In conversation with GT4 driver Mansur Kildiyarov
- Olivia Kairu
- 1 hour ago
- 9 min read
Based in the UAE, Mansur Kildiyarov, a competitive GT4 driver racing under the Kyrgyzstani flag, sat down for a video chat with DIVEBOMB, where karting, endurance racing and, oddly, fishing were among the topics of conversation.
Unified in temperature by the sweltering Dubai sun and the muggy heat of Toronto, the ice was quickly broken and I began to get insight into what is an exciting time for the wildly talented Kildiyarov.
“Ever since graduating about two months ago, there’s not much schoolwork to do now; I’m just completely focusing on racing really.”
Fresh out of completing his A-level exams, the Moscow-born driver finds himself at a time where secondary school is in the rearview and the future and all that it holds, is at the forefront of his mind. Clearly, this is a journey shaping up to be one brightly lit by headlights, as he finds his balance while juggling racing, university and all his passions.
DIVEBOMB: Now that school is done, what does the everyday look like for you?
Mansur Kildiyarov: “So for the day, I wake up, have breakfast, go to the gym and from there it’s kind of off the step, you know, probably see my friends and if there are any meetings or anything like this [interview], carrying a plan for that.”
Taking a short walk down memory lane for the young driver and a more arduous trek through time for me, we bonded over the strenuous undertaking that is A-levels and our mutual disdain for Economics.
We soon got straight to Kildiyarov’s racing journey.
DIVEBOMB: How did you get started in racing?
Mansur Kildiyarov: “I remember this super clearly. I was really into cars when I was just a baby, then super into dirt bikes actually when I was still really, really young. So I was already into racing and that whole type of scene.
“A lot of people have mopeds or like small CC bikes and they’re super accessible to buy. As I got older here in Dubai, I started buying those with a friend and we would modify them and strip the engine apart and everything.
“I really got to know insight and [have] hands-on experience working on bikes.
“Then I started doing motocross lessons, like coaching lessons. I was doing them in the desert here in the UAE and on the way back from one of those lessons, my dad reminded me of this programme called DAKA, which stands for Dubai Autodrome Karting Academy.
“We actually wanted to sign up for DAKA when I was 14 and this was when I was 16; it was already two years past. I already started doing motocross and to really change and go on the whole other side of racing, I don’t know.
“I thought about it and two years ago I wanted to try, you know? Might as well do it. I’ve been waiting so long.
“It was about the first, second week of October. I got on my phone and there was availability for term two, which starts in January. Even though it was like four months down the line, I signed up.
“As we started pushing that date, it was in the year of my GCSE; it was January 6th. I had English Literature paper one GCSE mock. I remember it was so difficult I could not concentrate and kept thinking about getting out on the track.”
Wanting to give his all in both school and his racing career meant sacrifice for the Kyrgyzstani driver. We laughed at the thought of his wandering mind during one of the most important moments he had encountered in his life. For Kildiyarov, a balance is essential; his passion for racing is met with that of building a career and a business that could work symbiotically to sustain the other.
Now, he gears up to head off to Purdue University for Motorsports Engineering in the autumn semester, a very fitting degree that works to maintain this balance.
After his first karting session, Kildiyarov’s “passion built from there”. His coach, Steve, noticed his talent and how adaptive he was and approached him about joining the endurance racing team.
DIVEBOMB: What was your first race like after moving from karting to endurance racing so quickly?
Mansur Kildiyarov: “I [first] did a 6-hour endurance race on February 12th. I found a couple of guys and we got 1st in amateurs in our first race, which was pretty cool. He [Steve] invited me to do the 12-hour with them in February, just one month after I started and obviously I’m not going to turn it down. That was my first taste of sponsorship or the whole racing world. I started doing endurance races with them and got to know more people. It was not what I expected; it’s completely different.
“That’s how it started and I just built off of that. In January 2024, I started karting; in February 2025, I got my national licence for cars and in August, I did my Radical SR3XX test covered by my Karting team. We built linearly until we’re now here.”
Next up in his sights is the 2026 Michelin 24H Dubai endurance race at the Dubai Autodrome, Kildiyarov’s largest race entry yet.
DIVEBOMB: Between karting and endurance racing, which do you like best?
Mansur Kildiyarov: “Honestly, now that I got my first taste of cars, I love GT. I’m doing GT4 testing now because I’m preparing to do the Dubai 24 Hour race in January. It’s the biggest race here in the UAE; the media coverage is insane.
“I’ve been going for the past five years and hopefully this upcoming sixth one it’ll be as a driver, but everything just takes time … so we’ll see if it can happen.
“Right now I’m doing testing on BMW and Porsche GT4 cars in Dubai Autodrome and have also tested the Aston Martin GT4 at Yas Marina. I’m doing as much GT4 as I can right now and just seeing if I can build a profile that’s enough to race in the US, to get my international licence and then go into the 24 hours of Dubai.”
DIVEBOMB: If you could pick a dream race, what would that be?
Mansur Kildiyarov: “To be honest, my dream race is definitely the Dubai 24-hour. That’s just a race I’ve been going to, sometimes with my family and friends. I already know it from a spectator perspective and seeing it from the pit garage, just standing on the grid before the race starts. The atmosphere is crazy.
