In the suburbs of Astana, at a large quarry near Sorokovaya Station on Talgat Musabayev Street, 17, preparations are underway for an unusual race of the season — Derby Kazakhstan 2026. Thirty-five cars have been registered for the start, and they will have to withstand a series of hits and stay running, the website infohub.kz reports.
For now the site looks more like a construction zone than an arena for a car show: steppe, dust, machinery and metal structures all around. In the middle of the site, a bulldozer is driving iron pipes into the ground with its bucket to fence off the future arena. Anatoly Bondar, president of the Astana Automobile and Motorcycle Sports Federation, is personally taking part in the preparations. Volunteers, friends and like-minded supporters of the federation are working alongside him: they are putting up grandstands and barriers and preparing the area for the cars. On Sunday, September 13, at 12:00, thousands of spectators will come to the car battle.
The rules of the competition sound simple: cars crash into each other until only one is left. "The pilot's task is to be the only one still running. This is the event where head-on collisions are allowed," Bondar says. Thirty-five cars have already been registered for the start. Participants will be divided into several classes: passenger cars, heavyweights and foreign-made cars. In the heavy class, for example, Volgas and Nivas will compete. In races like these, a car's mass and durability often matter more than engine power.
Despite the spectacle, the demolition derby does not turn into uncontrolled collisions. Participants must follow safety rules. In particular, deliberate full-throttle head-on hits are prohibited, as are hits to the driver's door. This is a fundamental point: the pilot must be able to get out of the car unharmed. "The cars have roll cages, four- or five-point seat belts, seats with side support. The batteries have been relocated, their fuel tanks are shielded. Fire extinguishers are mandatory, as is a master switch to shut the car off," the federation president explains.
The organizers deliberately choose a quarry for such derbies. "On asphalt there is too much grip and a high probability of injury. Here the guys have less grip," Bondar explains. Over four years the site has roughly doubled in size. Each time the organizers have to expand the spectator areas, build embankments, set up grandstands and a closed paddock.
For those who want to watch the competition from the grandstands, tickets are available at 5,000 tenge for adults and 3,000 for children. Other spectators will be able to watch the competition from around the perimeter of the site. Police and rescue services will monitor order and safety.
Participants will come not only from Astana. Athletes from Karaganda and other regions of Kazakhstan regularly compete in the derby. In different years, teams from Almaty and Shymkent, as well as foreign guests, have come for the season finale. "On the day of the event, there won't be room to drop a pin here. And everything here gets packed with cars. People just get a real kick out of it," Bondar says.
Earlier, Kursiv Auto reported how a car festival in Astana was canceled due to a ban by the akimat.