G-Drive Racing withdraws from the 24 Hours of Le Mans and all World Endurance Championship races. On the Instagram account of the team he leads and for which he drives, the Russian Roman Rusinov denounces Sunday “the unacceptable conditions of the International Automobile Federation” which required Russian teams and drivers to compete under a neutral flag. Since the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the sports world has banned Russian teams and athletes from many competitions. Sport was one of the strong elements of Vladimir Putin’s communication on the international level.
G-Drive Racing Team Statement
Here is a translation of what Roman Rusinov said on the Instagram account of G-Drive Racing, the fuel trading name of Russian gas giant Gazprom: “Russian team G-Drive Racing will not take part in the 2022 FIA WEC World Endurance Championship, which begins in two weeks in the United States. This decision was taken within the framework _unacceptable conditions of the International Automobile Federation. _This season marks the tenth anniversary of the history of the Russian team G-Drive Racing, which has been competing and winning international endurance races since 2013. In 2015, the Russian team won the FIA World Championship WEC, three times in a row, from 2016 to 2018, became the strongest in the European Le Mans Series (ELMS) and also won two Asian Le Mans Series titles. (ALMS) at the end of the 2019-2020 and 2020-2021 seasons. In 2021, G-Drive Racing won the European Le Mans Series Pro-Am Cup. In terms of race wins and qualifying, G-Drive Racing is the most successful team in the LMP2 prototype class. G-Drive Racing was actively preparing for the anniversary season which was shaping up to be the most eventful in the team’s history. The driver training was bolstered by Russia’s most successful Formula 1 driver, Daniil Kvyat. This season, G-Drive Racing will focus more on motorsport events in Russia. Further team plans will be announced later“.