Team LenSportMash Takes Gold and Bronze at Formula Student Russia 2026
The student engineering racing team of Polytechnic University, LenSportMash, took part in the international competition Formula Student Russia 2026 at the Igora Drive racetrack. At the season's main event, the team unveiled its new racing car, Cinque e mezzo, achieved the best result in the static disciplines, and secured 3rd place overall.
Formula Student is an international engineering competition in which student teams design and build racing cars over the course of a year. Each summer, the completed race car must be presented to the judges, passing several tests and inspections, and the team must defend not only the design but also the project's business plan and a cost report.
The main goal of the competition is to develop engineering thinking, provide hands-on experience in the full development cycle, and train specialists for the automotive and mechanical engineering industries. Today, Formula Student is held in more than 22 countries, including Russia.
This year at Igora Drive, teams from leading universities in Moscow, St. Petersburg, Tolyatti, Ufa, and Yekaterinburg competed, along with participants from Turkey and China.
The competition program includes two main areas: static and dynamic disciplines. During the static events (Cost Report, Design Event, and Business Plan Presentation), teams justify the manufacturing cost of the vehicle and its components, present the car's design and engineering solutions, and demonstrate a commercial concept for project development.
The dynamic portion of the competition consists of several stages: acceleration, a figure-eight course, a sprint, and an endurance race. Before the dynamic runs begin, each car must pass a mandatory technical inspection. Experts verify that the design complies with regulations and safety requirements, conduct a mechanical inspection, a tilt test, brake system efficiency checks, and also assess the feasibility of safely evacuating the driver from the cockpit.
In the static portion of the competition, LenSportMash achieved the following results:
Business Plan Presentation – 3rd place;
Special nomination from Lanit – 3rd place;
Cost Report – 2nd place;
Design Event – 1st place.
The high marks from the judges in the static disciplines made a significant contribution to the team's overall result: by winning this portion of the competition, LenSportMash claimed the bronze medal in the overall standings of Formula Student Russia 2026.
"It's great to see how the Formula Student project brings together engineering-enthusiastic students from different universities and countries. Working in real racing garages at the Igora Drive circuit allowed us to feel the atmosphere of big-time motorsport and realize the significance of what we do. What I remember most is how cohesively our team worked – behind that are sleepless nights, preparation for the static events, and the readiness of every member to jump in and solve emerging problems at any moment. The most thrilling moment was, of course, the car's run – it was so nimble that it took your breath away. We gained valuable experience, saw what still needs work, and already understand which direction we’ll take the car next," said Yaroslav Pleshanov, chassis engineer.
"These results are the best for the current lineup of our team. We successfully passed the technical inspection, but unfortunately, the final stage of the check was not counted. During preparation of the car, we encountered several serious malfunctions: for example, after the first Brake Test attempt, the tripod joint on the left axle failed, but the team fixed it in just an hour and brought the car back to the track for the next attempt. We are especially pleased with the results in the static disciplines, the title of the best team in that category, and third place overall," shared team captain Kirill Anikeev.
Background:
The LenSportMash team (formerly Polytech North Capital Motorsport) is part of the ecosystem of the Student Design Bureau "System Engineering" at Peter the Great St. Petersburg Polytechnic University. The team has existed since 2014 and has regularly participated in competitions in Russia and European countries for 12 years. Over this time, the project has become an important platform for training young specialists, where students gain the opportunity to apply their knowledge in practice – from designing individual components to assembling a full-fledged race car.
