# Cup of Peace and Friendship

The Cup of Peace and Friendship (also Friendship Cup of Socialist Countries) was an auto racing championship series dedicated to Eastern Bloc drivers between 1963 until the bloc's dissolution in 1989

## History

Kart racing arrived in the USSR during the late 1950s to early 1960s. In 1960, the USSR Motorsport Federation presented their first rules for organized racing in the eastern bloc, covering how competitions should be run to technical requirements for the cars. Within a year, karting began to see a large growth in popularity, thanks in part due to the emphasis on maintaining affordability and access for entrants.
The Cup of Peace and Friendship was created in 1963 as an initiative of Lech Tulak and Jerzy Jankowski of the Polish Automobile and Motorcycle Federation. The main idea of the cup was to promote the unification of auto racing in Eastern Bloc countries so there was also classification of national teams. Initially the championship only held races in open-wheel, single seater categories. Heinz Melkus and East Germany were the first champions.
Until 1964, championships were held according to the rules of Formula Junior, then Formula Three. Since 1972 cars, had to meet the requirements of Formula Easter. In 1973 the touring car championship was also introduced.
The last championship was held in 1989. Following the revolutions of 1989, the Cup of Peace and Friendship dissolved.

## Champions

| Season | Single seater | Single seater | Touring car | Touring car |
| | Driver | Nation | Driver | Nation |
| 1963 | Heinz Melkus | East Germany | not held | not held |
| 1964 | Jerzy Jankowski | East Germany | not held | not held |
| 1965 | Heinz Melkus | East Germany | not held | not held |
| 1966 | Heinz Melkus | East Germany | not held | not held |
| 1967 | Heinz Melkus | East Germany | not held | not held |
| 1968 | Miroslav Fousek | ? | not held | not held |
| 1969 | Vladimír Hubáček | Czechoslovakia | not held | not held |
| 1970 | Vladislav Ondřejík | Czechoslovakia | not held | not held |
| 1971 | Klaus-Peter Krause | East Germany | not held | not held |
| 1972 | Heinz Melkus | Czechoslovakia | not held | not held |
| 1973 | Albín Patlejch | East Germany | Andrzej Wojciechowski | Czechoslovakia |
| 1974 | Karel Jílek | Czechoslovakia | Jaroslav Bobek | Czechoslovakia |
| 1975 | Madis Laiv | Soviet Union | Milan Žid | Czechoslovakia |
| 1976 | Jiří Červa | Czechoslovakia | Milan Žid | Czechoslovakia |
| 1977 | Karel Jílek | Czechoslovakia | Oldřich Brunclik | Czechoslovakia |
| 1978 | Ulli Melkus | East Germany | Vlastimil Tomášek | Soviet Union |
| 1979 | Václav Lim | Czechoslovakia | Vlastimil Tomášek | Czechoslovakia |
| 1980 | Ulli Melkus | Czechoslovakia | Miroslav Heřman | Czechoslovakia |
| 1981 | Jiří Moskal | East Germany | Petr Samohýl | Soviet Union |
| 1982 | Jan Veselý | Czechoslovakia | Vlastimil Tomášek | Czechoslovakia |
| 1983 | Ulli Melkus | East Germany | Alexey Grigoriev | Soviet Union |
| 1984 | Ulli Melkus | East Germany | Vlastimil Tomášek | Czechoslovakia |
| 1985 | Ulli Melkus | Czechoslovakia | Vlastimil Tomášek | Czechoslovakia |
| 1986 | Václav Lim | East Germany | Vlastimil Tomášek | Czechoslovakia |
| 1987 | Toomas Napa | Soviet Union | Petr Bold | Soviet Union |
| 1988 | Viktor Kozankov | Soviet Union | Alexey Grigoriev | Soviet Union |
| 1989 | Viktor Kozankov | Soviet Union | Yuri Katsai | Soviet Union |
| 1990 | Alexandr Potekhin | not held | Josef Michl | not held |