Alba (CN), Wednesday, April 10th, 2024 – The second round of the Sparco 2024 Italian Rally Championship promises to be a thrilling event as it kicks off with the 18th #RA Rally Regione Piemonte on April 12th and 13th, 2024. The province of Cuneo has been buzzing with excitement for weeks as it prepares to host the event that represents the territory between Langhe and Roero. Organized by the Cinzano Rally Team, the event is set to welcome 157 registered crews in Alba. Over the course of Friday, April 12th, and Saturday, April 13th, spectators will witness the best Italian rally drivers in action, alongside a group of international drivers from 9 countries, all competing in a unique race with double validity for both the Sparco Italian Rally Championship and the debut of the 1st Zone Rally Cup. Following the opening event at Ciocco that kicked off the race for the tricolor titles in Absolute, Promotion, Two-Wheel Drive, and R1, the Rally Regione Piemonte will also mark the beginning of the youth series, the Italian Rally Junior Championship, where 10 teams representing ACI Team Italy will compete in the first of six scheduled rounds. Adding further quality to the event is Norwegian WRC2 World Champion Andreas Mikkelsen, eagerly anticipated to compete in the Hyundai i20 Rally1 in the #RA Plus, an accompanying event that does not affect the main race standings.

THE PROGRAM | The rally will unfold over two days covering 391.37 km of asphalt roads, including 111.83 km of competitive stages divided into 10 special tests. On Friday morning, engines will start revving at 7:30 with free practice sessions. A warm-up for the crews in the major Rally2 category – featuring 46 cars - will precede the Qualifying stage on the "Santo Stefano" stretch (2.54 km), scheduled to start at 10:00. The qualifying stage, a novelty in this season of the Sparco Italian Rally Championship, will offer the top 10 crews the opportunity to choose one of the top ten starting positions for the second day. The morning will conclude with a shakedown for all other competitors. The Rally Regione Piemonte will kick off with the starting ceremony in Piazza San Paolo in Alba at 15:00, introducing the first three special stages. The first timed stage will be the power stage "Santo Stefano" (2.54 km, 16:00), the same stretch as the qualifying stage that will award points (2, 1.5, 1) to the top three crews of the Sparco Italian Rally Championship and will be broadcast on RAI Sport (channel 58 Freeview and raiplay) and in full live coverage on ACI Sport TV (channel 228 Sky, channel 52 freeview, acisport.it, facebook @ACISportTV @CIRally) and in extended replays on Saturday. Friday's action will conclude with the "Cossano-Mango" (5.59 km - SS2 at 17:23) and "San Donato – Trezzo Tinella" (7.40 km - SS3 at 17:40) stages. On Saturday, the remaining 7 special stages will be contested in three sections; the "Diano d'Alba" stretch (11.95 km - SS4 at 8:18 and SS8 at 15:07) will open the first and last rounds, initially followed by the "Cossano-Tresio" (14.56 km - SS5 at 9:09) stage, while the "Vesime" (14.82 km - SS6 at 11:54, SS9 at 16:05) and "Loazzolo-Santo Stefano" (14.10 km - SS7 at 12:32, SS10 at 16:43) stages will complete the second and third rounds. The final arrival and award ceremony in Alba are scheduled for 17:40.

TOPPING THE TRICOLORE | This Rally Regione Piemonte promises plenty of excitement, starting with the main race of the Sparco Italian Rally Championship, which has gathered all the top drivers in the Overall category. At the top of the list, reaffirming their leadership with an initial victory at Ciocco, are the defending champions, Andrea Crugnola and Pietro Ometto, also winners of the past edition of Piemonte, aiming for confirmation aboard the Citroen C3 Rally2 of FPF Sport. Among the top contenders, in second place, Giandomenico Basso and Lorenzo Granai will undoubtedly want to follow up on their excellent debut with the Toyota GR Yaris Rally2 and try to achieve the first success for Toyota Italia and team T-Racing, in a rally missing from the Treviso driver's palmares. It will be the first appearance on the Piedmontese asphalt for Simone Campedelli and Tania Canton from Cesena, on Skoda Fabia RS, back in the limelight in the national championship with a third-place finish in the opener and now projected into the title race. Some memories of Alba may also be held by Messina's Andrea Nucita, navigated by Rudy Pollet in the Friulmotor Hyundai i20, showing steady improvement at Ciocco, where he finished fourth, and aiming to join the fight at the top. Also, making a promising start is Treviso's Marco Signor with Daniele Michi, leading the Italian Rally Promotion Championship after winning in Garfagnana, who will return to Alba on Skoda after 5 years since the unfortunate episode in the CIWRC era. The current second force in Promotion, Brescia's Luca Bottarelli with Manuel Fenoli, will attempt to replicate last year's success, again on the MS Munaretto Skoda. Returning to compete in Piedmont after two years will be the multiple Garfagnana champion Paolo Andreucci, who, paired with Rudy Briani on the Citroen C3, will try to pick up the pace and refine his technical package to stay close to the best in the Absolute category, after finishing seventh at Ciocco. Still struggling to find complete harmony with the new Citroen C3 is Pavia's Giacomo Scattolon, third in the Italian Rally Promotion Championship, who, together with Gabriele Zanni, will try to erase the rollover of the previous edition in Piedmont. Negative memories are also shared by Slovenian Bostjan Aveblj, the reigning Italian Promotion Champion, always paired with compatriot Damijan Andrejka, who, behind the wheel of the Skoda Fabia RS, reaffirmed his great potential at Ciocco but finished ninth due to a puncture. Among the protagonists of the Sparco Italian Rally Championship initially limited by bad luck are Trentino's Roberto Daprà with Luca Guglielmetti. The crew representing ACI Team Italy in the World Championship will try to improve results and synchronization with the DP Autosport Skoda, also in view of the next world event in Croatia.

