Togliatti star Vadim Tarasenko makes a dream FIM Speedway Grand Prix debut after being named as wild card for the Togliatti SGP on August 28.
The 27-year-old dons the famous No.16 race jacket at the Anatoly Stepanov Stadium for the city's first SGP round.
He joins fellow home heroes "“ triple Monster Energy FIM Speedway of Nations world champions Artem Laguta and Emil Sayfutdinov "“ in an historic event, where he will be keen to capitalise on his home-track knowledge.
Tarasenko inspired host club Togliatti to league-title glory, scoring 16 points as they secured top spot in Vladivostok earlier this month.
He has enjoyed an impressive couple of years in Sweden's Bauhaus Elitserien, starring for Vastervik this year, and playing a key role in Masarna's charge to league-title glory in 2020.
He also lines up for Bydgoszcz in the Polish First Division and is currently fourth in the league's average charts on 2.219 points per race.
Tarasenko is joined in Togliatti by track reserves Renat Gafurov and Evgenii Saidullin, who line up at No.17 and No.18 respectively.
Gafurov has appeared in the FIM Speedway World Cup, and Saidullin served as his country's under-21 star when they clinched Monster Energy SON gold in Lublin last October.