Van Lagen driving the Lada 110 WTCC car at Brands Hatch in 2008.Van Lagen driving the Lada Priora
The team returned to the WTCC to run Lada 110s in 2008, with Dutch driver Jaap van Lagen joining Shapovalov with driving duties. Kirill Ladygin joined the team in a third car for the final four rounds.
For 2009, the team attracted support from Lada, with the Russian company thus becoming the fourth manufacturer in the championship alongside SEAT, BMW and Chevrolet. The introduction of the new Priora at Porto and the addition of former British Touring Car Champion James Thompson to the driver lineup helped the team to increase their competitiveness during the season. Drivers points were achieved by Thompson for a pair of 6th places at the Imola round, which were also the first for either a Russian Bears driver or a Lada driver in the series. In order to make room for Thompson, Shapovalov had stepped down from driving duties to concentrate on team management.
In 2013, Russian Bears Motorsport renamed themselves to SMP Racing. The team entered the International GT Open.
For 2014 the team campaigned in the World Endurance Championship, running a Ferrari 458 GT3 Italia in the LMGTE-am class and a pair of Oreca 03Rs in the LMP2 class.
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