Over the weekend the Rally of Carmagnola played host to round three of the exciting new Italian Fiat Panda Cup, for 130bhp rally-bred versions of Fiat's baby car.

With the demise of the Stilo Cup in Italy at the end of last year, Fiat plugged the gap by going firmly back to their roots and presenting a new single-model rally championship, the Panda Cup, that would be cost effective, fun and a genuine 'first step on the ladder' series. The 2004 European Car of the Year award winning Panda was chosen to form the basis of this low-cost championship. The cute little car has been turned into a potent rally machine, and in full 2005-specification it pumps out a quite amazing 130bhp from its 1.2-litre petrol engine, quite stunning power for a car of its size.

The Panda Cup 2005 is managed by renown Italian rally specialists, Supergara di Vezza d' Alba, who build and prepare the little machines. The objective of Fiat and Mauro Scanavino, the boss of Supergara, was to create a fun, fast and reliable rally car, that would be cheap to purchase and run, and which will allow young rally 'talent' to shine through. Fiat have a long tradition of supporting 'grass roots' rallying, and with factory-supported teams competing this year in the FIA Junior World Rally Championship, the FIA European Rally Championship and the CSAI Italian Rally Championship, as well as another year of the domestic single-model Trofeo Abarth, the Panda Cup would form a logical first step.

The popular Fiat Panda 1.2 has formed the basis of the rally car. 80kg has been shaved off the weight by throwing out unessecary trim and soundproofing, while the power has more than doubled (from 60 to 130bhp) to create a 'little rocket'. To keep costs down mechanicals have been sourced from other Fiat models, and for example, the front brake come directly from one of the Panda's bigger brothers, the Stilo 1.8 16V, while the rear brakes are from the Stilo HGT.

This attention to costs means that Supergara are able to charge 36,000 euro plus VAT to supply a car with full mechanical and logistical back-up for the nine rounds (out of 10) that make up the 2005 Panda Cup. Add to these figures is an estimated 15,000 euros for the Michelin control tyres, 7,000 euros for series registrations, 10,000 for other costs such as traveling and hotels, and finally 5,000 euros for insurance. This means the whole series can be undertaken for around 75,000-80,000 euros, although much of this can be recovered from the generous prize money on offer, including a 100,000 rally budget from Fiat for 2006 to be awarded to the best placed driver under 25 years old.

The 24th Rally of Carmagnola, held on Saturday 2nd July and Sunday 3rd July, was made up of seven special stages, all taking place entirely on tarmac. Total distance for the event was 335km, with 85km of these being split up over the seven timed tarmac encounters.
 

Going into this second round of the inaugural Pand Cup Tuscan youngster Diego Fornaciari led Ivan Paire from Turin in both the overall and under 25 points standings after two rounds. However it was to be another young Italian driver, Emilian Gianni Barbati, who would steal the limelight, despite crashing off the course, an incident which amply demonstrated the Panda Cup car's inherent strength an resilience.

While Fornaciari retired his Panda three stages from the finish, Paire finished second to Barbati, just nine seconds adrift, a result which has moved him into the championship points lead after three rounds. Paire, with 24 points, now has a three point advantage at the top over Barbati (21 points), who leapfrogs past Fornaciari (19 points), just two further back.

Panda Cup - overall classification (after 3 rounds): 1st Paire 24 points, 2nd Barbati 21, 3rd Fornaciari 19, 4th Cilento 17, 5th Pugliese 16, 6th Pisi 13, 7th Zenoni, Serio 7, 9th Barone 6, 10th Patrucco 5, 11th Racca, Montersino 4, 13th Fiorini, Verney 3, 15th Grove 2, 16th Micheleletti, Massa 1. Panda Cup - under 25 classification (after 3 rounds): 1st Paire 24, 2nd Barbati 21, 3rd Fornaciari 19, 4th Cilento 17, 5th Pugliese 16, 6th Pisi 13, 7th Serio 7, 8th Barone 6.