A second big event is coming for the 2023 Sparco Italian Absolute Rally Championship, which will take place in Alba on Friday, April 14th and Saturday, April 15th. The event, organized by Cinzano Rally Team, has gained increasing fame internationally over the years, attracting 188 registered teams for its 17th edition, with 95 teams competing in the Italian championship and another 93 teams in the opening round of the Coppa Rally 1st Zone ACI Sport. The beautiful Langhe-Monferrato-Roero hills, a UNESCO World Heritage site known for its culture and gastronomic excellence, will serve as the setting for this major sporting event. The rally will cover a route of 493.64 kilometres of asphalt, including 101.02 kilometres competitively divided into 8 tests.

The program has once again attracted not only Italian drivers but also many foreign drivers representing 13 different nationalities. In addition to the quantity, there will also be quality in this rally, with the presence of 51 Rally2 cars, four-wheel drive cars in the top category of CIAR Sparco, accompanied by 31 Rally4 cars, two-wheel drive cars, as well as 2 WRC Plus cars, the most powerful and spectacular cars in circulation, competing in the CRZ category.

THE PROGRAM IN SHORT | The movement around the Cuneo province will start on Friday morning, when the shakedown will take place in the San Grato area, Santo Stefano Belbo, from 8:00. This will offer the opportunity for a final test on a 2,88 km stretch. The rally will then start at 15:30 from Alba, with a ceremony in Piazza San Paolo that will launch the cars towards the first and only special stage on Friday. The initial Power Stage of 2.29 km is scheduled for 16:30 and will offer 3, 2, and 1 points to the top three finishers in the championship. It will be broadcast live on RAI Sport (channel 58 DT - raiplay.it - RAIplay App) and ACI Sport TV (channel 228 Sky - acisport.it - ACIRadio App).

Saturday will include 7 additional tests, on three different sections of similar length. There will be two passes on the "San Grato" stage (14.74 km | SS2 at 8:12 - SS4 at 12:14), three repetitions of the "Igliano" stage (14.21 km | SS3 at 9:21, SS6 at 14:20, SS8 at 18:17) which will then conclude the race, and two tests on the "Roddino" stage (13.31 km | SS5 at 13:27, SS7 at 17:24). The finish is planned again in Alba, in via della Liberazione, where the prize ceremony will take place from 19:38. It will all be broadcast live on ACI Sport TV, which will provide a series of connections from the shakedown to the awards ceremony. In addition, RAI Sport will also double its live TV coverage for this second act of the CIAR Sparco, with the national broadcaster broadcasting both the Power Stage and SS2 "San Grato" live.

 THE “ABSOLUTE” PROTAGONISTS | At the top of the list of entrants are the reference pair for CIAR Sparco, made up of defending champions Andrea Crugnola and Pietro Ometto. The Citroen C3 Rally 2 from FPF Sport will once again be the car to beat. This is evident from the Italian championship standings, which see the driver from Varese in the lead thanks to his victory in the opening round at Ciocco. This is also highlighted by his success in the previous edition at Alba in the championship. One of the most impressive performers on the Langhe asphalt last summer was the current number 2 in the championship, Fabio Andolfi from Savona, who will have the advantage of studying the pace notes with his home co-driver Nicolò Gonella, on board the Skoda Fabia Rally2 from MS Munaretto, with which they finished second in the first round this year. On the other hand, Damiano De Tommaso, another candidate for the title from Varese, alongside Sofia D'Ambrosio, will be looking for a swift response. The ACI Team Italia driver and outgoing Promotion Champion will have to try to attack the top as he only partially managed to do on the Tuscan asphalt, particularly in the Power Stage, which he won. With the same score, tied for third place in the championship, is Luca Bottarelli, who, along with the overall podium at Castelnuovo Garfagnana, has also gained the top spot in the Promotion class. The driver from Brescia will certainly try to surprise again, paired with Walter Pasini on the Skoda from DP Autosport, although it will be his first time at Alba.

Highly anticipated in the battle for the overall title will be the return of Giandomenico Basso and Lorenzo Granai, who will join the championship starting from the Rally Regione Piemonte. The champion of 2021 will once again showcase the technical package that led him to the title two years ago, with the Skoda Fabia managed by Delta Rally. The fight for the Promotion class is also expected to be intense, as all the top performers from the opening round will be present, capable of challenging for the top positions. Starting with Giacomo Scattolon from Pavia, who was second in the CIRP at Ciocco, after a successful adaptation to the Volkswagen Polo and will try to increase the pace, always aided by Sauro Farnocchia; then Rudy Michelini from Lucca with Matteo Nobili on Skoda, or Emiliano Ivan Ferrarotti with Massimo Bizzocchi, seeking confirmation on their Bohemian Rally2 after a strong start to the season that propelled them to third place in Promotion. Also under observation for the special Italian championship standings are the Slovenian crew of Bostjan Avbelj and Damjian Andrejka, also on Skoda, like the Reggio Emilia driver Antonio Rusce navigated by Martina Musiari; then Enrico Brazzoli, the local driver from Saluzzo, who will curiously make his first appearance in the race at Alba, always alongside Manuel Fenoli on another Czech car. The large group of Skodas is completed by that of Francesco Aragno from Liguria with Andrea Segir, who has faced the Piedmontese asphalt several times in the past compared to his competitors, but always with two-wheel drive cars.

