At noon on Sunday, 27 April, the IB Translations team will join the Season Opening race kicking off this year's Classic Car Rally Cup

At noon on Sunday, 27 April, the IB Translations team will enter the new Classic Car Rally Cup season by joining the Season Opening race. Our crew includes Mikhail Tsyferov (investor and driver), Konstantin Golota (IB Translations founder and observer) and Alexander Usoltsev (Twitter commentator).

We will appreciate every support you can give us! 

For information about the rally go to http://classic-rally.ru/developments?id_object=39. For photos from the previous race go to http://classic-rally.ru/archive?id_object=29  (bottom of the page).

Just like in the previous season, the team will proudly drive ZAZ-965A V4 887 Pumpkin Special LE decked out in the corporate colours of IB Translations and made by ZAZ in 1967 to mark 50 years since the October Revolution.

Fans and supporters are invited to:
– a pre-start car expo (cars will start arriving at 2 Teatralny Proezd next toTeatralnaya or Ploschad Revolutsii metro stations from 10:00 am): http://maps.yandex.ru/-/CVbJiY7I;
– a beautiful start to the race at 12:00 pm, where you can get a glimpse of our ZAZ Pumpkin Special and waive it off; 
– our special escort 1989 Mazda Bongo Brawny Wagon (a volunteer driver for this one is most welcome).

After the race kicks off, the escort vehicle will take you all along the route right next to our Pumpkin Special (if interested, please contact Konstantin Golota).

You can also follow our video coverage of the race that will be available online from 11:45 am on 27 April at a page that will be announced later. This year we will try to organise the best video feed from the operator in the escort vehicle.

Live Twitter updates will be posted @golota82 (http://twitter.com/golota82) by a famous local blogger Alexander Usoltsev.

Mikhail Tsyferov, driver, first-time participant: I am very glad to be able to compete for the IB Translations team in the new Classic Car Rally Cup. I've been trying to join this prestigious competition for a long time and have a lasting sports relationship with the IB Translations team, so this decision was an easy one for me.

I know that many in the paddock would rather see me join a top team, but all these gongs are not of much importance to me. Instead, I choose to get focused on the upcoming races.

IB Translations has a wealth of potential: in the last season, the crew gained invaluable experience and has shown remarkable perseverance in trying to make it to the Top 40. Now is the time to make a leap forward.

Our mechanics did a great job this winter to give us a reliable and competitive car boasting both time-proven solutions of the old days along with some promising modern innovations. Now we just need to keep striving for excellence, making incremental improvements every day.

Today, a lot of people criticise the rules saying that the drivers should not be sweating their guts out as it never happens in a classic car rally. I don't see any reasons to complain – rules are rules and classic car rallies have to evolve in tune with the times.

I’m lucky to have my first rally fall on such a turbulent period, and I’m looking forward to hit the track.

Konstantin Golota, co-driver and team owner: Last year, we had a successful classic car rally début with our 1967 ZAZ-965A V4 887 Pumpkin Special LE. We had a productive winter season and prepared the car manufactured in 1968. The results of the work were optimistic, with a pretty competitive time shown between Lesnoy Gorodok and Oktyabrskoye Polye. We are almost done testing the innovations, such as the dual circuit brake system from the next-generation ZAZ-968, rack-and-pinion steering gear and a number of other alterations we are in no hurry to disclose to competitors. It would be clear to the naked eye that during the winter we did a big job to improve the aerodynamics, so now the car has a very elegant shape.

As expected, our key focus before the new season was on propulsion systems. We improved the engine power from 27 to 30 hp, while maintaining the reliability of the powertrain you might remember from the last season. It has more than once helped us get to the finishing line, unlike many of our competitors. Unfortunately, we still lose in terms of net power and speed on straight roads, but I am confident that air cooling, not used by anyone else in the paddock, will help us to compete with those Mercedes and Ferrari oldtimers that won't be able to easily get ahead of us.

We hope to take part in every single rally of the season. As you may remember, last season we had to skip the first stage due to technical issues. I am certain that this year we will show an excellent result and make our fans proud. 

Alexander Usoltsev, Twitter commentator, popular local blogger: I love Moscow, history, and cars. I love cars with history twice as much, so I gladly accepted the invitation to join the IB Translations team and take part in the Moscow rally.

You are most welcome to join us just before 11 am on Sunday, 27 April, in downtown Moscow.