Palermo, Wednesday, May 8th, 2024 – The passion of the Targa Florio is ready to elevate the Sparco Italian Rally Championship for the third act of the season. On Friday, May 10th, and Saturday, May 11th, Sicily will once again welcome the passage of the "Cursa" in its rally version, continuing the tradition with the 108th edition organized by the Automobile Club d'Italia and Automobile Club Palermo. A total of 177 crews are expected at the start, with 73 on modern cars competing in a single race valid for both the Sparco CIAR, which will offer a coefficient 1.5 score, and the 9th Zone Rally Cup, now in its second round. The other 70 crews will bring the historic cars into the spotlight in the third stage of the Italian Historic Rally Championship, and 35 cars will participate in the fourth round of the Italian Historic Regularity Rally Championship.

THE PROGRAM | The action will be concentrated into two days along a route designed on part of the Madonie Circuit, renowned for its selectivity, on medium-fast roads with low-grip asphalt compared to national standards. There are 9 special stages planned covering 106.70 kilometres of timed sections within a total route of 527.18 kilometres. Competitors will have the opportunity to warm up on Friday morning during free practice sessions, which will precede the Qualifying stage scheduled from 10:00 am on the "Polizzi-Generosa" stretch of 2.7 km. The top 10 crews in this Qualifying Stage will be able to choose their starting position for the second day. Additionally, this year the Targa Florio Rally will start from the heart of Palermo, at Piazza Parlamento, with the first modern car scheduled to start at 3:00 pm. This will be followed by a first taste of the three timed sections that will characterize the challenges, namely the "Targa" stage (10.90 km at 5:09 pm), "Scillato" stage (11.10 km at 5:41 pm), and the Power Stage "La Generosa" (2.90 km at 6:05 pm), which will offer 2, 1.5, 1 points to the top three finishers of the Sparco CIAR. Saturday's itinerary will consist of two repetitions of the same timed sections, always starting from the "Targa" stage (SS4 at 9:03 am, SS7 at 3:04 pm), followed by the "Scillato-Polizzi" stage (15km – SS5 at 9:33 am, SS8 at 3:34 pm) in the extended version that connects the roads of the previous "Scillato" and "La Generosa"; and finally, closing with the "Geraci-Castelbuono" stage (15km – SS6 at 10:41 am, SS9 at 4:42 pm), which will bring the Targa back to the asphalt of the Grand Circuit. The final arrival will be held at Piazza Duomo in Termini Imerese from 6:30 pm onwards.

TV COVERAGE | The live coverage of the event will be on ACI Sport TV, available on Sky channel 228, Freeview channel 52, and acisport.it, which will broadcast highlights of the Targa Florio Rally from the Qualifying stage to the final arrival. Both the passage on "La Generosa" and the repeats of "Scillato-Polizzi" will be broadcast live from the first to the last car, including the historic cars of Regularity and Rally. RAI Sport will also be present in the rounds of the CIAR Sparco, broadcasting both the Power Stage and the first passage on Saturday morning on Freeview channel 58 and RaiPlay.

A GREAT FIGHT FOR THE TRICOLORE | After the first two rounds, on the eve of the Targa Florio, this season of the Sparco Italian Rally Championship seems to be the most intense and fiercely contested in recent years. The twists and turns at the Ciocco and in Piedmont Region presented two different winners and a mix of crews, cars, and manufacturers vying for the top spot like never seen before. Thus, coming to Sicily with the number 1 printed on the doors of the Toyota GR Yaris Rally2 are Giandomenico Basso and Lorenzo Granai – winners of the Targa in 2021 - now back as leaders of the Overall after three years. The T-Racing duo, second at the Ciocco and winners in Alba, will need to confirm their performance with the new car launched by Toyota Italy even on the challenging asphalt of the Madonie. Simone Campedelli and Tania Canton, currently second in the standings, clinched a third and a second place, respectively, bringing them back into contention for the Overall. The Romagna-born driver, supported by Island Motorsport, winner of the 2019 edition, will certainly try to raise the bar behind the wheel of the Skoda Fabia RS. Reigning champion Andrea Crugnola, with Pietro Ometto on the Citroen C3 of FPF Sport, will be eager to make his mark again. After winning in Tuscany, Crugnola had an off-road incident in Piedmont, which the Varese-born driver will need to put behind him by aiming for victory at the Targa, after winning in 2020 and the last edition. Fourth in the Overall and leading the Promotion category, Marco Signor from Treviso arrives in Palermo in great shape, always paired with Daniele Michi on the Skoda Fabia RS. The Sama Racing driver is galvanized by the overall podium achieved in Alba but will need to quickly reacquaint himself with the Sicilian asphalt after three years away. Pavesian Giacomo Scattolon, second in the Promotion category, will also need to step up his game to stay glued to the top group. Paolo Andreucci, a local hero with 10 wins and 15 podiums, returns to the Targa Florio stage. The multiple Garfagnana champion, with Rudy Briani on the Citroen C3, will have the opportunity to work with the MRF Tyres team on the unique asphalt, and will certainly have a say in the fight for the top positions. Among the most anticipated drivers of this edition is undoubtedly local hero Andrea Nucita, the last Sicilian to win the Targa, who will return to the Madonie roads six seasons after his victory in 2018. Like then, the driver from Santa Teresa Riva will be at the wheel of a Hyundai i20, prepared by Friulmotor, with Mattia Cipriani by his side, hoping to quickly forget the rollover suffered in Piedmont.

