Autodrom Chayka

Autodrom Chayka

Location	Chaiky, Kyiv Oblast, Ukraine
Coordinates
Capacity	3,000
FIA Grade	4
Owner	Society of Assistance to Defense of Ukraine
Broke ground	1973
Opened	27 June 1975 (1975-06-27)
Former names	Chayka Motorsports Complex
Major events	Current: SBKUA (1993–2021, 2023–) Former: Soviet CRC (1975, 1977–1982, 1984—1991) Cup of Peace and Friendship (1976–1983, 1986) UTC (1993–1998, 2005–2020)
Website	kievring.com
Short track (2016–present)
Surface	asphalt
Length	2.89 km (1.80 mi)
Turns	9
Short track (2005–present)
Surface	asphalt
Length	2.80 km (1.74 mi)
Turns	10
Short track (1975–2005)
Surface	asphalt
Length	2.57 km (1.60 mi)
Turns	8
Big track (1975–2005)
Surface	asphalt
Length	4.49 km (2.79 mi)
Turns	14

Autodrom Chayka (Ukrainian: Автодром «Чайка», romanized: Avtodrom «Chaika»), formerly known as Chayka Motorsports Complex (Ukrainian: Автомобільний спортивний комплекс «Чайка», romanized: Avtomobilnyi sportyvnyi kompleks «Chaika»), is a motorsport racetrack in Ukraine, situated in Chaiky village, near the capital city Kyiv. The circuit was built in 1975, when the country was a part of Soviet Union; since the foundation of Fédération Automobile de l'Ukraine (FAU) in 1993, it hosts various regional racing series, such as Ukrainian Touring Championship and Superbike Ukraine.

History

Soviet era

The development of the circuit began in late 60's by Soviet DOSAAF, a society for cooperation with army, aviation and navy, which also built an airfield next to the track, carrying the same name. The configuration was based on various similar tracks of that time, the project was finished in 1971. The construction began in 1973 and finished in several years.

June 27, 1975 circuit saw its first touring races,, which were Ukraine's first national motorsport championship Later that year the circuit began to host the USSR Circuit Racing Championship, that included formula racing.

Chayka became very popular and known as the best track in USSR due to very fast sectors near the finish line and corners 2-4, that were known as so-called 'ears'. The track was also difficult and dangerous, there was no runoffs, very close barriers, poor quality asphalt and bad landscaping, this became the reason for motorcycle competitions to avoid Chayka. In following years the dirt speedway and karting circuit were added to complex as a second construction phase, Chayka also had a shorter layout that cuts off the 'ears' sector, it was only used for testing.

In 1976 the first race for 'Kyiv Ring' prize was held, eventually it became an annual event. Also the track began to began the championships of Russia and Belarus.

In 1977 the circuit hosted its first international series, called Socialist Nations Friendship Cup, becoming the traditional season opener.

After a serious crash of Polish driver Christian Grochowski in 1983 that turned out fatal because of organizers' mistake the track was decided being unsafe and the series moved to Biķernieki track in Riga.

Without the famous championship racing organization quality fell down, there were a rare races with usually small amount of spectators due to lack of advertising. There were several attempts to change the bad asphalt, but they've made the situation even worse. In 1989 it was planned to invite an Austrian company to hold a reconstruction of the complex to raise the level of the track and to attract more tourists, but that never happened.

Independent Ukraine

After the dissolution of the USSR in 1991, the Defense Assistance Society of Ukraine became the circuits' owner. Due to a lack of funds, some infrastructure was sold to private owners. In 1993 the track began to host the Ukrainian Circuit Racing Championship, however the safety standards of the track were still very low and the asphalt state kept deteriorating – after 1998 the circuit was excluded from the domestic calendar.

Between 1999 and 2001, the Ukrainian Karting Federation reconstructed the karting circuit and it began to host races. The main circuit remained unused until local driver Leonid Protasov struck a deal with the Kyiv Automotive and Motorcycle Club to rebuild it ahead of a planned 2004 season; racing resumed in 2005 following construction delays. A smaller layout was added for circuit racing whilst the existing loop was left for drag racing due to its long straights. During the reconstruction new bleachers for spectators and a new pitlane were built. The race control building was reconstructed in 2016 and the final corner was made sharper. The historical racing events began to use a reverse layout of Chayka.

On 3 March 2022, the nearby village of Chaiky was attacked in the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Warehouse facilities near the track were bombed and the pit building was burnt to the ground.

External links

• kievring.com