Egor Orudzhev

Egor Alekseevich Orudzhev (Russian: Его́р Алексе́евич Ору́джев, IPA: [ɪˈɡorɐˈrudʐɨf], born 16 October 1995) is a Russian racing driver.

Early career

Karting

Born in Saint Petersburg, Orudzhev entered karting in 2006, when he finished as runner-up in the Russian Karting Championship in the Mini class, before he became champion in the Russian KF3 Championship in 2009. Also in 2009, he moved to the international scene, where he too competed in the KF3 category. He progressed into the KF2 category in 2011, finishing third in the WSK Euro Series.

Lower formulae

In 2012, Orudzhev made his debut in single-seaters, taking part in the French F4 Championship. He closed the top ten in the series standings with seven point-scoring finishes, including two podiums — a second and a third at the Bugatti Circuit. He also contested single rounds in both Formula Renault 2.0 Alps and Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 with AV Formula and Fortec Motorsports respectively.

For 2013, Orudzhev moved to Tech 1 Racing for full-season campaigns in the Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 and Formula Renault 2.0 Alps. In the Eurocup, he took a podium finish in the opening race of the season at Motorland Aragon, as well as another eight point-scoring finishes. In the Alps championship, he finished fifth with two podiums at Misano and Imola.[citation needed]

Having competed in the Toyota Racing Series during the 2014 winter, where three victories, including his maiden single-seater triumph at Teretonga Park, helped him towards sixth place overall, Orudzhev stayed with Tech 1 for that year's Eurocup season. He ended up eighth in the standings, scoring three podiums. During the same year, the Russian made his Formula Three debut in British Formula 3, racing for Carlin, where he won his inaugural race at Silverstone, starting from the front row.

Formula Renault 3.5

Orudzhev followed his three seasons in the Eurocup with a step-up to the Formula Renault 3.5 Series in 2015, racing for Arden Motorsport. His season proved to be a breakthrough, as he not only convincingly beat his teammate — future Formula One driver Nicholas Latifi — but finished fifth in the standings as the second-highest rookie. Victories at the Hungaroring and the Bugatti Circuit in Le Mans were the highlights of his season, with Orudzhev scoring two further podiums. He remained in the championship, which had now been rebranded to the Formula V8 3.5 Series, for 2016, once again driving with Arden. A total of six retirements cost him a chance to fight for the title, as he won five races on his way to third in the standings, though his and teammate Aurélien Panis's efforts would be enough for Arden to be crowned teams' champions at the final round.

In 2017, Orudzhev switched to AV Formula, which would be branded to SMP Racing with AVF due to his sponsorship. Once again, a flurry of retirements separated Orudzhev from fully challenging eventual champion Pietro Fittipaldi, though he was nonetheless able to claim ten podiums, including two wins. Orudzhev left the series with one round to go, which dropped him to sixth in the standings.[citation needed]

Sportscar career

During the summer of 2017, Orudzhev joined SMP Racing in the LMP2 category of the European Le Mans Series, partnering fellow V8 3.5 competitor Matevos Isaakyan for the final four races of the season. At their second race in Le Castellet, the pair performed a dominant drive to take their maiden victory in endurance racing. At the following round in Belgium, Orudzhev led the effort, driving for three out of four hours and helping the team to another podium in third. They finished third again at the season finale, thereby claiming fourth place in the teams' standings.

The following season, Orudzhev and the team raced in three rounds of the ELMS in preparation for SMP's campaign in the top class of the 2018–19 FIA World Endurance Championship. Orudzhev drove the team's No. 17 entry, piloting a BR Engineering BR1 alongside Stéphane Sarrazin and Isaakyan. Two crashes from Isaakyan in the first two races set the outfit back, although they would inherit their first podium at Silverstone when both Toyotas were disqualified. The car continued to not finish races for the rest of the season, with the only other points result being fourth at Spa.[citation needed]

At the start of the WEC's 2019–20 season, Orudzhev moved to Team LNT in order to pilot their Ginetta G60-LT-P1 No. 5. At the season opener in Silverstone, the team benefited from troubles which befell fellow privateers Rebellion, finishing third overall, four laps down to the leading Toyotas. After two further rounds, Orudzhev left the team.

After not racing in 2020, Orudzhev spent the next two years racing for the Lukoil Racing Team in the touring class of the Russian Circuit Racing Series, winning a race in 2021 and finishing second in the championship in 2022, narrowly losing out to Dmitry Bragin. In 2023, he entered the Lamborghini Super Trofeo Europe in a Pro-Am lineup together with Shota Abkhazava, driving for ART-Line. The pair scored two class podiums.[citation needed]

Racing record

Career summary

† As Orudzhev was a guest driver, he was ineligible to score points. * Season still in progress.

Complete French F4 Championship results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Complete Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

† As Orudzhev was a guest driver, he was ineligible to score points

Complete Formula Renault 2.0 Alps Series results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap)

† As Orudzhev was a guest driver, he was ineligible for points

Complete World Series Formula V8 3.5 results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Complete European Le Mans Series results

Complete FIA World Endurance Championship results

24 Hours of Le Mans results

External links

• (in Russian)
• career summary at DriverDB.com