Barga (LU), Saturday, March 5 2022 – The Italian Rally Championship 2022 started in the mark of Andrea Crugnola and Pietro Ometto, that were the best at the end of the two days of the 45th Rally Il Ciocco e Valle del Serchio. The driver from Varese of ACI Team Italia literally dominated the rally in Garfagnana and claimed the stage win in nine of the twelve tests run on Friday and Saturday on the asphalts near Lucca. Crugnola is the first leader of this new edition of the Sparco CIAR and is back to the win in the Citroen C3 of F.p.F Sport, the same that in 2020 awarded him the first win of the season – before taking the title.

The only ones managing to keep the pace of Crugnola-Ometto were Damiano De Tommaso and Giorgia Ascalone in the Skoda Fabia Rally2 run by Delta Rally. They were the fastest on the second pass of the short test “Il Ciocco”. This was a great start to the season and heavy points for De Tommaso, who is also part of the ACI Team Italia. He ended second overall and claimed the first win in the Italian Rally Promozione. All the others seemed to struggle and still seeking the right solutions after the team and car changes happened before the season.

The podium was completed by Giandomenico Basso and Lorenzo Granai, that made their debut in the Hyundai i20 N Rally2 of team Friulmotor. The driver from Treviso struggled a bit to find the right rhythm since the beginning but managed to take P3 from Albertini in the closing stages and the best time in the closing test. Stefano Albertini and Danilo Fappani, Skoda Fabia Rally2 of PA Racing, paid the fee of a too soft compound in the hot stages of the rally and in the closing test were overtaken by the reigning champions.

The performance of the other CIR Promozione drivers was quite good starting from Rudy Michelini and Michele Perna, in the Volkswagen Polo GTI Rally2. The pairing of HK Racing gained two points in the power stage on Friday and kept a good rhythm on the home turf securing P2 in the Italian Promozione championship. The sixth place overall and third of CIRP went to Giacomo Scattolon and Giovanni Bernacchini, Skoda Fabia Rally2 of Erreeffe Rally Team. The driver from Pavia, who is also part of the ACI Team Italia, showed a good pace but will have to work a bit more to refine the feeling with the car. The seventh-place went to Fabio Andolfi and Manuel Fenoli in the Skoda of team MS Munaretto. They were followed by the sister car of Tommaso Ciuffi and Nicolò Gonella, that are part of the national team and competed for PA Racing. The driver from Tuscany had some setup problems but managed to post the fastest time in the “Ciocco 2”, but has never found a good continuity in the long tests “Careggine” and “Renaio” that shaped the classification up. Remarkable was also the performance of the underdogs Gianluca Tosi and Alessandro Del Barba, Skoda Fabia Rally2, that stole points from the CIAR crews. The top ten was rounded off by Antonio Rusce and Giulia Paganoni in the Hyundai i20 N Rally 2 of GB Motors.

Two young emerging talents of the Italian Championship ended close to the top ten. The eleventh place went in fact to the home driver Christopher Lucchesi Jr. and Titti Ghilardi, that improved as they went in their debut on a Fabia Rally 2. A similar car was also driven by Alessio Profeta with Sergio Raccuia at the notes, that were struggling a bit more than usual on the asphalt at Ciocco.

Among the contenders of the Italian 2WD Championship, a great victory was claimed by Gianandrea Pisani and Fabrizio Vecoli, Peugeot 208 Rally4. The driver from Lucca put in a stunning performance as he knew well the race and the car. He secured a great result in the overall classification as he was 13th. The young driver from Brescia Andrea Mabellini and Virginia Lenzi had a great debut in the Italian Championship in an official Renault Clio Rally4. Coming from the European Rally, Mabellini managed to increase the pace and lay the foundations for a promising season. The CIAR 2WD podium was completed by Daniele Campanaro, who is another driver to keep an eye on, and Cosimo Ancillotti in the Ford Fiesta Rally4, that managed to survive a moment in the SS7.

