The Abarth 124 Rally has just claimed its second national rally title in the R-GT class on its debut year after winning the Campeonato de España de Rally de Asfalto (CERA), the Spanish Tarmac Rally Championship, to add to the crown it won in Italy a couple of months back.
This time it was the superb work of the Álvaro Muñiz Mora and Antonio Solórzano and SMC Junior Motorsport that delivered the second title for the 124 Rally last weekend on the season closing Rallye Comunidad de Madrid – RACE.
Victory in the R-GT class comprehensively sealed the championship title and the finishing time also added up to a very impressive eighth place overall. In fact on the final stage, held over the famous former Formula 1-hosting Jarama Circuit, the agile new Abarth rallycar was able to impress as it posted a faster time than some of the superior traction four wheel drive cars.
It’s been a busy year for for the Abarth 124 Rally in CERA. It debuted in Spain back in May on the occasion of the 41st Rally Islas Canarias. Although on this occasion it was the only entry in the R-GT class. However, the 124 Spider’s promise was unlocked although the car retired on the tenth of twelve stages. Just days later the Madrid-based SMC Junior Motorsport outfit upped sticks from Gran Canaria to Tenerife to compete in the next round, the Rally Villa de Adeje.
Driver Muñiz, navigator Solórzano and the SMC Junior Motorsport team turned in faultless performances during the two legs of the Rally Villa de Adeje. The 124 Rally was unbeatable from start to finish, showing its potential by winning all twelve stages in the R-GT class and comparing favourably with cars in higher categories after finishing tenth overall. That result marked the first victory for the 124 Rally in Spain on the car’s third rally.
Two more wins in the 2WD class followed on the next two rallies, the Rally de Ourense in June and the Rally del Ferro in July, which also equated to sixth and eighth places overall, respectively.
September’s Rallye Principessa delle Asturie saw the car retire during the first leg but it was back to the 2WD winners circle on the next round, Rally Villa de Llanes, after winning seven of the ten stages, crew and car dealing superbly with thunderstorms. The penultimate round, Rally La Nucia, saw another R-GT win for the 124 Spider, which added up to eleventh place overall, and that all meant another win on last weekend’s Rallye Comunidad de Madrid – RACE, was more than enough to comfortably deliver a debut year title.