A second consecutive appearance in the championship for two other highly regarded teams in the CIRP, such as the one formed by Andrea Mazzocchi from Piacenza with Silvia Gallotti on a Citroen C3, and by Alberto Dall'Era from Brescia with Luca Beltrame driving a VW Polo. An exception in the list of Rally2 cars is also the Hyundai i20 of the driver from Frosinone, Liberato Sulpizio, another confirmed entry along with Alessio Angeli.

SOME NOVELTIES | At the start of the Rally Regione Piemonte, in addition to the entry of Basso-Granai, there will also be 6 new additions among the participants in the CIAR Sparco 2023. Three teams will compete in the top category, starting with Rachele Somaschini, a Milanese driver who won the ACI Sport Femminile Cup in 2021, who will return to the national championship this time accompanied by Arianna Faustini as her co-driver, driving a Citroen C3 for FPF Sport. Another interesting novelty concerns Angelo Lombardo from Cefalù, the reigning Sicilian champion for CIR Auto Storiche, who will begin his new experience in the modern category of the Absolute Championship, alongside his usual navigator Roberto Consiglio, driving a Skoda managed by Erreffe Rally Team. This will be Lombardo's third appearance in his career with the Czech car. From Como comes Maurizio Mauri, an experienced driver who often competes in races in the 1st Zone, ready to fully immerse himself in the national championship together with Gea Daldini, driving another Fabia Rally2 for Erreffe

INTERNATIONAL STARS | A constant feature of the Rally Regione Piemonte is the presence of international drivers and top drivers from the World or European Rally Championship, often seeking training kilometres on the challenging Italian tarmac. Those who discover Alba and its rally often fall in love with it, as seems to be the case with the New Zealander Hayden Paddon, the current leader of the FIA European Rally Championship, who will once again be competing alongside compatriot Jared Hudson in a Hyundai i20, after finishing fourth last year. Close behind him is the Frenchman Stephane Lefebvre, the 2014 WRC3 Champion, also registered in a Citroen C3 alongside co-driver Andy Malfoy. Last year, Norwegian Mads Ostberg had an unfortunate experience in the CIAR race in Sanremo, but this time he will try to prove his skills with Swedish co-driver Patrik Barth in another C3, making his debut on the Cuneo asphalt, also competing in the European Championship and challenging Paddon. Coming from the WRC3 World Championship is Finnish driver Roope Korhonen, born in '98, currently second in the overall standings, with co-driver Vinikka Anssi occasionally driving a C3. Especially interesting is the participation of three Japanese drivers, accompanied by Finnish navigators. This is part of the Toyota Gazoo Racing WRC Challenge Program, promoted by the Japanese manufacturer, which is supporting Asian talents Hikaru Kogure, Nao Otake and Yuki Yamamoto in gaining international experience behind the wheel of Renault Clio Rally4 cars. 

2WD | The competitiveness level will increase in the battle for the CIAR Two-Wheel Drive title, considering the presence of three new teams in the championship. Among the Rally 4 category, all eyes will be on Gianandrea Pisani from Lucca, who dominated the home rally and is starting again as the leader of the class, this time with Simone Brachi as his co-driver in the Peugeot 208. Among the many Peugeot cars, the exception will be the Renault Clio of local driver Stefano Santero, who will try to regain ground in the championship on familiar roads with Fabio Grimaldi as his co-driver. The others will all be driving 208s, with Moreno Cambiaghi and Giulia Paganoni from Valtellina trying to move forward after their fourth-place finish in Ciocco, followed by Michele Coriglie and Federico Grilli from Messina, and then Emanuele Fiore and Andrea Casalini from Liguria, as well as the female face of CIAR Sparco, Arianna Doriguzzi Breatta from Friuli, navigated by Simone Crosilla.

The performances of the three new additions will need to be evaluated, among whom the Trentino driver Fabio Farina, the vice-champion of Two-Wheel Drive and a candidate for the title again alongside Gabriele Zanni, will be looking to carve out a prominent role. The Ossola driver Gabriel Di Pietro, born in 2001 and a product of the ACI Sport Federal School, emerged in the 15th Supercourse in 2018, and will be seen in action in Alba with Andrea Dresti. Completing the lineup is the new face of Corsican driver Cedric Cardi with Gaelle Dumont, experiencing his first race outside of French rallying.

