On July 18 and 19, the fourth stage of the RDS Open Championship took place in St. Petersburg as part of the "GARAGE FEST Igora Drive" festival. Professional drivers competed for victory on one of the most challenging and spectacular track configurations of the season. The winner was Sergey Korneev, an athlete from Yekaterinburg.
On the first competition day, July 18, qualifying rounds were held. Drivers performed a judges' task on the updated track configuration in solo runs – each had to pass through 13 checkpoints along a specified trajectory at the correct angle. Anatoly Shcherbak from Moscow handled the task better than anyone else. In the 2026 season, this is already the driver's second qualifying victory.
Drift fans also remembered the day for the runs by participants of the "Media Races" project. As part of the festival, four Runet stars – Big Russian Boss, Anton Forsazh, Yan Dylan, and Ekaterina Tyurina – competed in various motorsport disciplines, one of which was drifting. For the novice motorsport athletes, the judges prepared a simplified task involving four checkpoints. All drivers completed the qualifying rounds, after which the strongest among them – Big Russian Boss and Anton Forsazh – held demonstration tandem runs. The bloggers' competition was not without a racing incident – Big Russian Boss, in a duel with his opponent, made contact with the wall of the "concrete Colosseum," causing fans to worry. Ultimately, the best among the media athletes was Anton Forsazh, who also took part in a duel in the finals against current RDS Open Championship driver Dmitry Dobrovolsky (Moscow, team STAR PËR STARS AIMOL).
The second day of competition was dedicated to tandem runs, which in the 2026 season follow a double elimination system. The winner was Sergey Korneev from Yekaterinburg, representing the STAR PËR STARS AIMOL team.
In the first round, the stage winner's opponent was Samara driver Sergey Davidadze. After the hit (note: a series of joint tandem runs), the judges declared Korneev the winner, and Davidadze was sent to the lower bracket. In the second round, the Yekaterinburg driver faced Alexander Leonov (Moscow Region) in a duel – after the first duel, the judges could not decide in favor of either driver and ordered an OMT (note: re-run), and the second hit ended with Sergey Korneev's victory. The third round was no less tense for the stage winner, where he fought for a podium spot with Tamashi Racing team driver Stanislav Antropov (Omsk). One hit was again insufficient for the judges to determine the strongest driver in the pair, but after the re-run, Korneev advanced to the semifinals. Another opponent was RDS Open Championship debutant Matvey Vakhrushev (St. Petersburg), who also successfully reached the semifinals, putting up serious resistance to his opponents and demonstrating very tight and intense runs. In the battle for a place in the finals, Sergey Korneev emerged victorious, and the St. Petersburg driver became the bronze medalist of the fourth stage of the RDS Open Championship. The finals featured two experienced drivers with aggressive driving styles – Sergey Korneev and Anatoly Shcherbak. In the first hit, the qualifying leader won, but under the double elimination system, both participants had one loss each for the stage, and another run was needed to determine the winner. The second duel was victorious for Sergey Korneev, while Anatoly Shcherbak took the second step of the podium.
In the team standings, the stage winner was the STAR PËR STARS AIMOL team, which included Sergey Korneev, Dmitry Dobrovolsky, and new RDS Open Championship participant Elisey Nikitin (St. Petersburg). "Silver" went to the Tamashi Racing team, where Stanislav Antropov (Omsk), Igor Ozolin, and Vladimir Afanasyev (both from St. Petersburg) fought for a spot on the podium. Third place went to the "TsMRBank" team, whose honor was defended by Ruslan Arefyev (Moscow).
Based on the results of the four completed stages in the individual standings, Anatoly Shcherbak remains the key contender for the championship title this season. Vladimir Afanasyev and Sergey Korneev, who displaced Vladislav Erofeev (Georgievsk) from third place, have high chances of victory. In the team standings, intrigue remains – STAR PËR STARS AIMOL and Tamashi Racing have a minimal gap in points, meaning drift fans will only learn the RDS Open season leader after the following stages.
Let us remind you that the fourth stage of the RDS Open Championship took place as part of the anniversary festival "GARAGE FEST Igora Drive". In addition to motorsport competitions, event guests were able to enjoy an exhibition of rare cars, attend hundreds of lectures and master classes, and get in a great mood with a concert program featuring songs by Polina Gagarina, the band "Komnata Kultury," and Vanya Dmitrienko.
The next meeting of Russian Drift Series drivers and drift fans will take place on August 1-2 in Krasnoyarsk at the "Krasnoye Koltso" circuit, where the fifth stage of the RDS GP Grand Prix will be held.
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