Over the coming two days, the Abarth 695 Assetto Corse Evoluzione and Abarth 500 Assetto Corse cars will challenge each another in two races, scheduled to take place tomorrow morining and evening, which should be as spectacular as ever.

The higher specification Abarth 695 Assetto Corse Evoluzione develops 215 hp and incorporates sequential transmission. The Abarth 500 Assetto Corse, on the other hand, with 190 hp on tap, is designed to provide affordable access to racing for young drivers.

The two racing models that underpin the series are spread out over no fewer than five categories – Absolute, Abarth 500 Assetto Corse, Under 18, Gentleman and Ladies.

The Trofeo Abarth's 2018 edition will comprise of seven events held at six circuits, all double headers, with the second round of the year seeing the series take a trip out of Italy to France.

It's the same number of rounds as last year's championship expect this time the overseas round swaps from the Red Bull Ring to Paul Ricard.

The first two races will take place at Imola tomorrow (29 April) following the free practice and qualifying sessions today. Then next month the Trofeo Abarth will make that cross border trip to Paul Ricard in France for a double header on May 13. After that the calendar comprises of Misano (June 24), Mugello (July 15), Vallelunga (September 16) and Monza (October 7) before finally heading back to Mugello again for the finale on October 28.

In the paddock the organisers provide a comprehensive spare parts service as well as utilising the presence of technicians to offer advice to the drivers and a hospitality area with catering dedicated to the entrants.

Some of the stars from the past nine years will be on the starting line this time around, including Cosimo Barberini from Tuscany, who has won the last two editions of the Trofeo, the ever-quick Juuso Pajuranta from Finland and also Andrea Mabellini, a promising young driver from Brescia.

For the tenth anniversary edition of the Trofeo Abarth there will be special focus placed on young drivers from 16 to 18 years of age, who will be able to take part in the championship this time thanks to the scope of an agreement developed with ACISport that helps budding sportsmen and women win their racing licences by offering special test sessions to them.

New to the format this year is the introduction of a "superpole" qualifying session which will see the fastest eight drivers from the regular qualifying sessions go forward to the shootout.

During the Trofeo Abarth round, members of "The Scorpionship" – the officially-sanctioned Abarth community which now counts more than 100,000 members – will be invited to enjoy the weekend in the paddock and experience being in the pit-lane with the drivers just before the start of the race.

Participants will also be able to get a feel for all the models in the Abarth range – namely the 124 Spider, 595 Pista, 595 Competizione and 595 Turismo – both on the racetrack and on the roads near the circuit alongside professional drivers, including the new-for-2018 695 Rivale and the 124GT.

For the first round at Imola, the free practice session will take place this lunchtime (Saturday, April 28) at 12:20 (local time) while the two qualifying sessions are scheduled for 19:15 and 19:50 this evening. The races will be held at 09:55 and at 17:00 tomorrow (Sunday).