Despite a moment of uncertainty, Ford Racing Italia will take part in the Italian Rally Championship with the FORD Fiesta R5. The agreement has been reached in a very short time thanks to the collaboration with Tony Cibella and to the decision to place our bet on a great French driver, the twenty-six years old Sebastien Chardonnet , WRC 3 World Champion in 2013, who will be navigated by Thibault De La Haye in the Italian Rally Championship challenging the best Italian Rally drivers.

The Ford programme on the Italian territory is directed by Valentino Giorgi and will operatively be followed by ERREFFE Rally Team of Agostino Roda that will take the FORD Fiesta R5 on the racing fields. Technical partners of the Team will be Pirelli and Terenzio Testoni for the tires, HRX with Agostino Alberghino for racing suits and technical equipment of drivers. Everybody is working around the clock to prepare the Rally of Sanermo that will mark Ford Racing Italia's debut of the season as the first preparatory test of the Ford Fiesta R5 driven by the French driver will take place on Monday 6 April.

SEBASTIEN CHARDONNET: "I am really happy and very proud to be part of this project with Ford Racing Italia and Erreffe Rally Team. The Rally of Sanremo is going to be my second race in the Italian Championship after the Rally Adriatico of 2013. I'd be happy, for us and for the whole team, if we could start getting some handy points for the championship."

VALENTINO GIORGI: "We are excited on starting a collaboration with a Champion of the likes of Sebastien and with Team Erreffe that will certainly enliven an Italian Championship that announces to be tight and exciting."

AGOSTINO RODA: "This is quite an exciting challenge and it is an honour to be present in the Italian Championship with such an important project involving Ford Racing Italia and Sebastien Chardonnet, with whom we had some very positive tests on tramac in 2014."

(FORD Racing Press Release)