Russian Time (previously known as RT Russian Time) was a Russian

motor racing Motorsport, motorsports or motor sport is a global term used to encompass the group of competitive sporting events which primarily involve the use of motorized vehicles. The terminology can also be used to describe forms of competition of tw ...

team founded by

Igor Mazepa Igor Aleksandrovich Mazepa ( uk, Мазе́па І́гор Олекса́ндрович; born 2 July 1976) is the director general of the Concorde Capital investment company in Kyiv, Ukraine. Biography He graduated from Kyiv National Economic ...

to compete in the

GP2 Series The GP2 Series was a form of open wheel motor racing introduced in 2005 following the discontinuation of the long-term Formula One feeder series, Formula 3000. The GP2 format was conceived by Bernie Ecclestone and Flavio Briatore, while Eccles ...

, a category of

open-wheel An open-wheel single-seater (often known as formula car) is a car with the wheels outside the car's main body, and usually having only one seat. Open-wheel cars contrast with street cars, sports cars, stock cars, and touring cars, which have thei ...

racing cars Auto racing (also known as car racing, motor racing, or automobile racing) is a motorsport involving the racing of automobiles for competition. Auto racing has existed since the invention of the automobile. Races of various sorts were organise ...

designed to prepare drivers for

Formula One Formula One (also known as Formula 1 or F1) is the highest class of international racing for open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The World Drivers' Championship, ...

. From 2015 to 2018, the team was managed by

Virtuosi Racing Virtuosi Racing (previously known as Virtuosi UK, and UNI Virtuosi in Formula 2) is a British racing team currently competing in the FIA Formula 2 Championship. The team previously ran in the Auto GP series, in addition to running the Russian Tim ...

Racing history

GP2 Series

Russian Time was established by former Russian racing driver and manager

and Motopark Academy team principal Timo Rumpfkeil in 2013. The team had sought an entry to the

for two years before finally being accepted in

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fa ...

, replacing

iSport International iSport International was a British motor racing team that competed in the GP2 Series. The team was founded by Paul Jackson, Gavin Bickerton-Jones and Richard Selwin, former members of the Petrobras Junior Team in 2004, ahead of the inaugural ...

. iSport International withdrew from the series after being unable to secure a budget to compete in the upcoming season, and so its management elected to shut the team down in order to avoid bankruptcy. The team won its first race in only its fourth appearance, when

Sam Bird Sam Jamie Bird (born 9 January 1987) is a British professional racing driver who currently drives for Jaguar TCS Racing in the FIA Formula E World Championship. Career Formula BMW Bird made his name in single seater racing in the Formula B ...

won the sprint race of the Bahrain round of the championship. The team took a second win on the streets of Monaco, with Bird finishing ahead of

Kevin Ceccon Kevin Ceccon (born 24 September 1993 in Clusone) is a professional racing driver from Italy. Career Karting Prior to his single–seater career, Ceccon enjoyed a long and successful spell in the junior karting ranks. In 2005 he achieved a fif ...

after a fourteen-car pile-up on the opening lap forced nine drivers out of the race. In 2014, the team made their debut in

GP3 Series The GP3 Series, or GP3 for short, was a single-seater motor racing series launched in 2010 as a feeder series for the GP2 Series, introduced by GP2 organiser Bruno Michel. GP3 followed the entire European leg of the Formula One series and th ...

