Yekaterinburg resident Sergey Korneev wins Open RDS Championship stage for the first time

On 18 and 19 July, the fourth round of the RDS Open Championship took place in St. Petersburg as part of the 'GARAGE FEST Igora Drive' festival. Professional drivers competed for victory on one of the most challenging and spectacular track configurations of the season. The winner was Sergey Korneev, a driver from Yekaterinburg.

Qualifying took place on the first competition day, 18 July. Drivers completed a judges' task in solo runs on the updated track layout – each had to pass through 13 checkpoints along a set trajectory at the correct angle. The driver who handled the task best was Anatoly Shcherbak from Moscow. In the 2026 season, this is already the driver's second qualifying victory.

Drift fans also remembered the day for the runs by participants in the 'Media Races' project. As part of the festival, four Russian internet stars – Big Russian Boss, Anton Forsazh, Yan Dylan, and Ekaterina Tyurina – competed in various motorsport disciplines, one of which was drifting. The judges prepared a simplified task for the novice motorsport drivers, including four checkpoints. All drivers completed qualifying, after which the strongest among them – Big Russian Boss and Anton Forsazh – held demonstration tandem runs. The bloggers' competition was not without a racing incident – Big Russian Boss made contact with the wall of the 'concrete Colosseum' during his duel with his opponent, causing fans to worry. In the end, the best among the media athletes was Anton Forsazh, who also took part in a duel in the final of the competition with current RDS Open Championship driver Dmitry Dobrovolsky (Moscow, STAR PËR STARS AIMOL team).

The second day of competition was dedicated to tandem runs, which in the 2026 season follow a double elimination system. The winner was Sergey Korneev from Yekaterinburg, representing the STAR PËR STARS AIMOL team.

In the first round, the winner of the round faced Samara driver Sergey Davidadze. After the hit (i.e., series of joint tandem runs), the judges declared Korneev the winner, and Davidadze was sent to the lower bracket. In the second round, the Yekaterinburg driver met Alexander Leonov (Moscow Region) in a duel – after the first duel, the judges could not decide in favour of either driver and ordered an OMT (i.e., re-run), and the second hit ended with Sergey Korneev's victory. The third round was no less tense for the round winner, where he fought for a place on the podium with Tamashi Racing team driver Stanislav Antropov (Omsk). One hit was again not enough for the judges to determine the strongest driver in the pair, but after the re-run, Korneev advanced to the semi-finals. His next opponent was RDS Open Championship debutant Matvey Vakhrushev (St. Petersburg), who also successfully reached the semi-finals, putting up serious resistance to his opponents and demonstrating very close and intense runs. Sergey Korneev won the battle to reach the final, and the St. Petersburg driver became the bronze medallist of the fourth round of the RDS Open Championship. The final saw two experienced drivers with aggressive driving styles meet – Sergey Korneev and Anatoly Shcherbak. The qualifying leader won the first hit, but under the double elimination system, both participants had one loss each for the round, and another run was needed to determine the winner. The second duel was a victory for Sergey Korneev, while Anatoly Shcherbak took the second step of the podium.

In the team standings, the round winner was the STAR PËR STARS AIMOL team, which included Sergey Korneev, Dmitry Dobrovolsky, and new RDS Open Championship participant Elisey Nikitin (St. Petersburg). 'Silver' went to the Tamashi Racing team, where Stanislav Antropov (Omsk), Igor Ozolin, and Vladimir Afanasyev (both from St. Petersburg) fought for a place on the podium. Third place went to the 'TsMRBank' team, whose honour was defended by Ruslan Arefyev (Moscow).

RDS Open Championship 2026. Round 4. 'Igora Drive'. TOP-3 Individual Standings.

1. Sergey Korneev (Yekaterinburg) – 259 points.
2. Anatoly Shcherbak (Moscow) – 202 points.
3. Matvey Vakhrushev (St. Petersburg) – 160 points.

RDS Open Championship 2026. Round 4. 'Igora Drive'. TOP-3 Team Standings.

1. STAR PËR STARS AIMOL – 259 points.
2. Tamashi Racing – 217 points.
3. 'TsMRBank' – 37 points.

Based on the results of the four rounds held so far, Anatoly Shcherbak remains the key contender for the championship in the individual standings. Vladimir Afanasyev has high chances of victory, as does Sergey Korneev, who has displaced Vladislav Erofeev (Georgievsk) from third place. The intrigue remains in the team standings – STAR PËR STARS AIMOL and Tamashi Racing have a minimal gap in points, meaning drift fans will only learn the leader of the RDS Open season after the following rounds.

RDS Open Championship 2026. Individual Standings. Results after 4 Rounds. TOP-3.

1. Anatoly Shcherbak (Moscow) – 734 points.
2. Vladimir Afanasyev (St. Petersburg) – 492 points.
3. Sergey Korneev (Yekaterinburg) – 445 points.

RDS Open Championship 2026. Team Standings. Results after 4 Rounds. TOP-3.

1. STAR PËR STARS AIMOL – 1037 points.
2. Tamashi Racing – 929 points.
3. 'TsMRBank' – 268 points.

It is worth recalling that the fourth round of the RDS Open Championship took place as part of the anniversary festival 'GARAGE FEST Igora Drive'. In addition to motorsport competitions, event guests were able to enjoy an exhibition of rare cars, attend hundreds of lectures and masterclasses, and get into a great mood with the concert programme featuring songs by Polina Gagarina, the band 'Komnata Kultury', and Vanya Dmitrienko.

The next meeting of Russian Drift Series drivers and drift fans will take place on 1-2 August in Krasnoyarsk at the 'Krasnoye Koltso' circuit, where the fifth round of the RDS Grand Prix (RDS GP) will be held.