Trophy raid co-driver Mykhailo Svirgun killed in action

Ukrainian Trophy-Raid Championship regular Mykhailo Svirgun was kiled in action while serving with the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

Before the Russian invasion began in 2022, Svirgun competed in the series as a co-driver during the late 2010s. A Kharkiv native, he was part of the local Bilka off-road team and thus worked alongside drivers like fellow residents Serhiy Tarasov.

Tarasov and Svirgun mainly raced a Toyota Land Cruiser or a UAZ-469 in the TR2 class. Prior to the series’ pause by COVID-19 in 2020, the duo enjoyed podiums at rounds like the 2019 Polissya Trophy, the second race of the season held in Kyiv.

With Bilka, he was a popular face in the off-roading and Jeep community.

“Mykhailo Mykhailovych Svirgun, the navigator of the ‘star’ Kharkiv crew ‘Belka’, died defending Ukraine from the Russian-fascist invaders,” reads a statement from the Automobile Federation of Ukraine. “A wife and two children were left without a husband and father…

“The Automobile Federation of Ukraine expresses its deepest condolences to the family and friends of Mykhailo Mykhailovych.”

Now 791 days in, the invasion has pressed many members of the Ukrainian motorsport community and the FAU into service. 2014 Trophy-Raid TR1 Champion Andriy Gusev died while fighting in Kharkiv in June 2023 while TR1 competitor Volodymyr Giba was killed in November that year. Other racers memorialised by the FAU for their sacrifices in combat include kart racers Volodymyr Chernysh, Kyrylo Demidov, and Mykhailo Kravchenko.