The competitors for the special ranking of the Italian Rally Promotion Championship (CIR Promozione) are once again numerous, and one of those surely aiming for the top is Emilian Ivan Ferrarotti, with Massimo Bizzocchi on the Czech Rally2, seeking redemption after the incident and retirement in the first round. Also looking to change their fortunes are Rudy Michelini from Lucca with Nicola Angilletta and Francesco Aragno from Savona with Giancarla Guzzi, both on Skoda, among the CIRP crews who retired early at Ciocco. Also confirmed in the group is Antonio Rusce from Reggio Emilia with Sauro Farnocchia, making his second appearance on the Czech RS. The exception in the group is the Volkswagen Polo of Alessandro Re from Lake Como with Marco Vozzo, and the Hyundai i20 of Liberato Sulpizio from Frosinone with Mattia Cipriani. All others in the Promotion category are on Skoda, such as "Pedro" from Brescia, ready to make his seasonal debut after the initial absence, with Stefano Tiraboschi in the co-driver's seat; it's also the first appearance for another Brescia native, Alberto Dall'Era, with Luca Beltrame, in his second year in the top series; among the best Under25 in the championship, Veronese Mattia Scandola will make his second appearance to gain continuity, always paired with Nicolò Gonella; then there's Fabrizio Guerra from Valtellina, another newcomer in the tricolor but already effective in the opening round, still navigated by Giovanni Maifredini. Completing the group is a female trio: Salentine Sara Carra with Sara Torielli will contend in the front category on Skoda, Friulian Arianna Doriguzzi with Elena Sica, another Czech Rally2, and Milanese Rachele Somaschini, paired with local navigator Nicola Arena on Citroen.

Also, quite interesting is the novelty for Federico Gangi and Andrea Ferrari from Savona, this time driving the new Renault Clio R3.

THE OUTSIDERS | The attention of enthusiasts is also drawn by the participation of foreign drivers, who will not take points from the tricolor competitors. Still present is French WRC2 driver Stéphane Lefebvre on Citroen C3, already a protagonist in the previous edition like Finnish reigning WRC champion Roope Korhonen, while it will be the first time in Alba for another Frenchman, Nicolas Ciamin, on Hyundai i20, who had a good start to the season in WRC2.

CIAR JUNIOR, ACI TEAM ITALIA'S CHALLENGE RESTARTS | All eyes are therefore on the splendid ten ACI Team Italia crews expected to make their seasonal debut at the 2024 Italian Rally Junior Championship. The youth series promoted by ACI Sport starts from Alba, a central element of the Automobile Club d’Italia's Youth Project aimed at identifying new talents in the rally sector and accompanying them in their growth path. Indeed, the winner will be offered a prize useful for participating in an international series for the 2025 season. 10 drivers and their navigators will compete from the Rally Regione Piemonte with the same technical package managed solely by Motorsport Italia, consisting of Pirelli-tired Renault Clio Rally5. As in the previous season, there is a diverse group of drivers with a low average age (21.7 years), mostly composed of rookies, along with some in their second year of participation. Among the new faces are Andrea Boatti from Pavia navigated by Manuela Pellati, Emilian Lorenzo Lorallini with Jessica Rosa, Matteo Greco making his debut in the home race with Roberto Mometti, Piacenza's Alessandro Mazzocchi with Silvia Gallotti, Gallura's Mattia Ricciu with Matteo Corda, and Piedmont's Asia Vidori with Jasmine Manfredi. The second-year boys, like Caserta's Francesco Dei Ceci with Nicolò Lazzarini, Pordenone's Matteo Doretto with Marco Frigo, Osimo's Igor Iani with Davide Cecchetto, and Treviso's Marco Zanin with Fabio Pizzol, will surely start with more references and certainties.

