Gorban began his rally career in 2002 at the age of 29, already heading the MacCoffee Rally Team. He contested the final round of the 2002 Ukrainian Rally Championship in Kherson alongside teammates Alexander Salyuk Sr. and Alexander Salyuk Jr.
In 2003, he and navigator Evgeny Leonov ran a full Ukrainian championship programme in a Lada 2112 Super 1600. Winning five of six rounds, the crew claimed the A9 class title, while the team took the team classification. The following seasons saw him compete in a Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution, developing into a consistent frontrunner in Ukrainian rallying. By 2006 he was achieving podium finishes at multiple rounds, though an administrative cancellation of one result on homologation grounds cost him a higher overall position.
In 2007, Gorban experimented with a Subaru Impreza built by Kyiv engineer Andriy Alexandrov, achieving podiums at multiple events. Following Alexandrov's death at a Bulgarian rally, Gorban returned to the Mitsubishi Lancer.
The 2008 season proved difficult, with Gorban finishing only twice all year without a podium, dropping the team to third in the standings. The team restructured with a new title sponsor — Ascania — and matters improved in 2009, beginning a more productive period.
The 2013 season brought Gorban his second absolute Ukrainian championship title, driving a Mini Cooper RRC. The championship went to the final event, the Trembit rally, where his rival Alexander Salyuk Jr. went off the road and handed Gorban the title.
Gorban made his first World Rally Championship appearance in 2009, finishing third in the N4 class at the Rally of Poland. His full-scale international programme began in 2011 when the Mentos Ascania Racing team entered three crews — Gorban, Salyuk Jr., and Alexey Kikireshko — into the Production WRC. Gorban finished eighth in the PWRC standings that year, the best result in the team.
In 2012, competing across six WRC rounds, Gorban achieved his most significant international result. He took third in Argentina on the opening event, then won the WRC round in Greece — becoming the first Ukrainian to win a World Rally Championship event. A further third place in Italy and fourth-place finishes in New Zealand and Spain combined to make him the first Ukrainian athlete to earn a WRC bronze medal in the season standings.
From 2013, he moved to WRC 2 competition in the Mini Cooper RRC, contending with a higher level of competition and a period of adaptation to new machinery. In 2014 under the Eurolamp World Rally Team banner — switching to bright green livery — the team finished third in the WRC 2 team standings. In 2015, Gorban took third at the Rally Sweden in WRC 2 and concluded the season nineteenth overall with twenty points.
The 2016 season saw the introduction of the Mini John Cooper Works WRC, which proved uncompetitive relative to R5-class rivals under the new technical regulations. Gorban scored a single championship point across the year. From 2017, he competed in the WRC Trophy alongside co-driver Sergei Larens, with the team achieving four Trophy-class victories that season.
Alongside his rally career, Gorban competed in circuit racing over several seasons, principally at the Nürburgring as part of the VLN endurance series. His debut came in 2004 driving a Honda Civic, which brought class victories in his first appearances. He progressed to a BMW M3 E46, then to a Porsche 996 RSR from 2008, competing with long-time co-driver Stanislav Gryazin. Their best absolute result was fourth place in the VLN standings. Gorban also entered the ADAC Zurich 24-hour race in 2008, finishing tenth in the absolute classification.
Gorban was deeply involved in the governance of Ukrainian motorsport throughout his career. He joined the Automobile Federation of Ukraine Presidium in 2005 and from 2008 focused specifically on rally development, joining the FAU Rally Committee and becoming its chairman in 2012. During his chairmanship Ukraine hosted rounds of the European Rally Cup, introduced online results broadcasting, rally radio coverage, GPS tracking for competitor safety, and stage reuse restrictions. Ukraine's ranking in the World Countries Ranking improved from 27th in 2011 to 5th in 2013 during this period. Gorban resigned from all FAU positions in early 2014.
Gorban's WRC victory in Greece in 2012 secured his place as a pioneer of Ukrainian motorsport at world championship level. His twin Ukrainian national titles, his bronze-medal WRC season, and his work developing rally's administrative infrastructure in Ukraine collectively define a career that extended well beyond competitive results alone. He remained active in the Baltic championship scene through 2019, continuing to compete at a high level nearly two decades after his rally debut.