The Abarth factory team testing in the Alpes last year in preparation for the 2009 Rallye Monte Carlo; participation in the 2010 edition which takes place next month hinges on a decision that is imminent.

Abarth is currently making a decision on whether to continue in the Intercontinental Rally Challenge (IRC) next year, having replaced outgoing Team Principal Nic Gullino with Gabrielle Palmitesta, with a decision expected in the next few days. If the green light is given to continuing next year, Giandomenico Basso, Luca Rossetti and Umberto Scandola will be seen on the starting ramp for next month’s prestigious Rallye Monte Carlo, but the go-ahead still depends on budget considerations. Anton Alen, who is under contract for 2010, does not at the moment feature in next year’s plans. This year much of the running of the Scorpion team was outsourced to Grifone and the private Italian outfit is set to take an even greater role next year.

Last month Abarth parted company with Gullino after a very difficult season that saw the team unable to mount an effective challenge on the IRC and miss out on the Italian title by a whisker. Palmitesta's appointment will be expected to immediately address one of the key problems the team suffered this year with strategic mistakes being made at senior management level, and Gullino’s departure last month was not unexpected. A source within the team told Autosport magazine: “This is not really a surprise to anybody. It’s been a hard season for us this year, we didn’t win so many rallies that we wanted to win.” 

After winning the inaugural IRC title in 2006 the Italian team has been unable to compete with the highly-funded Peugeot steamroller and this year new S2000 entrant Skoda has also bypassed the Italian team. The Abarth Grande Punto has won two Italian Rally Championship titles in 2006 and 2007 and the factory team missed out by the slimmest of margins to claim the title this year. The team’s star driver Giandomenico Basso, did win the prestigious FIA European Rally Championship title this year, his second, with both crowns coming at the wheel of the Super 2000 car (his first win in 2006 came when it was branded as a Fiat) so the cupboard wasn’t bare although the team managed just one win in the IRC, on the Rali Vinho Madeira.

While the team did suffer from some bad luck in both the IRC and CIR, a number of strategic decisions baffled rally insiders. A prime example was on the very first competitive stage of the year, on the Rallye Monte Carlo, when the team gambled on tyre choices even the most inexperienced of rally watchers found unfathomable. This wild gamble, at a point when caution was the watchword on a rally that only rewards those that offer it utter respect, predictably failed to pay dividends – Luca Rossetti crashed out on the first stage, and the team’s challenge to win the most prestigious rally in the world, and a rally where some of the Fiat Group’s most legendary cars have etched their name in the roll call of honours over the years, was already in tatters. Matters hardly improved on the second round in Brazil, when a decision to help refuel a rival competitor left seasoned rally observers with the view that the team simply didn’t possess senior management with the ruthless competitive edge that is needed to win at the top level in motorsport.

In the Italian championship, the Scorpion fared a bit better, and in the end Rossetti just missed out on the title by a solitary point. There was a surprise, though, when the team chose to continue with youngster Umberto Scandola for a full season in Italy, when his appearances for the team during the last three years suggested a lack of preparedness to play an important support role in a factory team. The team also failed to bring in support for Rossetti during the final round of the year, the Rally Como, when the Italian’s title bid was finely poised and the star qualities of Basso were available.

Technically the Abarth Grande Punto is the oldest of the new breed of Super 2000 cars and it has seen the pace of development held back this year due to budgetary considerations. The engine in particular, drawn from the Alfa 156 Super Tourer programme, cannot match the power of its rivals, and the arrival of the new Ford Fiesta S2000 – which will debut on the Rallye Monte Carlo – is expected to raise the Super 2000 bar further. The Abarth Grande Punto works best on smooth, medium-speed asphalt, its performances on rallies such as Madeira, Asturias and Sanremo bearing testament to this, but on other surfaces – especially bumpy asphalt and gravel – it has struggled.

Even if a factory program is not approved, however, the Scorpion may still be present in Monte Carlo. Former WRC driver Toni Gardemeister is looking to return to the mountains above Monte Carlo in January with an Astra Racing Grande Punto. The experienced Finn turned in an excellent showing last year, putting himself in contention for a podium slot on the final leg before disaster on the Col de Turini shattered his chances.

Keith Cronin, the reigning British Rally Champion, is also expected to feature on the stages of the IRC next year, with one of the senior principals of the Italian Procar squad this week saying he wanted the Irishman to continue with his team. Daniele Pelliccioni said this week he wanted to continue with Abarth in the Italian Championship, “and also try to do something in the IRC – there is a possibility we can do this and perhaps with Keith.” Cronin contested last month’s Rally of Scotland in a Procar Abarth, and although he crashed out of the event, he impressed observers with his immediate pace on his first outing in an S2000 car.

This year much of the IRC programme was subcontracted to the private Grifone team, including the supply of personnel, and it is expected that if a 2010 programme is given the green light Grifone will play a greater role. Abarth has also considered putting its star drivers behind the wheel of the new 500 R3T in selected events next year. At the moment, it remains unclear what Abarth’s long-term rally plans are, and the vast number of fans around the world who have welcomed Fiat Group’s return to rallying wait with baited breath for a positive decision.