SMP Racing

SMP Racing is a prominent Russian motor racing team and driver development program founded in 2013 by Boris Rotenberg, co-founder of SMP Bank. The organization was created to discover and train Russian racing talent, guiding drivers through a structured "pyramid" from domestic karting to top-tier international series like Formula 1 and the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

The team was founded in 2012 by the Russian oligarch Boris Rotenberg, co-founder of SMP Bank and CEO of Russian race car construction company BR Engineering.

They first competed in the FIA World Endurance Championship with the goal of supporting new talents from Russia and giving them the chance to compete in international motorsport.

Born in Saint Petersburg, Russia on (1957-01-03) 3 January 1957 (age 69), Boris Rotenberg is known as the co-founder of SMP Bank and CEO of the largest construction company for gas pipelines and electrical power supply lines in Russia (StroyGazMontazh).

In 2001 Boris and his brother founded the SMP Bank of Russia, one of the largest banks in Russia.

Boris is the CEO and founder of a race car construction company called BR Engineering. This company created the BR Engineering BR1 and BR Engineering BR01; both cars achieved podiums in their categories at the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

On 8 July 2019, SMP announced that it was withdrawing their BR1 LMP1 cars from the 2019–20 WEC season only three weeks ahead of the Prologue pre-season test session. The team said in a statement that it had achieved the best possible results as a privateer LMP1 entry "given the circumstances" after its 3rd place podium result at the 2019 24h of Le Mans ahead of all other privateer entries and only behind two works Toyota TS050 Hybrids. It continued to sponsor the AF Corse GTE Pro cars until the conclusion of the 2019–20 WEC season.

BR Engineering BR03 at launch
In May 2021, SMP and BR Engineering unveiled the BR03, a prototype sportscar intended for national-level endurance racing. It was first raced on-track at an exhibition race at Moscow Raceway in August 2025, and is planned to race as part of a monoclass in the Russian Circuit Racing Series starting in 2026.

The team went quiet across all of their social media accounts, along with a number of other Russian teams at the time which were competing in international motorsports.

The team also announced they would not return to the FIA World Endurance Championship or the European Le Mans Series.

This was expected, due to the FIA announcing new requirements for Russian drivers and teams competing in international motorsport as a response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

^ "SMP Racing withdraws from 2019/2020 WEC season | RACER". racer.com. Retrieved 2026-01-04.

^ "SMP Racing withdraws LMP1 entries from 2019/20 WEC season | Crash.net". www.crash.net. 2019-07-08. Retrieved 2026-01-04.

^ Goodwin, Graham (2021-03-05). "2021 FIA WEC AF Corse Ferrari Colours Unveiled At Misano". www.dailysportscar.com. Retrieved 2026-01-04.

^ Goodwin, Graham (2021-05-18). "SMP Racing Unveils Their New BR03 Endurance Racer". www.dailysportscar.com. Retrieved 2026-01-04.

Born in Saint Petersburg, Russia on (1957-01-03) 3 January 1957 (age 69), Boris Rotenberg is known as the co-founder of SMP Bank and CEO of the largest construction company for gas pipelines and electrical power supply lines in Russia (StroyGazMontazh).

In 2001 Boris and his brother founded the SMP Bank of Russia, one of the largest banks in Russia.

Boris is the CEO and founder of a race car construction company called BR Engineering. This company created the BR Engineering BR1 and BR Engineering BR01; both cars achieved podiums in their categories at the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

On 8 July 2019, SMP announced that it was withdrawing their BR1 LMP1 cars from the 2019–20 WEC season only three weeks ahead of the Prologue pre-season test session. The team said in a statement that it had achieved the best possible results as a privateer LMP1 entry "given the circumstances" after its 3rd place podium result at the 2019 24h of Le Mans ahead of all other privateer entries and only behind two works Toyota TS050 Hybrids. It continued to sponsor the AF Corse GTE Pro cars until the conclusion of the 2019–20 WEC season.

BR Engineering BR03 at launch
In May 2021, SMP and BR Engineering unveiled the BR03, a prototype sportscar intended for national-level endurance racing. It was first raced on-track at an exhibition race at Moscow Raceway in August 2025, and is planned to race as part of a monoclass in the Russian Circuit Racing Series starting in 2026.

The team went quiet across all of their social media accounts, along with a number of other Russian teams at the time which were competing in international motorsports.

The team also announced they would not return to the FIA World Endurance Championship or the European Le Mans Series.

This was expected, due to the FIA announcing new requirements for Russian drivers and teams competing in international motorsport as a response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

^ "SMP Racing withdraws from 2019/2020 WEC season | RACER". racer.com. Retrieved 2026-01-04.

^ "SMP Racing withdraws LMP1 entries from 2019/20 WEC season | Crash.net". www.crash.net. 2019-07-08. Retrieved 2026-01-04.

^ Goodwin, Graham (2021-03-05). "2021 FIA WEC AF Corse Ferrari Colours Unveiled At Misano". www.dailysportscar.com. Retrieved 2026-01-04.

^ Goodwin, Graham (2021-05-18). "SMP Racing Unveils Their New BR03 Endurance Racer". www.dailysportscar.com. Retrieved 2026-01-04.