Sergey Yuryevich Zlobin ( rus, Серге́й Ю́рьевич Зло́бин, p=sɪrˈɡʲej ˈjʉrʲjɪvʲɪdʑ ˈzlobʲɪn; born 29 May 1970) is a Russian

racing In sport, racing is a competition of speed, in which competitors try to complete a given task in the shortest amount of time. Typically this involves traversing some distance, but it can be any other task involving speed to reach a specific go ...

driver, who competed twice in the Le Mans 24h Endurance Race alongside being a test driver for

Minardi Minardi was an Italian automobile racing team and constructor founded in Faenza in 1979 by Giancarlo Minardi. It competed in the Formula One World Championship from 1985 until 2005 with little success, nevertheless acquiring a loyal followin ...

Career

Zlobin began racing in 1996 at the later age of 26, and took part in several competitions, such as Danian Cup in rallycross. In 1998, he made a switch to single-seater racing, initially competing in Russian Formula Three Championship and

Euro Formula 3000 Auto GP, sometimes referred to as the Auto GP World Series and formerly known as both Euro Formula 3000 and the Euroseries 3000, was a European formula racing series. The series' roots can be traced back to 1999 and the Italian Formula 3000 serie ...

for several years. In August 2002, he was announced as a test driver for the

Formula One Formula One (also known as Formula 1 or F1) is the highest class of international racing for open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The World Drivers' Championship ...

team, becoming the first Russian to test a Formula 1 car. His signing was a part of the sponsorship deal that Minardi made with

Gazprom PJSC Gazprom ( rus, Газпром, , ɡɐzˈprom) is a Russian majority state-owned multinational energy corporation headquartered in the Lakhta Center in Saint Petersburg. As of 2019, with sales over $120 billion, it was ranked as the largest ...

, brokered by Oksana Kosachenko. However, Gazprom paid only 2 million dollars out the promised 9 million during the season, which led to the contract breaking down. After a one-year hiatus, Zlobin returned to motorsport in 2004, and continued the testing programme with Minardi. Zlobin competed at Le Mans twice, in 2005 and 2014. He competed in a number of GT and Endurance racing series, including the

FIA GT Championship The FIA GT Championship was a sports car racing series organized by the Stéphane Ratel Organisation (SRO) at the behest of the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The championship was mostly concentrated in Europe, but throughout ...

, Blancpain Endurance Series and

European Le Mans Series The European Le Mans Series (abbreviated as ELMS) is a European sports car racing endurance series inspired by the 24 Hours of Le Mans race and organized by the Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO). The European Le Mans Series is similar to the fo ...

Personal life

On 24 September 2007, Zlobin survived a car bomb which had been planted in his Mercedes-Benz G500. The explosion caused minor injuries to Zlobin's legs, but he was able to get out of the vehicle himself to call police.F1 News > Former F1 test driver survives bomb attack
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Career summary

24 Hours of Le Mans results

References

Living people Russian racing drivers Italian Formula Renault 2.0 drivers Auto GP drivers FIA GT Championship drivers 24 Hours of Le Mans drivers European Le Mans Series drivers Blancpain Endurance Series drivers 1970 births 24 Hours of Daytona drivers WeatherTech SportsCar Championship drivers FIA World Endurance Championship drivers 24 Hours of Spa drivers Sportspeople from Moscow SMP Racing drivers AF Corse drivers {{F1-bio-stub