TWO-WHEEL DRIVE | The Two-Wheel Drive category, as always, boasts a large number of entries, with 23 Rally4-class cars. Here too, the names of the competitors for the tricolor stand out, especially those of the reigning champion from Lucca, Gianandrea Pisani, and Massimo Moriconi on Peugeot 208, starting off as leaders with the victory at Ciocco. Also strong from the initial result are another Lucchese, Christopher Lucchesi with Enrico Bracchi on 208, and Ossola's Gabriel Di Pietro with Andrea Dresti on Renault Clio, respectively second and third in Tuscany. Also seen in action with a points finish are two Veronese drivers, Stefano Strabello with Fabio Grimaldi and Denis Vigliaturo with Ermanno Corradini, both on 208. Asti's Emanuele Rosso and Edoardo Brovelli on Opel Corsa, and Emilian Alex Ferrari with Matteo Nobili on Peugeot, will need to redeem themselves from the retirement. Many other crews were already present at Ciocco but chose to make their actual debut in the championship from the second round, as permitted by the regulations which allow only 6 participations and 5 useful results, thus allowing for some "discard" participations. Indeed, Padua's Edoardo De Antoni has already earned the spotlight, a driver emerging from the CIAR Junior and already second in the Rally4 class in the Tuscan stage, still assisted by Federica Mauri. Also sharing the ACI Team Italia path is Piacenza's Giorgio Cogni, Junior Champion 2021 and third in the Rally4 class at Ciocco, confirmed on 208 with Enrico Brachi in the co-driver's seat. Returning to compete in the CIAR among the Two-Wheel Drive is also the Roman Michael Rendina, son of art, always navigated by Mario Pizzuti on the new Renault Clio, and the Ligurian Emanuele Fiore with Andrea Casalini in the third consecutive year in the tricolor, still on 208. Alba will also see the return to action in the championship of an old acquaintance like the Pistoia-born Daniele Campanaro, R1 Champion in 2019 and protagonist of the last seasons in the Two-Wheel Drive category where he always returns with Irene Porcu on another Peugeot.

GR YARIS RALLY CUP'S FOURTH DEBUT | This weekend also marks the start of the new season of the GR Yaris Rally Cup. The single-brand trophy signed by Toyota Italy, now in its fourth edition, will bring participants to the R1T 4X4-class GR Yaris, equipped with Pirelli, to compete in five events along the roads of the Italian Absolute Rally Championship. There are 13 entries for the first round in Alba, with many new faces and several confirmations such as that of Roman Simone Di Giovanni, the last winner of the cup, and other protagonists of past editions like Thomas Paperini and Alessandro Ciardi.

SUZUKI RALLY CUP, ACT TWO | The Suzuki Rally Cup, dedicated to Suzuki rally versions, makes its second appearance of the season with a remarkable 17 entries at the Rally Regione Piemonte. A number that almost doubles the record set in Alba in the first editions of the single-brand cup. Among the most awaited drivers is the new leader Roberto Pellé, experienced Trentino winner at Ciocco who will have to defend against the attacks of young drivers Sebastian Dallapiccola and Alessandro Forneris in the battle among the Swift Sport Hybrids. Returning to the Suzuki group are also other trophy winners in past years, such as Parma's Simone Rivia or Aosta's Corrado Peloso, always formidable, as well as young talents among the Racing Starts, on Swifts and Balenos, including Jean Claude Vallino returning.

SPARCO CIAR OVERALL CLASSIFICATION: 1. Crugnola-Ometto 17pt; 2. Basso-Granai 12pt; 3. Campedelli-Canton 11pt; 4. Nucita-Pollet 8pt; 5. Signor-Michi 6pt; 6. Bottarelli-Fenoli 5pt; 7. Andreucci-Briani 4pt; 8. Scattolon-Zanni 3pt; 9. De Tommaso-D'Ambrosio 2pt; 10. Avbelj-Andrejika 1.5pt;

SPARCO ITALIAN RALLY CHAMPIONSHIP CALENDAR: March 15-16 | Rally il Ciocco e Valle del Serchio; April 12-13 | Rally Regione Piemonte; May 10-11 | Rally Targa Florio (coeff. 1,5); May 26-29 | Rally Due Valli; July 26-28 | Rally di Roma Capitale (coeff. 1,5); September 13-14 | Rally 1000 Miglia; October 18-19 | Rally Sanremo (coeff. 1,5)

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