top of page

About me

I was born on November 1, 1986, in the city of Yakutsk, in the north of Russia, which was then the USSR. When I turned two, my family moved back to the city of Donetsk (since 1991, this has been Ukraine).

My father is Sergey Vasilyevich Kobenok, and my mother is Lyudmila Vladimirovna Kobenok. I am the second child in the family; I have an older brother, Andrey Kobenok, who is five years older than me.

In 2001, I began my motorsport journey. In our city, there was a well-known sports club called "Cyclone," whose history dates back to the USSR. This club was very famous and had many titles and awards in motorsport. The club had many prize-winners and champions.

One of the members of this club was Valery Alexandrovich Grubalsky (Candidate for Master of Sports of Ukraine), who organized an extreme driving track. He had two sports cars and taught extreme driving.

At the age of 15, I started training in driving, and I became so fascinated with it that I began studying the structure of the car, and my coach even taught me how to repair sports cars.

In 2003, when I was 16 years old (in Ukraine, a passport is issued at the age of 16), my coach decided to give me the opportunity to participate in the Ukrainian Championship (UC) in autocross. These were some of my first steps in motorsport.

I was fully immersed in my university studies and motorsport training. In 2006, I started my second higher education in "Enterprise Economics." In 2006, I built my first personal sports car with my own hands. Thanks to the comprehensive support of the "Cyclone" sports club (as I competed for this club) and various sponsors, I continued my sports journey.

At that time, the club was led by Larisa Yadryshnikova, and the club's coach was Nikolai Polyakov (Master of Sports). From 2006 to 2009 (4 years), while competing for the "Cyclone" sports club, I participated in the UC in Autocross.

Achievements in Motorsport during this period:

  • 2006 - 6th place in the UC in Autocross.

  • 2007 - 3rd place in the UC in Autocross.

  • 2008 - 2nd place in the UC in Autocross.

  • 2009 - 3rd place in the UC in Autocross.

On June 11, 2007, I was awarded the title of Candidate for Master of Sports of Ukraine. During this period (2006-2009), there were many ups and downs in motorsport, as well as new acquaintances. For example, in 2007, I met Igor Dorofeev, the head of the children's motorsport team "Extreme Jaguar." Igor Dorofeev (Master of Sports) trained children aged 6 to 13, and they regularly participated in the UC in Motorsport and were multiple champions.

Since 2008, Igor Dorofeev offered me to become his assistant in coaching children. My assistance included both coaching children and helping prepare children's cars (mini buggies). From 2008 to 2014, I trained children, helped prepare equipment for competitions, and participated in trips to competitions. From 2008 to 2010, I was also a coach at the Children's and Youth School of OSOU.

In 2008, I started coaching one of my first adult students, Andrey Balashchenko, who finished 3rd in the UC in Autocross in 2008. In 2010, I graduated with my first higher education with a Red Diploma and the title of "Master." I was immediately hired by a large energy company, "Donetskoblenergo," as an engineer in the relay protection service.

In the summer of 2010, I completed my second higher education with the title of "Specialist." In 2010, I decided to change my direction in motorsport and transition from autocross to rally. Thanks to my perseverance, my results, and the support of parents from the children's team "Extreme Jaguar," I built a new car. It took me a year to do this.

Autocross and rally are different disciplines in motorsport. In Autocross, only one driver participates, while in rally, there are two drivers. In 2010, in addition to training children, I continued to train Andrey Balashchenko, and we participated together in one of the stages of the UC in mini-rally "Cup of Limans."

In 2011, I finished preparing the rally car. Together with one of the students from the children's team "Extreme Jaguar," Alexey Dolot, we decided to participate in the UC in mini-rally "Cup of Limans." Alexey was 14 years old at the time. In the first stage, we did not reach the finish line due to a car breakdown. It took me the rest of the year to repair the car.

I continued to train Andrey Balashchenko, who became the 2011 UC Champion in mini-rally "Cup of Limans." In 2012, Alexey Dolot started competing in a new car and gradually achieved decent results over the years. In 2012, I began preparing for competitions again and started training my second driver, Vladislav Tikhov. When he was ready to compete, we participated in the last stage of the UC and finished in third place. This was a good sign that we had learned a bit in the new discipline and could make new plans for the future.

