Egor Orudzhev, a pilot of SMP Racing programme, scored two victories in three races of Toyota Racing Series held on the tracks of New Zealand. The first series stage consisting of three runs held at Teretonga raceway started on Saturday January 11 and brought the first victory to Egor Orudzhev. Next day the SMP Racing pilot secured another victory in one out of two scheduled runs and is now scoring 150 points which is 16 points less than those owned by the leader in overall point standings.
Toyota Racing Series is a Formula series which had been held in New Zealand for more than 10 years in January-February during the inter-season in European championships. New Zealand’s tracks are very important in preparing the pilots for the races held in Europe — they are short and narrow giving the drivers a possibility to develop their skills in race car steering and master their racing techniques. Each stage consists of several practice sessions, qualifying and three races — one on Saturday and two on Sunday. All in all, the pilots compete during 5 racing week-ends on the tracks of New Zealand. This year 23 pilots from different countries take part in this series, including Egor Orudzhev and Matevos Isaakian — SMP Racing programme participants.
“I had a good start in Saturday’s race winning a few positions straight away and was third after the first turn, though I had sixth starting position, and later I managed to get in the lead. I can say I was rather lucky as my major competitors went out. But in the first Sunday’s race I ran out of luck — a few laps before the finish I had some brake issues and had to retire. It’s great that I succeeded in the second race — I started first and was holding this position till the end of the race. It wasn’t easy as I had to hold down in spite of constant attacks from the peloton but luckily I was able to do it. I am now getting ready for the next races and setting myself up for new victories”, was noted by Egor Orudzhev.
“It’s a very important stage for Egor in his preparations for the European season. Specific tracks of the Teretonga Park Raceway are an excellent practice ground for mastering racing techniques. The experience gained on difficult narrow tracks will allow him demonstrating great results in the European season where the configuration of tracks is much more spacious”, was stated by Petr Aleshin, the pilot’s coach.
“Participation of SMP Racing pilots in such competitions is essential for the preparations for the European championships. Egor Orudzhev demonstrated his skills by starting 2014 season, which is an anniversary season for SMP Racing, with a victory. Not only he managed to score victory in the first series race but also set a record of this track. We are sure that Orudzhev, like all other pilots participating in our programme, is in good trim and will do everything to bring joy to our fans by scoring a lot of victories this year”, said Sergey Zlobin, SMP Racing sports director.
The next stage of Toyota Racing Series will be held on January 18–19 at Timaru International Motor Raceway.