Ciocco has also kicked off the 15th edition of the Suzuki Rally Cup. This is a great challenge that had as its protagonists Giorgio Fichera with Ronny Celli in the Suzuki Swift Hybrid, and Matteo Giordano with Manuela Siragusa in the Swift R1 Sport. The victory eventually went to Giordano, who was back to the victory after the far first edition of the trophy in 2008. The second place went to Roberto Pellè and Luca Franceschini, Swift Hybrid. Fichera kept the lead until the closing stage and had to settle for P3 after contact at the penultimate stage. The home driver Stefano Martinelli with Fabio Menchini, on top among the Suzuki Swift BoosterJet of Racing Start and Danilo Costantino, with Alessandro Parodi, ended in the top 5.

The Sparco Italian Rally Championship heads now to the second round of the season, again on the tarmac, that will be the Rallye Sanremo on April 10.

FINAL CLASSIFICATION RALLY: 1. Crugnola-Ometto (Citroen C3 R5) in 1:20'35.7; 2. De Tommaso-Ascalone (Skoda Fabia) at 31.1; 3. Basso-Granai (Hyundai I20 N) at 42.3; 4. Albertini-Fappani (Skoda Fabia Rally 2) at 45.3; 5. Michelini-Perna (Volkswagen Polo GTI) at 51.3; 6. Scattolon-Bernacchini (Skoda Fabia) at 58.9; 7. Andolfi-Fenoli (Skoda Fabia) at 1'00.1; 8. Ciuffi-Gonella (Skoda Fabia Rally 2) at 1'23.4; 9. Tosi-Del Barba (Skoda Fabia) at 1'45.3; 10. Rusce-Paganoni (Hyundai I20 N Rally 2) at 2'04.5

CIAR SPARCO 2022: 1.Crugnola (Citroen C3 Rally2) 23pt; 2. De Tommaso (Skoda Fabia Rally2) 15pt; 3. Basso (Hyundai i20 NRally2) 12pt;4. Albertini (Skoda Fabia Rally 2) 11pt; 5. Michelini (Volkswagen Polo GTI Rally2) 10pt; 6.Scattolon (Skoda Fabia Rally2) 6 pt; 7.Andolfi (Skoda Fabia Rally2) 4pt; 8. Ciuffi (Skoda Fabia Rally2) 3pt; 9.Rusce (Hyundai i20 NRally2) 1pt

CIRP 2022: 1. De Tommaso 20 pt; 2.Michelini (Volkswagen Polo GTI Rally 218pt; 3.Andolfi - Scattolon 12pt: 5.Ciuffi 9 pt; 6.Rusce 6 pt 7. Lucchesi 4 pt; Profeta 3pt; Mabellini 2 pt; Michelini (Volkswagen Polo GTI Rally 2) 3pt; Andolfi (Skoda Fabia Rally2) 2pt; Ciuffi (Skoda Fabia Rally 2) 1pt

CIR 2WD: Pisani (Peugeot 208 Rally4) 15 pt; Mabellini (Renault Clio Rally4) 12pt; Campanaro (Ford Fiesta Rally4) 10pt; Santero (Peugeot 208 Rally) 8 pt; Bottarelli (Peugeot 208 Rally4) 6 pt; Tiramani (Peugeot 208 Rally4) 5pt; Fiore 4pt Cazzaro (Peugeot 208 Rally4) 3 pt

CIR Constructors: Skoda 20 pt; Citroen 15 pt; Hyundai 11 pt; Volkswagen 6 pt

 
THE CALENDAR OF THE SPARCO ITALIAN RALLY CHAMPIONSHIP 2022: March 4-5 | 45th Rally Il Ciocco e Valle del Serchio; April 8-9 | 69th Rallye Sanremo; May 6-7 | 106th Targa Florio (coeff. 1,5); June 24-25 | 16th Rally di Alba; July 22-24 | Rally di Roma Capitale; August 26-27 | 45th Rally 1000 Miglia; October 7-8 | 40th Rally Due Valli Coeff. 1,5