In 2012, I also got married. During the period from 2010 to 2012, there were not many competitions, but there was a lot of studying, coaching, and car preparation. In 2013, my daughter, Katerina Kobenok, was born. In 2013, Vladislav and I participated in the rally "Cup of Priazovye" in three stages, where we finished in 4th place overall. We also participated in the last stage of the UC in mini-rally "Cup of Limans," where we finished in first place.

In 2014, we participated in all stages of the UC in mini-rally "Cup of Limans," where we finished in second place overall. My student, Vladislav Tikhov, not only became the silver champion of the country but also received the title of Candidate for Master of Sports of Ukraine.

The years 2015-2016 became a new chapter in both my personal sports career and coaching. In 2015, one of the students from the children's team "Extreme Jaguar," Oleg Panteley, turned 14. After discussing with his parents, we decided to have Oleg participate with me in rally.

Results of the 2015 season:

  • Vasyl Kobenok - 3rd place in the UC in mini-rally "Cup of Limans."

  • Oleg Panteley - 2nd place in the UC in mini-rally "Cup of Limans."

  • Oleg Panteley was awarded the title of Master of Sports of Ukraine.

  • In 2015, Oleg and I competed for the Kyiv team ULTRA GP, and we finished second in the team standings of the UC in mini-rally "Cup of Limans."

In 2015, my financial partner became a large lubricant company "Agrinol." The company "Agrinol" liked our high results and my efforts to attract young people to motorsport. In 2016, my second driver, Vladislav Tikhov, and I finished in 4th place overall in the UC in mini-rally "Cup of Limans."

At the end of 2016, Oleg Panteley started competing in autocross and rally in his new cars. In 2016, I also began training Sergey Nadyuk, a bronze medalist in the UC in circuit racing, who decided to switch to rally in 2016 but had no experience in the new discipline. By the end of 2016, he finished in second place in the UC in mini-rally "Cup of Limans."

In 2017, I started training a new student, Igor Belousov, as the first driver, while continuing to train Sergey Nadyuk. Results of the 2017 season:

  • Vasyl Kobenok - Champion of the UC in mini-rally "Cup of Limans."

  • Igor Belousov - Champion of the UC in mini-rally "Cup of Limans."

  • Sergey Nadyuk - 6th place in the UC in mini-rally "Cup of Limans."

In 2018, I continued to train Igor Belousov, Sergey Nadyuk, and also started training a new student, Alexander Kuznetsov. On May 2, 2018, I was awarded the title of Master of Automotive Sports of Ukraine. Results of the 2018 season:

  • Vasyl Kobenok - Champion of the UC in mini-rally "Cup of Limans."

  • Vasyl Kobenok - 4th place in the UC in rally.

  • Igor Belousov - Champion of the UC in mini-rally "Cup of Limans."

  • Sergey Nadyuk - 2nd place in the UC in mini-rally "Cup of Limans."

  • Alexander Kuznetsov - 2nd place in the UC in mini-rally "Cup of Limans."

  • Alexander Kuznetsov - 2nd place in the UC in autocross.

In 2019, I continued to train Sergey Nadyuk and Alexander Kuznetsov, and also started training a new student, Svetlana Kalnina, as the second driver. Results of the 2019 season:

  • Vasyl Kobenok - Champion of the UC in mini-rally "Cup of Limans."

  • Vasyl Kobenok - 4th place in the UC in rally.

  • Sergey Nadyuk - Champion of the UC in mini-rally "Cup of Limans."

  • Alexander Kuznetsov - Champion of the UC in mini-rally "Cup of Limans."

In 2020, my main student, Alexander Kuznetsov, and I had big plans to participate in the Ukrainian Rally Championship, but tragically, Alexander passed away. In 2020, I continued to train Svetlana Kalnina. In 2021, Svetlana Kalnina finished in third place in the UC in mini-rally "Cup of Limans." In 2021, I also started training Yulia Gritsenko. We participated in several stages of the UC in rally, conducted many training sessions, and prepared for the 2022 season.

On February 19, 2022, Yulia and I participated in the first stage of the UC in rally on production cars, preparing for the full championship. On February 24, 2022, the war began. As of 2024, my student Andrey Balashchenko became the bronze champion of the Russian Rally Championship and also achieved the rank of Candidate for Master of Sports of Russia. I continue to actively participate in the life of the Federation of Motorsport of Ukraine (FAU).

In conclusion, I, Vasily Kobenok, am a multiple participant in various automotive competitions in Ukraine, as well as a multiple prize-winner and champion of both individual stages and motorsport seasons. I have also trained and prepared many athletes who have achieved high results over the years.

bottom of page