Although not competing in the Italian championship, Roberto Daprà from ACI Team Italia will be present for a test race in preparation for the upcoming start of the European Junior championship. Daprà has already won the first Rally 4 race of the FIA ERC in Fafe, with Luca Guglielmetti as his co-driver in the Peugeot 208.

GR YARIS RALLY CUP | In the list of registered participants, a large group of 15 Toyota R1T 4x4 National class vehicles stands out again, called for the second round of the GR Yaris Rally Cup. The leader will still be Tuscan driver Thomas Paperini, holder of the Japanese trophy, who took the lead thanks to a convincing performance at Ciocco. However, several others are hoping to challenge him on the challenging special stages in Piedmont, from Fabrizio Andolfi to Salvatore Lo Cascio, and then to Alessandro Ciardi, winner of the first edition of the one-make championship, as well as the young Jacopo Facco and Simone Di Giovanni, who has already shown promise at the beginning of the season.

SUZUKI RALLY CUP | The Suzuki lot is also well-represented, with 14 cars competing in both the Italian R1 Championship and the Suzuki Rally Cup, a one-make championship that features the Swift Sport Hybrid models competing against Rally5 cars, as well as the Swift Boosterjet 1.0 and Baleno in the Racing Start category. The favourite in the yellow-blue group will once again be Matteo Giordano, who will be racing on his home turf, having won the trophy in 2022 and currently leading after the initial success. He will be challenged by many young talents, such as Alessandro Forneris, Sebastian Dallapiccola, Samuele Santero, and Filippo Gelsomino, as well as more experienced and highly regarded drivers like Giorgio Fichera and Gianandrea Gherardi, all driving the Suzuki hybrid car.

WRC PLUS AND CRZ | Ninety-three crews will start at the end of the main race in the first of seven events of the Coppa Rally 1st Zone ACI Sport, which includes stages in the quadrant between Piemonte and Valle d'Aosta, from which the best drivers in each category will qualify for the upcoming National Final of Coppa Italia Rally ACI Sport. Capturing attention, and surely also during the special stage, will be the two WRC Plus cars, which will open the race in a dedicated competition in the new format of Coppa ACI Sport WRC Plus. Behind the wheel of these cars will not be just any drivers, but local driver Alessandro Gino with Daniele Michi in a Hyundai i20, and Luca Pedersoli from Brescia, Italian WRC Champion in 2014 and 2019, who will share the cockpit of a Citroen C3 with Andrea Adamo, former team principal of Hyundai with whom he won two Constructors' titles in the 2019 and 2020 World Championships. The Rally2 category will also be well-represented, with drivers often seen on the roads of Cuneo, such as Elwis Chentre, the man to beat in the 1st Zone, as well as Jacopo Araldo and Federico Santini, also driving Skodas, who will have to contend this year with young talents Emanuele Rosso and Davide Porta, who have also moved up to four-wheel drive.

OVERALL CLASSIFICATION AFTER IL CIOCCO: 1. Crugnola 20pt; 2. Andolfi 15pt; 3. Bottarelli, De Tommaso 13pt; 5. Scattolon 10pt; 6. Ferrarotti 6pt; 7. Avbelj 4pt; 8. Michelini 3pt; 9. Rusce 2pt; 10. Dall’Era 1pt;

OVERALL CIR PROMOTION: 1. Bottarelli 22pt; 2. Scattolon 18pt; 3. Ferrarotti 12pt; 4. Avbelj 10pt; 5. Michelini 9pt; 6. Rusce 6pt; 7. Mazzocchi 4pt; 8. Dall’Era 3pt; 9. Nicelli 2pt; 10. Brazzoli 1pt;

OVERALL CIAR 2WD: 1. Pisani 15pt; 2. Lucchesi 12pt; 3. Nicelli 10pt; 4. Cambiaghi 8pt; 5. Cogni 6pt; 6. Coriglie 5pt; 7. Rendina 4pt; 8. Fiore 3pt; 9. Santero 2pt

SPARCO ITALIAN RALLY CHAMPIONSHIP 2023 CALENDAR: March 10 -11 | Rally Il Ciocco e Valle del Serchio; April 14 - 15 | #RA Rally Regione Piemonte; May 5-6 | Targa Florio Rally (coeff. 1,5); June 16-17 | San Marino Rally (coeff. 1,5); July 28-30 | Rally di Roma Capitale (coeff. 1,5); September 8-9 | Rally 1000 Miglia; September 29-30 | Rallye Sanremo; December 1-3 | ACI Rally Monza (coeff. 1,5).

 

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