Luís Tedesco counts on the honour of having competed in ever edition of the Rally Internacional de Erechim since the first edition was held in 1998 which he won the A7 category at the wheel of a Fiat Palio (above).

This weekend the Fiat Rally Team will go into action on 12th Rally Internacional de Erechim looking to build on their winning start to the 2009 Brazilian Rally Championship and using the new Fiat Palio Abarth Rally (2010) for the first time.

The XII Rally Internacional de Erechim is the second round of the Brazilian Rally Championship and for leading crew Luís Tedesco and co-driver Raphael Furtado it will be a chance to build on their victory in the opening event of the 2009 series, the 29th Rally Internacional de Curitiba held in early March, in which they raced to N3 class victory. The N3 category is reserved for rally cars with engines under 2000cc, 4x2 traction system and with limited engine preparation. Tedesco also counts on the honour of having competed in ever edition of the Rally Internacional de Erechim since the first edition was held in 1998, which he won the A7 category at the wheel of a Fiat Palio.

The rally is hosted by the city of Erechim in the South of Brazil and will take place over two days. The big news for the Fiat Rally Team will be that the event is set to mark the debut of the new Palio Abarth Rally, which now incorporates the new design of the Palio MY 2010 production model. The new Palio "Model Year 2010" arrived in the Brazilian showrooms in late January and its key feature is the front end which has new headlights, spoiler and radiator grille to bring it into line with the its sister Siena (sedan) model. Other changes to the Palio MY 2010 include new shockabsorbers, slightly more powerful engines and higher equipment levels. The rally machine now bears its revised visual appearance.

Along with its new looks, the Palio Abarth will get a new paint finish. The traditional all-red colour scheme is complemented by a white roof with the white continuing down the B- and C-pillars, the tailgate (and tailgate lip spoiler) and stretching under the door window frames and out onto the bonnet. The car will also have white wheels white the upper and lower front radiator grilles along with the section sandwiched between will be finished in black. Fiat hope that the new paint scheme will give the ageing rally machine a more vivid and youthful look.

For the official Fiat Rally Team pilot Tedesco the debut of Palio Abarth Rally 2010 could not come in a better place. “I’m the only driver still competing that has gone into all editions of Erechim Rally, and always in a Palio model. I am anxious to race once again in front of that fantastic public," declared Tedesco, whom is aiming to conquer his twelfth rally title this year.

Just link the Rally Internacional de Curitiba in March, the 12th edition of the Rally Internacional de Erechim will also count towards the South American Rally Championship, which will bring the most important teams and pilots of the Latin American continent to the contest. The rally will be disputed over two days for a total of 230.90 km. This will be made up of 171.30 km divided into 14 special timed stages along with 59.60 Km of transfer distance.

by Claudio Perlini