Sergey Zlobin

Zlobin began racing in 1996 at the later age of 26, and took part in several competitions, such as Danian Cup in rallycross. In 1998, he made a switch to single-seater racing, initially competing in Russian Formula Three Championship and Euro Formula 3000 for several years.^[1]

In August 2002, he was announced as a test driver for the Minardi Formula One team, becoming the first Russian to test a Formula 1 car. His signing was a part of the sponsorship deal that Minardi made with Gazprom, brokered by Oksana Kosachenko. However, Gazprom paid only 2 million dollars out the promised 9 million during the season, which led to the contract breaking down.^[2] After a one-year hiatus, Zlobin returned to motorsport in 2004, and continued the testing programme with Minardi.^[3]

Zlobin competed at Le Mans twice, in 2005 and 2014. He competed in a number of GT and Endurance racing series, including the FIA GT Championship, Blancpain Endurance Series and European Le Mans Series.

On 24 September 2007, Zlobin survived a car bomb which had been planted in his Mercedes-Benz G500. The explosion caused minor injuries to Zlobin's legs, but he was able to get out of the vehicle himself to call police.^[4]