Lada Sports Rosneft will compete with two Lada Vesta Sport TCRs in the final round of the WTCR at the Sochi circuit. The Russian structure and brand thus make their debut in the contest, although they return to the bosom of the premier class of passenger cars after competing in the WTCC in the past. The firm will do so through a double ‘wild card’ with the two pilots with whom he competes in the TCR Russia. Thus, Mikhail Mityaev and Kirill Ladygin will compete against the regular WTCR drivers, although one of them will do so as current TCR Russia champion with Lada.
The last meeting of the TCR Russia in Sochi has served to decide the title in favor of Kiril Ladygin, in an almost perfect weekend for Lada Sport Rosneft. What’s more, the championship was resolved by the fast track, in the first of the two races of the event. Mikhail Mityaev conquered the partial victory with the first of the Lada Vesta Sport TCR, while Ladygin took the title by finishing fourth and securing a sufficient lead over Dmitry Bragin as if to make the second race of the event indifferent. Bragin’s accident at the start marked the champion’s performance.
Beyond the drivers and team title achieved by Kirill Ladygin and Lada Sport Rosneft at TCR Russia, the last round of the contest has served the champions to accumulate kilometers and data for the ‘wild card’ in the WTCR. It is true that the Goodyear tires used in the World Touring Car Cup are not used in the TCR Russia, but that does not prevent Ladygin, Mityaev and Lada are the only members of the WTCR grid with previous experience in Sochi. Point in favor of the Russian formation when it comes to compensating for the extra weight of their cars by competing as ‘wild cards’.