Protasov began his motorsport career in 1994 under the guidance of his father, Leonid Protasov, himself a noted Ukrainian racing driver. His karting years were marked by consistent championship success: he won the Ukrainian Karting Championship in the Pioneer-A class in 1995, followed by victories in the Pioneer-B class in 1996, and in both the Popular-Junior and ICA-Junior classes in 1997. A bronze medal in the International karting race Chaika-2001 in the ICA class marked the conclusion of his karting chapter.
He briefly tried circuit racing, competing in a Formula Ford series in 2000 and taking part in the Ukrainian Circuit Championship in 2003 before a Formula Renault 2000 Germany test in 2004 convinced him to commit fully to rallying.
Protasov's rallying roots began in 1999 as a co-driver alongside his father, the two winning the opening round of the Ukrainian Rally Championship in a Lada Samara. He transitioned to driving in 2002, initially aided by family friend and co-driver Taras Chernukha, with whom he worked through a progression of cars — Lada Samara, Ford Escort RS 2000, Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution, and Subaru Impreza — before their most significant result together: overall victory at the Life Yalta Rally in 2005.
After Chernukha retired from co-driving, Protasov partnered Alexander Gorbik, formerly the navigator of his main domestic rival Olexandr Saliuk Jr. The new pairing brought a bronze medal at the Ukrainian Rally Championship in 2007, then the outright Ukrainian Rally title in 2008 — a result that opened the door to sustained international competition.
Protasov made his European Rally Championship debut in June 2008 at Rajd Polski. Working through various co-driver partnerships, including with Ukrainian Kyrylo Nesvit and Pole Lukasz Wronski, he ultimately returned to regular co-driver Adrian Aftanaziv. After a series of retirements, the pair claimed a major international victory at the Greek Rally Elpa in 2010, finishing tenth overall in the European Championship standings that season.
From 2011 onward, Protasov became a consistent participant in the World Rally Championship. A warm-up 2011 season with three outings saw the Protasov-Aftanaziv crew reach the podium in Sweden. In 2012, Protasov entered the Subaru Trophy — organized by Belgian team Symtech Racing — and won it, earning a five-round WRC-2 campaign in 2013 on a fully-funded Subaru Impreza as the prize.
For the 2013 season, switching to Ford Fiesta RRC and later Ford Fiesta R5 machinery alongside new co-driver Kuldar Sikk of Estonia, Protasov mounted three WRC 2 podiums across seven scoring events to take a bronze in the WRC 2 classification that year.
In 2014, Protasov partnered with Ukrainian co-driver Pavlo Cherepin and delivered some of his strongest performances. Victories at Rally Monte Carlo and Rally Mexico, combined with solid runs in Sweden and Italy, placed him on the edge of a WRC 2 title going into the final round in Wales. However, rivals Nasser Al-Attiyah and Jari Ketomaa both overtook him at the final round, relegating Protasov to fourth in the standings.
The 2015 season opened with a new car, a Citroen DS3 WRC prepared by D-Max Racing, but after a difficult debut the crew reverted to the Ford Fiesta RS WRC. At the 2015 Rally Sweden, Protasov set the fastest time overall on special stage 6, becoming the first Ukrainian driver ever to win a WRC special stage. Though the subsequent rounds in Mexico and Argentina produced retirements due to mechanical failures — engine overheating and a broken suspension respectively — the Italian round finally delivered a WRC 2 round victory, with Paolo Andreucci second and Jan Kopecky third. Protasov followed up with third in Finland and Germany and second in Australia, stringing four consecutive WRC 2 podiums in a sequence that represented the peak of his international career.
Yuriy Protasov represents a generation of Eastern European privateer rally drivers who competed at international level through resourcefulness, sponsor hunting, and technical adaptability. A Ukrainian champion turned WRC-2 front-runner, his milestone as the first Ukrainian driver to win a WRC special stage placed him in the history books of his country's motorsport, and his decade-long WRC presence brought consistent results against well-funded factory-supported crews.