SMP Racing is a Russian racing team and driver academy mostly known for competing in the FIA World Endurance Championship, FIA Formula 2 Championship and FIA Formula 3 Championship with the goal of training and unveiling new talents from Russia. The team was founded in 2013 by Boris Rotenberg, co-founder of the SMP Bank of Russia.
History
Origins
The team was founded in 2012 by the Russian oligarch Boris Rotenberg, co-founder of SMP bank and CEO of Russian race car construction company BR Engineering.
They first competed in the FIA World Endurance Championship with the goal of supporting new talents from Russia and giving them the chance to compete in international motorsport.
Boris Rotenberg
Born in Saint Petersburg, Russia on the (1957-01-03) 3 January 1957 Boris Rotenberg is known as the co-founder of SMP Bank and CEO of the largest construction company for gas pipelines and electrical power supply lines in Russia (StroyGazMontazh).
In 2001 Boris and his brother both founded the SMP bank of Russia one of the largest banks in Russia.
Boris is the CEO and founder of a race car construction company called BR Engineering. The same company which created the BR Engineering BR1 and BR Engineering BR01 with both cars having podiums in their categories at the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
Current status
The team went quiet across all of their social media accounts. Along with a number of other Russian teams at the time which were competing in international motorsports.
The team also announced they would not return to the FIA World Endurance Championship or the European Le Mans Series.
This was expected to be due to the FIA announcing new requirements for Russian drivers and teams competing in international motorsport as a response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Championships Description
FIA World Endurance Championship
SMP Racing competed in the FIA World Endurance Championship full time between the years of 2014-2016. Making one return for the 2016 24 Hours of Le Mans and returned later for the 2018–19 FIA World Endurance Championship season.
The team were mildly successful throughout their whole time in the series, However their most successful year in the Championship came in 2015, where the team collected 6 podiums, 3 wins and finished 1st in the LMGTE AM category.
24 Hours of Le Mans
The team again had another mildly successful career at the 24 Hours of Le Mans by finishing first with Ferrari 458 GT2 in LMGTE category in 2015 and finishing third with BR1 LMP1 prototype in overall category in 2019 only behind two Toyota's, making them the fastest non-factory team.
FIA Formula 2 Championship
SMP Racing never had their own team in the FIA Formula 2 Championship however they still had a young driver program for young and upcoming Russian drivers such as Robert Shwartzman and Sergey Sirotkin.
The program was cancelled in May 2022 due to the FIA announcing requirements on Russian drivers competing in international motorsport. These rules were announced as a response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Other championships
List Of Drivers
Series Results
Complete FIA World Endurance Championship Results
European Le Mans Series
24 Hours of Le Mans
GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup
- Notes
Branding
SMP Racing also was a moniker for these teams, when SMP sponsored them:
- ADM Motorsport, a motor racing team based in Italy.
- AF Corse, a motor racing team based in Italy.
- AV Formula, a motor racing team based in Spain.
- Comtec Racing, a motor racing team based in the United Kingdom.
- Euronova Racing, a motor racing team based in Italy.
- Koiranen GP, a motor racing team based in Finland.
- Russian Bears Motorsport, a motor racing team based in Russia.
- Schmidt Peterson Motorsports, а motor racing team based in USA
See also
- Escuderia Telmex, a Mexican team founded by similar ambitions.
References
External links
- Official website (in Russian)
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