Airat Mintimerovich Shaimiev is the eldest son of the first president of the Republic of Tatarstan. General Director of Tatavtodor. Three-time European champion of circuit cross-country races. A wealthy businessman who occupies a good position in the Forbes rating.
Biography
Airat Shaimiev was born in the village of Muslyumovo of the Republic of Tatarstan on March 7, 1962. Parents are Mintimer and Sakina. The younger brother is Radik.
At school, Ayrat was fond of aircraft modeling. He dreamed of becoming a pilot. He was engaged in karate and showed good results in competitions.
A. Shaimiev graduated from the Kazan branch of the Moscow Power Engineering Institute. The way of work was determined by the distribution. He was sent to Naberezhnye Chelny and appointed a foreman in the construction and installation department. Later he tried himself as a driver and an energy drinker. In the late 90s, he moved from Naberezhnye Chelny to Kazan and started building roads.
Road activity
Since 1996 he has been working as General Director at the RT Road Service Company. Since 2008 - JSC Tatavtodor. Under his leadership, the construction of almost all modern highways in the Republic of Tatarstan took place. Today the company builds and maintains more than half of the roads in Tatarstan with high quality. It has more than 10 road-building branches throughout the republic.
Motorsport is a second life
In the mid-90s, the republic was seized by an interest in motorsport. In Tatarstan, auto racing was a novelty. Nobody professionally dealt with them. The history of the development of Tatarstan auto racing is associated with the name of Airat Shaimiev. He and Ilham Rakhmatullin were among the many enthusiasts who took on a new sporting business. They were then a little over 30 years old.
Ayrat's parents were ambivalent about their son's hobby. My father was a lover of horses and hippodrome racing. He was indifferent to cars. Mom's attitude can be explained by worry about the fate of her son. Motorsport is very specific and life-threatening. And Ayrat was not without injuries. At one of the races, he could not stay on the track. The car turned over, but with the help of the technical team, it was put on wheels and the driver was able to complete the track. After it turned out that Ayrat broke several ribs and received a concussion.
Enthusiasts, who created the first sports and technical club "SUVAR motorssport", then the rule was the desire to prove to the territorial neighbors - Togliatti residents that Tatarstan citizens can handle sports cars no worse than them.
Ildus Mazitov became the coach, Sergey Petrukhin advised the pilots. For more than three years the team trained, gained experience, improved driving skills, took part and won the republican and Russian championships. By 2000, the whole of Russia knew and respected the team of Kazan pilots. It was no longer just a team of like-minded people, but a serious enterprise. The team had at its disposal a solid material and technical base and a strong composition of station wagon mechanics. It's time to make a name for yourself in Europe.
European victories
The first appearance of pilots from Russia to the European public took place in distant Portugal. By 2002, Europe had already appreciated the Tatarstan competitors.
Rustam Minnikhanov recalls: “We came to Europe for auto-cross. Then nobody considered us. Now our young people are seriously showing themselves at European autocross and rallycross races”. The racing fathers inspired their sons by their example. Ildar Rakhmatullin is one of the best race car drivers today. He is the son of a pilot from the first team of Suvar 1996 - Ilham Rakhmatullin.
Sakina's mother passed away in 2018, but she was proud of her sons: Ayrat and Radik. Brothers, similar in appearance, are similar in motorsport. Both achieved high-profile victories in Russia and in Europe. Despite their age, they are still close to the Suvar team. Radik Shaimiev still competes in the classic rally, defending the name of SC "Taif-Motosport".
On the initiative of the Shaimiev brothers, an autodrome was built in Vysokaya Gora. Since 2002, the continental races of the European championship have been held there.
Personal life
A. Shaimiev has a strong marriage. The wife has a medical degree. Two children - Timur and Leila.
The son graduated from the UK Business College. Joins the business, he is a co-owner of TAIF. In 2016 Timur married Regina Shapovalova from Nizhnekamsk. Timur is also fond of auto racing and boxing.
Daughter Leila at school was fond of dancing and music. Studied at the Moscow Institute of International Relations.
Sakina Shaimieva, mother and grandmother of the famous family, wrote in her book "In the Shadow of Mintimer" that she is proud of her children and grandchildren. She sees in their characters many traits that she values in people: exactingness towards herself, love for people, modesty, availability and ease of communication. She tried to instill this in her sons and realized that she did it.
A dream come true
Today Ayrat is a billionaire, and this is natural, because he is the head of a large company that has been dealing with the roads of the republic for decades. Ayrat never aspired to fame and publicity. In his youth, he often hid his famous origins.
Now in his stories there is a kind of regret that he came to motorsport late. Perhaps he would have been more successful in it than in business. But he did the most important thing - he fulfilled his dream and became a winner. Despite the prohibitions of doctors and possible health problems, he was not afraid of injuries and won! He dispelled myths about the invincibility of European athletes and proved that Russia can do a lot.
