The seven races held in St. Petersburg, Moscow and Tolyatty demonstrated severe and fascinating grand prix competition amongst Russia’s best drivers. The race along the “Nevskoe Koltso” route has traditionally become the last race of the season. It is these concluding races that attract most participants and are most interesting to watch. Although the names of Russia’s champions in some categories are already known, the grand prix team competition is expected to be exciting.

For the first time ever Russia’s concluding circuit-racing championship has been officially named “MTS Cup"and will be presented by MTS. Commenting on the event, Andrey Lapin, director of the “Nevskoe Koltso” sports organization, said: “MTS’ participation in Russia’s circuit racing is a significant event, which demonstrates a strong connection between business and sports in Russia today. Russia’s leading mobile operator has topped the list of gas and oil giants who have traditionally sponsored sports events. With growing interest towards mobile communications, such sponsorships are turning into a tradition. The popularity of car racing is very high and comes second to football”.

In addition to the races in the “Touring”, “Formula”, “Polo Cup”, “Formula 1600” and “Supertourism” categories, foreign drivers from countries such as Finland, Estonia and Latvia are also expected to participate in the “MTS Cup” race. The champion in each race category will get a Siemens S35 mobile phone.

“Mobile TeleSystems” has been sponsoring Russia’s car racing for the past three years. The “MTS AC Racing” team, one of Russia’s leading teams in “Touring” category and the leader in its category for the past two years, is sponsored by MTS. The leading drivers of the “MTS — AC Racing” team, Vladimir Sukhov and Mikhail Ukhov, — respectively won Russia’s 1999 and 2000 Championships.

Commenting on MTS’ participation in the preparations for the “MTS Cup”, Igor Timofeev, Mobile TeleSystems Marketing Director said: “We are proud to participate in the preparations for the concluding race of Russia’s circuit racing championship, which is going to be held in such a remarkable city as St Petersburg along the “Nevskoe Koltso” route. We are also delighted with the fact that this race is the only international race attended by both Russian and foreign drivers. From the technical point of view, car racing is a higly sophisticated sports event. It is both dynamic and fascinating to watch. Technology and dynamic approach are also critical to the development of mobile communications. As to events on Russia’s mobile market, they are exciting not only for specialists and analysts but also for active and potential subscribers.

We invite you to visit the “Nevskoe Koltso” route at the Kirov stadium and hope you will enjoy it”.

The “MTS AC Racing” team will race on September 23 in two BMW 320 racing cars. Mikhail Ukhov, the team leader, said: “We have carried out serious preparations and are confident about our winning chances. During this concluding race the “MTS AC Racing” team will concentrate all its efforts on team results. In spite of failing in previous races, we feel confident and strong. We also feel even more loyal to MTS now that we are wearing MTS official colors and participating in the official “MTS Cup”. The following races will take place on September 23, 2001:

• Touring The youngest category in Russia’s circuits racing championship. The following racing cars are used: BMW 320, Opel Astra, VW Golf, Ford Focus, Peugeot 306. These models have the appearance of the models used by Russian amateur drivers. Technical requirements for this category are the same as in European international car racing. Drivers from Finland, Latvia and Estonia are expected to take part in the race.
• Formula 3 “Formula 3” is the most expensive and fastest category in Russia’s circuit racing championship, in which racing cars meet international requirements. Its main characteristics are: the coal plastic body of the “monocoque” type, the engine with the working volume of up to 2000 cubic centimeters, the maximum power of which is determined by the special washer that restricts the incoming air. Thus, racing engineers’ ability to tune into route specifications and weather conditions is of great importance.
• Supertourism Racing cars used in this category have been changed for 2001 season. All leading racing teams have given up VAZ 2108, which had been the base model in the previous years. VAZ 2110 and VAZ 2112 have been offered as teams’ base models for this season. The VAZ monopoly has been shaken by the EZ 2126 model, which is expected to be a serious competitor in the forthcoming season. The word “super’ in the category’s name stands for the following features of the racing cars used: the engine with the maximum working volume of up to 1600 cubic centimeters, the power has practically doubled (up to 200 h.p.), six geared box of switch transmission, disc aired brakes, tuned suspension.
• Formula 1600 This lowest category has gone through a serious crisis this year. The main goal of this category is to prepare young drivers for participation in “Formula 3”. But the high costs of running a racing car and its low reliability have resulted in a relatively low participation in this race category. It has become evident that in order to develop the “small” formula category, one has to change technical requirements to enhance devices’ reliability and make them more accessible to young teams.