“The 24 hours in Nuremberg, I think it would be awesome to be there, especially because Max Verstappen races in it. There are so many cars; it’s such a big, legendary track. I think it’s a race that demands a lot, so that would be something that you do down the line. [Dubai] Autodrome is a track I know very well, the same as Yas Marina. I have a lot of time on the sim on those two tracks.”
Green lights seem to pave the way in his racing career thus far. Working hard to get to his dream race is a feat he is approaching with a cocktail of optimism, dedication and a reassuring ease.
DIVEBOMB: You have quite a bit of experience testing cars, racing both karts and GT4 cars and also coaching. Now, as you leap into GT4, do you like how technical racing is getting?
Mansur Kildiyarov: “It’s great to understand racing beyond being behind the wheel. I always think of it as 80% of racing is just business, then 10% is going to events, meeting people and the last 10% is driving. In the end, if you don’t have the money to spend on racing, you have to think of yourself as a marketing asset. If you’re looking for companies to support you and everything, then for sure it’s frustrating to think of racing in a much more business way.
“Going through the more technical, mechanical sort of experience, I did an internship at Porsche for six weeks as a mechanic, which gave me a very broad range of view. My viewpoint is very broad now on racing because I know the business side, I know the driving side, I know the coaching side and also the mechanics side.
“It helps me understand how the car works because I know the mechanical systems; I had to relearn how suspension works when you hit the brakes, that the front of the car dips down. It’s helped me speak to the mechanics in the garage and just day-to-day operations really, it just gives me a whole different mindset.”
Our chat dove even deeper in the direction of aerodynamics and the technical aspects he picked up along the way. Kildiyarov did not shy away from crediting his coach and his team along the way for helping him gain his knowledge, adding to what he intuitively knew.
DIVEBOMB: Do you feel like sim racing actually helps you prep?
Mansur Kildiyarov: “This is such a big, controversial topic in racing. A lot of people have different opinions - I would say it helps. You’re better off doing some practice than not, but I would say it gets you three things.
“It gets you familiar with the track. The second thing is the biggest: that’s the racing line. You have it in your mind already because more often than not it’s going to be the exact same braking points and everything. This allows you to focus on other things than the racing line. And the third thing is the coaching.
“My coach, Yeruslan, explained to me so many concepts that I never thought of that opened my mind completely. One of them, for example, is that there’s this one corner in Dubai Autodrome; it’s a right-hander, but it’s just barely flat. He told me that in downforce cars, you don’t go on the curbing. The curb is very low, which is going to upset the car too much. But when I was in the Radical and I touched the curb, the car completely snapped on me and that’s because it upsets the airflow.
“Now in a GT4 car, you can destroy the curb because you have much more mechanical grip, but in aerodynamic cars like Formula cars, LMP cars, prototype cars, which heavily rely on airflow and downforce, if you touch that curb, you just lose the ground effect.”
DIVEBOMB: What goes through your head during your stint driving in a 24-hour race?
Mansur Kildiyarov: “When you’re in the car, you’re just enjoying the breeze. You really aren’t thinking much. There are [different] types of people, some that get kind of exhausted because they really have to focus and whatnot. Then there’s the type of people whose minds are blank. They’re on autopilot. Then there’s the third person that’s like in the car completely singing; they’re still fast but just chill. It just depends, I’m more of a driver who just enjoys it, you know?”
DIVEBOMB: Do you watch any other racing series other than F1?
Mansur Kildiyarov: “To be honest, I actually don’t watch any racing series. I follow along on my phone on Instagram, just the highlights. The only race I do watch is the 24-hour series because that’s the series I want to be in.”
DIVEBOMB: Do you worry that consuming racing yourself would make you lose your instinct and the way you would approach things based on what you saw?
Mansur Kildiyarov: “I mean, I just kind of focus on myself really. If you’re too busy focusing on what’s happening around you, you can’t really focus on yourself. I think to move plans out of the way to watch a racing series is too much. But if I’m free and the 24-hour series is running, I’ll check my phone.”
DIVEBOMB: What’s been your favourite car you’ve raced in?
Mansur Kildiyarov: “Oh, the Aston Martin GT4, that’s like the best car ever! It’s a bit biased because I drove it on the Yas Marina circuit; that’s my favourite track. Just the atmosphere is crazy on Yas Island. But also the Radical [SR3XX car] was really cool.”
A true renaissance person, we wrapped up our conversation with his interests and hobbies when he had a moment away from the track.
DIVEBOMB: Outside of racing, what do you like to do?
Mansur Kildiyarov: “I love fishing. Just chilling with a rod and catching fish. In the winter I go out on a boat with some friends and go fishing. In Russia, I have a full suit; it’s like a hazmat suit that comes up to you here,” he pointed at his chest. “You stand in the water with the rod and it’s really nice.
“I also played basketball for seven years. I did martial arts for maybe eight years as well. I learnt French while growing up in Geneva for two years. I forgot most of it now, living in Dubai where everyone speaks English.”
Working toward a place on the grid for the Michelin 24H Dubai endurance race, Mansur Kildiyarov is steering his career onto an exciting trajectory that's impossible to ignore. Whether it's the thrill of crossing the finish line or the skill required to balance multiple roles while overcoming the challenges that come with life on and off the track, his journey is one well worth following.
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