Andrea Crugnola is the first leader of the Rally di Roma Capitale after the opener at the Terme di Caracalla

A spectacular start in the heart of Rome. This is the first day of the Rally di Roma Capitale 2021, which has kicked off in the mark of Andrea Crugnola and Pietro Ometto, that are leading the pack after the fascinating opening test at Terme di Caracalla.
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The cars have officially started the event organized by Motorsport Italia in the extraordinary setting of Castel Sant'Angelo. The rally will be valid as the third round of the FIA European Rally Championship and the fifth of the Sparco Italian Rally Championship. The much awaited Rally di Roma Capitale confirmed its great attractiveness in a unique setting that has welcomed drivers and fans. Off the starting platform, cars have gone through the city centre getting past the Colosseo, the Vittoriano and Fori Imperiali followed by the Police.

The spotlights highlighted then the great novelty of 2021, the SS0 Terme di Caracalla ACI Roma, a 2.7 kilometres strip around one of the most famous monuments of the capital. A new challenge organized by Motorsport Italia successfully brought the adrenaline of highly spectacular rally cars in a unique setting.

The best time was posted by Andrea Crugnola in the Hyundai i20, as the driver led Giandomenico Basso and Lorenzo Granai’s Skoda Fabia Evo by 0.6s. The Norwegian ace Andreas Mikkelsen and co-driver Ola Floene, were third at 0.7s in their Skoda Fabia Evo. Nil Solans and Marc Marti (Skoda Fabia Evo) posted the same time. The test was very short and did not influence much the classification as it saw very small gaps and five drivers within one second, including the Russian Nikolay Griazyn and Konstantin Aleksandrov, in the Volkswagen Polo Gti.

Amazing images of the spectacle stage were broadcast live by ACI Sport TV (CH 228 SKY), RAI Sport (CH 58 FreeView) and all the social channels of the championships and of the event.

The challenge will get to its heart tomorrow with six stages in the neighbourhoods of Fiuggi and Frosinone. The streaming coverage of the event is virtually complete and will feature constant connections and in-depth analysis that will allow fans not to miss a single instant of this event.

"I am speechless – Rally Di Roma Capitale’s patron Max Rendina commented – We have been working very hard to prepare this opening day and we wanted to leave a mark, a sign of restart. I believe this has been magic, unique and I hope unrepeatable moment. I would like to thank the Municipality of Roma Capitale, the Local Police of Roma Capitale, and all the institutions and staff that are still working at this late hour in the evening. The Rally di Roma Capitale 2021 started on a high and I am pretty sure that we will live an amazing and high-level sporting challenge tomorrow and on Sunday".