The final stage of the speedway team cup ended at the Avangard stadium on Saturday, October 5. For the Vladivostok team “Vostok” to win, a miracle was needed: they did not just need to score more points than the team from Togliatti “Mega-Lada”. It was necessary for the opponents to drop to 3rd or 4th line. But a miracle did not happen: even after winning the 4th stage of the team cup, “Vostok” took only the second final place.
According to the sum of the previous three stages of the team cup, Mega-Lada was in the lead, scoring 13 points in 2024. “Vostok” took second place (10 points), third was “Turbina” from Balakovo (6 points), and fourth was “Bashkiria” from Oktyabrsky (4 points). All four teams were serious about competing, each had a goal and a serious opponent.
Vostok includes powerful speedway riders: Grigory Laguta, multiple Russian champion; Sergey Logachev, twice Russian champion; Vitaly Kotlyar, who became second in the individual championship in 2024. And Nikita Smyshnikov is a racing driver who is gaining strength and has pleased everyone in doubles championship this week.
And yet, both athletes and fans understood that Vostok faced a very difficult task. It’s not easy to beat the Mega-Lada on its own. Roman Lachbaum, the strongest rider of this team, became the Russian champion this year. And Evgeny Saidullin and Arseny Zubkov are very experienced athletes who know how to win on the track. And of course, it is difficult to imagine that “Mega-Lada” will lose not only the first, but also the second position, especially since after the Russian Cup among pairs, Ruslan Mukhtarov and Pavel Nagibin from “Bashkiria” and Kirill Leiman from “Turbines”.
From the very beginning of the competition the situation was serious. Commentators spoke about the situation, supporting the riders, but not giving too much hope to the spectators. Introducing the team, the announcer said: “Mega-Lada” won everything that is possible and impossible this year.” The fans themselves understood everything and were tensely waiting to see how everything would turn out. Even, it seemed, the girls cheerleaders specially dressed in black, did not run out with pom-poms, but came out with colored signs to designate the tracks for the athletes.
Each team was assigned a helmet color. “Vostok” was recognized by its red color. In each series, the team was assigned its own lane. The announcer noted that in Vladivostok they manage to make sure that all starting lanes are the same length, and none of them gives an advantage. However, attentive spectators noticed that not all tracks are equally successful for Vladivostok racers. Fan Victoria, who has been watching Vostok’s successes for many years, said:
“It’s easier to win with the first one. The fourth is generally unlucky for Vostok. No matter how many times I go and watch games, it’s clear. The third one is still normal.”
In the first series, Vladivostok racers started from the first track. But the results weren’t magical. Sergey Logachev took one point in the first race for third place. Nikita Smyshnikov made contact with Egor Shchurin from Balakovo, and so that no one would get injured, Aidar Farukshin from Oktyabrsky put down the motorcycle, and then Nikita himself fell. As a result, Nikita Smyshnikov was removed from the race. Vitaly Kotlyar and Grigory Laguta took first place on the host’s first track and brought 3 points each to Vostok, which allowed them to tie the score with Mega-Lada based on the results of the first four races.
Grigory Laguta, one of the most experienced Vostok racers and a fan favorite, won almost all races and finished second only once. Vitaly Kotlyar also brought consistent points, taking mostly first and second places. Sergei Logachev was a little less lucky. Although he earned points every time, he only managed to win in the 15th race. In this race, on the first lap, Sergei fell at the first turn. The fans froze. But there was no mistake, and the judges allowed all riders to restart. The fans chanted: “Sergei! Sergey!” And at the re-run, the Vladivostok athlete left all his rivals behind, taking first position from the very beginning – and the audience exploded with applause and shouts.
“It will be difficult for Vostok, of course, to beat Mega-Lada in the championship,” fan Victoria shared her observations. – Laguta, of course, is strong, but he also makes mistakes, Logachev was first in July, and now I don’t know what’s wrong with him, something is happening or something, he rarely wins. Now the coach will, of course, start hanging out. And I really want Vostok to win, but I still can’t believe that Mega-Lada is already winning. Lachbaum is a champion there, Zubkov is strong, Saidullin is too.”
Nikita Smyshnikov also excited the audience in the fourth stage. And it’s nice too. After falling at the very beginning, all the fans supported him, but in the competition with experienced riders of the 8th race he failed to take the point, he came fourth. But in the 12th race he beat two strong athletes and took second place, and in the final series – first. By the way, here he delighted the audience with his sensitivity: in this race, Arseny Zubkov, a junior from Mega-Lada, fell, and Nikita gave him a lift on his motorcycle. At the re-race, the stadium chanted his name, and then rejoiced at his victory.
By the final series of races after 16 games, Vostok came second, scoring 30 points. The first position was still occupied by Mega-Lada – 35 points. “Turbina” and “Bashkiria” had a draw – 15/15.
The spectators’ tension grew throughout the game. And in the end, some lost their nerves. The fans erupted in anger after the 12th race, when the October athlete went over the line at the start, but the chief referee did not stop the race. Some shouted at the commentator, but he reasonably replied: “You go to the next window – to the chief judge!”
The presenters and commentators, by the way, conducted the competition in their own style. They either advertised the musicians playing on the lawn or made fun of them, commenting on their compositions. After they played a fragment from The Elusive Avengers, the announcer said:
“You can tell how old they are by the repertoire of the musicians on the lawn. Next time we’ll give them sheet music so they can learn something more modern.”
They communicated, as always, with the audience. They sent a wave of hands from the first to the eighth sector and back. They suggested shouting in the sectors, and after the eighth sector they called the spectators standing behind the fence near the closed Avangard shopping center. They made fun of the fans who “saved on the program” and now did not count the points and did not know the balance of power. And before the final race, during the pause they said:
“Today we didn’t do something from our traditions – we didn’t make lanterns! And as you wanted! We are closing the season without flashlights!” – and the stands turned into a field of fireflies.
While the speedway team was preparing for the final races, the Vladivostok motocross team entered the field. This year Vladivostok won for the first time in the Russian Motocross Championship. Over the summer, the guys traveled through 7 cities and completed 7 stages. And on the field where the speedway championship is taking place, the young winners were awarded.
In the final races, Vostok managed to equalize the score with Mega-Lada. Grigory Laguta and Nikita Smyshnikov won their heats, Sergey Logachev and Vitaly Kotlyar took second place. To determine the winner in the fourth stage of the cup, a re-run was announced: the fate of the teams was decided by Grigory Laguta and Evgeny Saidullin. The athletes really fought on the tracks, but Grigory Laguta initially overtook the Tolyatti man and did not give up his position. Having completed the competition, the favorite Vladivostok racer drove several laps with tricks: he showed a swallow, rode on a rear wheel, and spun a bug in front of the audience.
As a result, “Vostok” became the winner in the final stage of the speedway team cup, and in the Championship it took an honorable 2nd place, losing 1 point to “Mega-Lada” from Togliatti. 3rd place was won by the Bashkiria team (Oktyabrsky).
These games in Vladivostok ended the speedway season. Although, it seems, they also promised us winter speedway.