Ivan Ferrarotti, paired with Manuel Fenoli, will try to step up the pace on the Skoda Fabia Evo of PA Racing to get closer to the top group of the Promotion category, after two unprofitable rounds. Emilian Antonio Rusce, with Sauro Farnocchia, is increasingly in tune with the new Skoda Fabia RS of Erreffe Rally Team. On the other hand, Bostjan Avbelj, paired with Damijan Andrejka on the Skoda RS of PA Racing, the star of the Promotion category last year and winner in Sicily, is called to erase a complicated start to the season, especially the crash in the Langhe, which affected his position in the standings. Andrea Mabellini, back with Virginia Lenzi on the Delta Rally Skoda RS after a tough second round of the European Championship, where he finished seventeenth, returns to Sicily after two years. The young driver from Brescia, 2WD Champion in 2022 and his first year competing for the Overall, returns to Sicily after two years and will need to adapt quickly to try to improve on the tenth place achieved in the Ciocco, after missing Alba. Bellunese Nicola Sartor returns to the race after one round with Lorenzo Mattucci on the Delta Rally Skoda Evo, fifth in the Promotion category at the Ciocco and now called to his absolute debut in the Targa. Alessandro Re, third in the Promotion category, together with Marco Vozzo, returns to the Targa four years after his last appearance, always in a Volkswagen Polo. There will be many drivers aiming for the Promotion category, including Lucca's Rudy Michelini with Nicola Angilletta on Skoda, Frosinone's Liberato Sulpizio with Alessio Angeli on Hyundai, Brescia's "Pedro" with Stefano Tiraboschi on Skoda Fabia RS, and Rome's Fabio Angelucci, already a protagonist of the Targa especially in the CRZ version, assisted by local navigator Massimo Cambria on the Citroen C3. Among the points of interest in this Sparco Italian Rally Championship, the battle between the "ladies of the rally" is also confirmed, currently rewarding the Milanese Rachele Somaschini with Nicola Arena on Citroen C3 at the top of the Female category, followed by the Friulian Arianna Doriguzzi with Elena Sica and the Salento Sara Carra with Sara Torielli, both on Skoda.

It will be a crucial stage, with points at the highest coefficient, also for the crews competing in the Two-Wheel Drive category who will all be armed with the Peugeot 208 Rally4s. The junior category has so far seen reigning champion Gianandrea Pisani dominate, who with Massimo Moriconi has achieved two wins in two races. With a regulation that includes the sum of the best 5 results, the Targa could be a golden opportunity for the driver from Lucca, who will have to defend himself from the attacks of many young and talented opponents. Just 8 points behind are the other Lucca native Christopher Lucchesi and Enrico Bracchi, second at the Ciocco and third in Piedmont, followed by Giorgio Cogni from Piacenza and Simone Brachi, second already in Alba and with one less race. Also scoring points so far are the two Veronese drivers in the junior category, Stefano Strabello navigated by Fabio Grimaldi and Denis Vigliaturo with Ermanno Corradini. Joining the national championship from the second round are the Pistoia-based Daniele Campanaro with Irene Porcu, fourth in Piedmont, and the Padua-based Edoardo De Antoni, coming back from retirement in the last round always with Federica Mauri on his side.

OVERALL SPARCO CIAR CLASSIFICATION: 1. Basso-Granai 27pt; 2. Campedelli-Canton 23pt; 3. Crugnola-Ometto 19pt; 4. Signor-Michi 17pt; 5. Scattolon-Zanni 11pt; 6. Andreucci-Briani 10pt; 7. Nucita-Pollet 9.5pt; 5.; 8. Bottarelli-Fenoli, Re-Vozzo 5pt; 9. Aragno-Guzzi 4pt; 10. Ferrarotti-Bizzocchi 3pt;

CIAR 2WD CLASSIFICATION: 1. Pisani 30pt; 2. Lucchesi 22pt; 3. Cogni, Vigliaturo, Strabello 12pt;

CIR PROMOTION CLASSIFICATION: 1. Signor 32pt; 2. Scattolon 22pt; 3. Re 14pt; 4 Bottarelli 13,5 pt; 5. Daprà 9pt;

SPARCO CIAR 2024 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)

 

- Press release without regulatory value –

 

 

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