, taking Bamboo Engineering's slot and continue to participate in GP2, German Formula Three and ADAC Formel Masters. The team's preparations for the 2014 season were disrupted by the death of Mazepa from complications relating to

thrombosis Thrombosis (from Ancient Greek "clotting") is the formation of a blood clot inside a blood vessel, obstructing the flow of blood through the circulatory system. When a blood vessel (a vein or an artery) is injured, the body uses platelets (t ...

in February 2014. Following this, Motopark Academy ended their partnership with team, leaving their participation in the 2014 GP2 and GP3 seasons in limbo. The team reunited with iSport International to continue their GP2 programme, signing

Mitch Evans Mitchell William Evans (born 24 June 1994) is a New Zealand professional racing driver. He currently drives for the Jaguar TCS Racing team in Formula E. In 2012, he won the GP3 Series and he raced in the GP2 Series for four years, achieving ...

and Artem Markelov, but chose to abandon their plans for their GP3 entry, selling it on to Hilmer Motorsport. Evans and Markelov were retained for the 2015 season, the first time a GP2 team has entered back to back seasons with the same lineup since

DAMS A dam is a barrier that stops or restricts the flow of surface water or underground streams. Reservoirs created by dams not only suppress floods but also provide water for activities such as irrigation, human consumption, industrial use ...

retained

Kamui Kobayashi is a Japanese professional racing driver who competes in the FIA World Endurance Championship for Toyota Gazoo Racing (GR) and in the Super Formula Championship for KCMG . He previously competed in Formula One, Formula E, the GP2 Series, and ...

and

Jérôme d'Ambrosio Jérôme D’Ambrosio (born 27 December 1985) is a Belgian former professional racing driver, motorsport executive and former Team Principal of Venturi Racing in Formula E. He has previously driven for Marussia Virgin Racing and Lotus F1 in t ...

in 2009. But the team changed the management from iSport to

. The team finished fifth in the team's championship, with two sprint race wins for Evans. For the 2016 season, Markelov was retained for a third season with

Raffaele Marciello Raffaele "Lello" Marciello (; born 17 December 1994) is a Swiss-born Italian professional racing driver. A former member of the Ferrari Driver Academy, he was the 2013 European Formula Three Champion, a reserve and test driver for the Sauber F ...

joining the team. Markelov achieved his maiden victory at the Monaco feature race, having started fifteenth on the grid. Marciello finished fourth in the standings and Markelov tenth with the team taking third in the constructor's championship.

FIA Formula 2 Championship

In , Markelov remained with the team for a fourth season with

Luca Ghiotto Luca Ghiotto (born 24 February 1995) is an Italian racing driver who most recently raced in the FIA Formula 2 Championship for DAMS. Career Karting Born in Arzignano, Ghiotto entered karting in 2008, when he took the title in the KF3 class of ...

joining the team, moving from

Trident A trident is a three- pronged spear. It is used for spear fishing and historically as a polearm. The trident is the weapon of Poseidon, or Neptune, the God of the Sea in classical mythology. The trident may occasionally be held by other mari ...

. Their combination brought six wins—five for Markelov and one for Ghiotto—and the first teams' title in the history of

FIA Formula 2 Championship The FIA Formula 2 Championship is a second-tier single-seater championship organised by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). Held on racing circuits, the championship was introduced in 2017, following the rebranding of the l ...

. The team was omitted from the preliminary entry list for the 2018 championship, but later confirmed their participation, retaining Markelov and hiring European Formula 3 driver

Tadasuke Makino is a Japanese racing driver. He has competed in a range of motorsport disciplines, including Super GT and European Formula 3. In 2018, Makino joined the FIA Formula 2 Championship with the series' defending champions Russian Time. Currently, Ma ...

to replace Ghiotto. The team was not able to repeat their success with the new F2 car, finishing the season fourth in the teams' standings, while Markelov downgraded to fifth in the drivers' championship with three wins. Makino won a feature race at Monza, but finished outside the top-ten in the drivers' standings. The team were sold before the 2018 finale and became UNI-Virtuosi Racing.

Results

GP2 Series

FIA Formula 2 Championship

In detail

GP2 Series

( key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap)

FIA Formula 2 Championship

References

External links

* {{s-end GP2 Series teams Russian auto racing teams FIA Formula 2 Championship teams Auto racing teams established in 2013 2013 establishments in Russia 2018 disestablishments in Russia Auto racing teams disestablished in 2018