Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters The Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters, commonly abbreviated as the DTM, is a sports car racing series sanctioned by ADAC. The series is based in Germany, with rounds elsewhere in Europe. The series currently races a modified version of Group GT3 gra ...

series. The contract runs for three years, with the option of a two-year extension. The first race was to be held from 29 to 31 May 2020 with W Series in support, but both races were cancelled as a result of the

COVID-19 pandemic in Russia The COVID-19 pandemic in Russia was a part of the pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 () caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (). The virus was confirmed to have spread to Russia on 31 January 2020, when two Chinese citi ...

. An agreement was also signed with organisers of the

FIA World Rallycross Championship The FIA World Rallycross Championship (official abbreviation is World RX) is a rallycross series organised by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile, FIA in conjunction with series promoter Rallycross Promoter GmbH (founded by Red Bull G ...

to host the World RX of Russia in

2020 The year 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of even ...

. However, it was later removed from the schedule due to contractual issues. Igora Drive hosted the second round of the 2020 Russian Circuit Racing Series on 25 and 26 July. From 2023, the Formula One

was initially set to be held at this track. For the Formula One race, the circuit was extended from to at the end of lap, resulting in 20 turns overall from the current 15, with both of the straights extended and a significant uphill section. However, in the wake of the

2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine On 24 February 2022, , starting the largest and deadliest war in Europe since World War II, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, conflict between the two countries which began in 2014. The fighting has caused hundreds of thou ...

, the

contract was terminated and all future races cancelled.

Events

; Current * June:

Russian Circuit Racing Series The Russian Circuit Racing Series (RCRS) is a national Russian racing series created in 2004. It started with four classes: touring, super-production, touring-light, and national class; and national-junior was added in 2015. Sergei Krylov (racin ...

SMP F4 Championship The SMP F4 Championship (also known as the F4 NEZ Championship by SMP Racing) is a racing series regulated according to FIA Formula 4 regulations. It was based in the FIA's North European Zone and the Netherlands, and was only open to drivers f ...

, SMP RSKG Endurance * July: Russian Endurance Challenge

Lap records

As of June 2025, the fastest official race lap records at the Igora Drive are listed as:

Notes

References

External links

* * {{Russian Circuit Racing Series circuits Sport in Leningrad Oblast Motorsport venues in Leningrad Oblast Racing circuits designed by Hermann Tilke