Russian Bears Motorsport was formed in March 2007, and started by running BMW 320is in the Dutch Supercar Challenge, with drivers Viktor Shapovalov (who also owns the team), Lev Fridman, Evgeny Zelenov and Oleg Petrikov.

The team returned to the WTCC to run Lada 110s in 2008, with Dutch driver Jaap van Lagen joining Shapovalov with driving duties.

For 2009, the team attracted support from Lada, with the Russian company thus becoming the fourth manufacturer in the championship alongside SEAT, BMW and Chevrolet.

The introduction of the new Priora at Porto and the addition of former British Touring Car Champion James Thompson to the driver lineup helped the team to increase their competitiveness during the season.

In order to make room for Thompson, Shapovalov had stepped down from driving duties to concentrate on team management.