Irina Sidorkova announces first full season in endurance racing

The young driver makes a full-time debut in endurance racing in 2023, in preparation for future participations in GT series.

Photo courtesy: Ira Sidorkova

After a few months of work behind the scenes, Irina Sidorkova's return to the racetrack was finally confirmed: after a season with some unforeseen events in 2022, the 19-year-old young driver confirmed her participation in the newly created RSKG Endurance championship in 2023, with a newly-found focus on future opportunities in sports car racing.

Since the end of the previous season, Sidorkova has been preparing for a possible return to racing through an intense training routine in simulators and gym activities - which even included boxing sessions, to help recover from a shoulder injury that she had suffered. Now, in excellent physical condition, she doesn't hide her joy for the new opportunity to race and start a new stage in her career: "Hopefully, it is just a beginning!"- said Ira when making the announcement.

This will be Sidorkova's first experience behind the wheel of a GT3 car, which aims to deepen her knowledge for future participations in Gran Turismo car series. At the end of last year she made her debut in endurance racing - in the 4h Akhmat Race, in the Touring class at the wheel of a Audi RS3 LMS TCR - and showed a great performance in her stint, even leading the team to the highest place in the race. Now she will have the chance to drive the #71 Ferrari 458 GT3 in the 4 rounds of the national endurance series and in the pre-season tests, which will take place in Sochi this weekend.

So far, the presence of Ira Sidorkova includes the 4 races of RSKG Endurance, but she explores the possibility of entering extra competitions during the year. The first round will be held at Sochi Autodrom, between March 31st and April 1st and will last 3 hours + 1 lap race.

2023 RSKG - ENDURANCE CALENDAR

R1 – Sochi – March 31 - April 1st

R2 – Saint Petersburg – May 26th to 27th

R3 – Grozny – October 7th to 8th

R4 – Sochi – November 3rd to 4th