Stop motorsports: Primorsky drag racers are left without a track
Two years ago, drag racing competitions and training sessions were held in Primorye at the Zolotaya Dolina track, located between Vladivostok and Nakhodka. Former race organizer Tatyana told NeMoskva that there's now nowhere to compete in the region.
"We held competitions here for ten years, all on our own, repairing the track and attracting people to the sport. Russian champions Konstantin Katynkin, Vadim Osmolovsky, and Roman Dubovets competed there. We had over 130 athletes. But now all the prepared cars and people are simply wasted," says Tatyana.
For the past two years, athletes have been denied permission to use the track. The land fell under the control of the Ministry of Defense, and access to it was closed to racers.
The nearest track suitable for these conditions is in Khabarovsk, but it's about 12 hours by car from Vladivostok, so not everyone can attend such events. Drag racing competitions are held about five times a year.
"Motorsports are simply dead in our region right now," says Tatyana. "We've contacted both the Presidential Direct Line and the Governor. They advised us to design the project ourselves, find funding, and find someone to maintain the track. But we only need 1 km of a smooth track," explains Tatyana. "The race organizers have no money, and the Motorsport Federation can't help—they don't have the resources either."
Another problem is that, due to the lack of officially organized competitions, racers resort to illegal racing. In the Irkutsk region, one such race ended in tragedy: on May 11, a car crashed into a crowd of spectators, killing a young woman.
Preparing cars for drag racing can be incredibly expensive. As Tatyana puts it, it's a battle of engines and wallets. And now, everything invested in cars and equipment is "just worthless."
— Different classes, different budgets. There are multi-dollar cars, there are city cars, the get-in-and-go option.
Regional authorities have been declaring since at least 2012 that Primorye should become a center for motorsports development. The head of the region, Oleg Kozhemyako, regularly participates in motorcycle racing: he opens the biker season in Vladivostok, and competitions are held for motorcyclists even in winter. There are plans to build international-level motorsport tracks in Ussuriysk and Artem. However, funding for a kilometer-long drag racing track has not yet been found. Video: Competitions in 2023.
