90th anniversary of the birth of Iliya Chubrikov: let's remember the legend

Iliya Chubrikov began competing before he was 17 years old on his father's 125cc DKW motorcycle, and his first start in a real competition was during a road race to Stoletov Peak in 1952. His first major victory on Bulgarian territory was recorded with his debut participation in the international motocross under Shipka Peak in 1956. The euphoria he caused among spectators and competitors, and the endless series of victories continued throughout the first half of the 1960s. At that time, the domestic motorcycle sport achieved successes that are still remembered today ulei motor.

90th anniversary of the birth of Iliya Chubrikov: let's remember the legend

Iliya Chubrikov's first encounter with racing cars was thanks to the then director of the Bulet Motorsports Company, Emil Razlogov. In the mid-1960s, this short-lived business enterprise organized the production of the Bulgarreno 8 and 10, and not long after, it also bought the license for the particularly successful Alpine A110 sports cars. Up until that point, Chubrikov had never thought of parting ways with motorcycling, but he accepted this new challenge, which soon yielded its first results.

His first participation in a car race was in the spring of 1967 at the Transbalkania Rally. The Bulgarreno 8 car with a 1300 cc engine came out on top and managed to win an uncontested victory at this unique car marathon. The case remains forever in the history of Bulgarian motor sport not only because this was the debut appearance of Iliya Chubrikov on the car scene, but also because it was the first victory won by a Bulgarian at an international rally.

A few months later, after an official invitation from France, Iliya Chubrikov was already competing in the Monte Carlo Rally alongside some of the greatest rally drivers in the world. In his first participation, he drove a standard Alpine, but in 1969 he arrived in Monte Carlo with a 1300cc "Bulgaralpin", with which he drove in the first 20 out of a total of 200 crews, but dropped out due to a breakdown. Iliya Chubrikov's third and last participation in this prestigious race was in 1971, when his car was again a "Bulgaralpin". Then he managed to reach 28th position in the general classification, out of a total of 220 participating crews.

Iliya Chubrikov's first victory with Bulgaralpin was recorded in 1969 during the fifth Balkan Rally in Turkey.

During the second edition of the Golden Sands Rally in 1971, Iliya Chubrikov started with an Alpine 1600 and became the first (and unfortunately the last for many years to come) Bulgarian competitor to ever take the top spot in this most prestigious Bulgarian rally.

In the 1970s and early 1980s, he managed to win 12 first places in the general classifications of some of the most prestigious European rallies, such as "Kordatic" (1972), "Tatry" (1973), "Russian Winter" (1974), "Danube" in 1976 and 1978, as well as a whole series of victories in the "Gunaydin" rally in 1978, 1979, 1980 and 1983, where he competed with a Renault 5 Turbo. One of the particularly interesting episodes from that era is related to the participation of Iliya Chubrikov in the marathon "Tour of the Mediterranean" in 1978. Until then, and for a long time after that, he competed only with Renault, but here, as an exception, his car was a very ordinary Lada 1300. Despite strong Western competition, he came out on top and won the rally.

In 1983, Iliya Chubrikov reached fifth place in the final standings of the European Rally Championship, and a year later he became the first and only Bulgarian to be awarded priority "A". In 1989, he ranked sixth in the general standings and second in Group "B" of the European Rally Championship, and in 1990, during the same race, he won third place in the general standings and first in Group "B".

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Iliya Chubrikov's first encounter with racing cars was thanks to the then director of the Bulet Motorsports Company, Emil Razlogov

His first participation in a car race was in the spring of 1967 at the Transbalkania Rally