Anton Alén has been drafted into the Abarth's Italian Rally Championship squad to support Luca Rossetti's slipping bid to win the with the Finnish star set to appear in one of a trio of factory entries on the Rally Costa Smeralda next weekend. Next weekend Luca Rossetti (seen above drafted into the IRC Abarth squad for last month's Barum Rally Zlín) will have the support of Anton Alén and Umberto Scandola in his title bid on the Rally Costa Smeralda.

Anton Alén has been drafted into the Abarth's Italian squad to support Luca Rossetti's slipping bid to win the Italian Rally Championship (CIR) this year with the Finnish star set to appear in one of the Super 2000 cars on the 28th Rally Costa Smeralda when it gets underway in six days time on the island of Sardinia. Rossetti, the reigning CIR champion after winning the title for Peugeot Italia last year, dropped points to both his title-chasing rivals on the last round of the series, the 45th Rally del Friuli e delle Alpi Orientali, at the end of this month and he simply cannot afford another poor result. Next weekend Rossetti will have the support not only of Alén but also his usual CIR team mate Umberto Scandola.

Alén struggled in the early this year with the Abarth Grande Punto and was dropped from the factory Abarth squad contesting the Intercontinental Rally Challenge after the Rally Russia with just three points to his name after taking in four rounds. However in the meantime he has collected a confidence-boosting second place in GpN/Super 2000 and twelfth place overall on the FIA World Rally Championship-counting Neste Oil Finland Rally and he should be at more on the Rally Costa Smeralda's tough gravel surfaces. The hand of history will hover closely over Anton next weekend as his famous father has won the rally twice, first in 1981 at the wheel of a Fiat 131, and then seven years later driving the Lancia Delta Integrale. Anton has experience of this high demanding event as he also took part in the 2007 edition in an Abarth Grand Punto but crashed out.

In the Italian championship title race Rossetti needs all the help he can get. Third place on the Rally del Friuli e delle Alpi Orientali last time out means the Italian lost precious ground to both his rivals and goes into the Rally Costa Smeralda, the eighth of ten rounds, eight points adrift of his Peugeot 207 S2000 mounted rivals, Renato Travaglia and six behind Paolo Andreucci. The 2009 title is a showdown between these three. 

Travaglia, who has driven no less than four different cars so far this year, has scored points in all seven events, and with the series only allowing the best of seven scores, it means he will have to drop points during each of the final three rounds starting next weekend. Rossetti and Andreucci both sat out the first two rounds of the CIR which were boycotted by the manufacturer-supported teams (Travaglia collected fourteen points from these events) and the former has one win, two second and two third places, while the latter has edged ahead thanks to two wins and three second places. Both driver has two more scoring events before they have to drop points. The second factory Abarth of youngster Umberto Scandola has made no contribution to the Scorpion’s challenge on the CIR this year and he has amassed just 7 points so far.

The 28th edition of the Rally Costa Smeralda will comprise of ten stages on gravel that add up to a total timed distance of 128.64 km and with a total transfer route of 268.26 km. The rally kicks off at 21:00 on Friday September 11 with the 4.11 km long superspecial stage before eight stages on Saturday September 12 get underway at 09:15. The winning car is set to reach the finish ramp in the town of Porto Cervo at 19:30 that evening. The final two rounds of the ten-round series this year will be the Rally Sanremo at the end of this month (September 27) and wrapping up with the rally di Como (October 24).

Italian Rally Championship Drivers' standings (after 7 of 10 rounds): 1. Renato Travaglia (Abarth, Peugeot, Skoda and Mitsubishi) 46 points; 2. Paolo Andreucci (Peugeot) 44; 3. Rossetti (Abarth) 38.