RACE ON KHODYNKA

BEHIND THE WHEEL

On February 18, the Federal Security Service (FSO) rented Khodynskoye Pole for a corporate car party. A track of five hundred meters, ice covered with snow - professional racers usually hone their skills here. They would have been enough kondraty with ...

On February 18, the Federal Security Service (FSO) rented Khodynskoye Pole for a corporate car party. A track of five hundred meters, ice covered with snow - professional racers usually hone their skills here. They would have been enough kondraty at the sight of dozens of representative foreign cars with ECX and AAA numbers on a long-chosen track.

GON is a special-purpose garage, a “car stable” for the president and his administration. Every month the drivers of the country's most special cars train on the roads near Moscow, and only once a year the FSO, to which the GON belongs, organizes its own auto show. There are no TV cameras, no metal detectors and strict security, no ticket attendants. There are no strangers. The event is not announced or advertised.

But here is such an occasion: GON is 85 years old. On this occasion, a bus with an impromptu bar was brought to Khodynka. Barbecue was fried nearby, free buckwheat porridge was smoking, pancakes were hissing in frying pans under the open sky. Special children were entertained by clowns in a separate area. However, no one asked for the identity of the parents: the host of the holiday at the very beginning promised that "not a single child will leave without a gift." Neither give nor take - folk festival.

However, the Federal Security Service, apparently, was sure that the festivities could not become. Terrorists and ordinary citizens had nowhere to learn about the show, so at first glance there were no security measures. The soldiers enthusiastically ate porridge and took pictures against the backdrop of ZILs from the era of the Politburo of the Central Committee of the CPSU. In the crowd of onlookers, however, they said that after all the field was “under the hood”, but it was not possible to verify this.

“Look, a sniper,” one of the vacationers pointed out to a neighbor at a house under construction.

- Where?

"Joke," the man corrected, looking back at me.

The parking lot, under which a part of the Khodynka field was taken away, was filled with cars with flashing lights. Some even have two on the roof - red on the left and blue on the right. Everyone has license plates of the EKX or AAA series, no matter whether it is an executive sedan, passenger bus, Gazelle, Volga or KamAZ. EKH - not bought, not fake, but laid down by law even for a truck.

The races were attended by cars that ride on the opposite lanes in the center of Moscow, scaring away motorists with an angry quack. Tricolors and special signals, as it turned out, are not at all an obstacle to drifting (a race in controlled drifts). Sixteen GON drivers fought for the title of the best. We did not manage to find out the names of the officials who are being transported by the "Riders" - a state secret. To identify those who came to the festivities - too. It is known for sure that there was one general on Khodynka: despite civilian clothes, everyone addressed the respectable man as “comrade general”. Someone in the crowd imagined that the head of the FSB, Nikolai Patrushev, was also wandering around the field.

“Anyone can be here,” one of the spectators with whom we discussed the identity of the alleged “Patrushev” explained to me. - There is no Putin, but I won't be surprised by everything else.

The races started at 11 am. Moreover, unlike similar civil events, everything was done in the FSO. The host of the show said: “We’ll start in a minute and a half,” and they began. Audi went first, then Volkswagens and a variety of Mercedes - jeeps, simple sedans and elongated ones, usually intended for the most important passengers. The presenter, who commented on what was happening on the track, constantly reminded the audience that "you should not take an example from them and drive around the city like that." The audience, half of whom were in uniform pea coats, giggled.

However, from the point of view of professional racing, the tasks for the members of the “flasher racing” team were not difficult. To become the best, the driver had to drive two laps around the track, avoiding obstacle cones. They stood close to each other, and in order to drive the track at maximum speed and not touch the obstacle, the drivers had to send the car into a skid. On the Khodynka field, flashing lights did not violate traffic rules: the speed did not exceed 60 kilometers per hour.

The demonstration performance of the museum "ZILs" turned out to be much more spectacular. These rode quickly, one at a time, did not risk catching each other, so the drivers gave free rein to their skills. On ice with snow, ZILs first turned 180 degrees, then 360, then ... 720, showering the audience with snow spray from under the wheels.

- Just look at them, rear-wheel drive, weight - more than five tons! - the host said.

The audience watched, distracted only by jokes:

- Some president will come, put him there, twist - no diplomacy is needed, he will agree to everything.

The corporate auto show lasted until the evening. The guests were spreading all over the place - judging by the number of drinks, there were more dangerous cars with special signals on the roads of Moscow on Saturday. The 2006 FSO Auto Show is the last open event of its kind. Starting next year, GON employees will compete on the track in Vnukovo, where neither their family members nor onlookers will be allowed.

Ordinary people will now see the cars of the presidential administration only in pictures and special highways.