Following a debut season in European rallying, which saw the Abarth 124 Rally claim class titles in Italy and Spain, Abarth has decided to offer prizes and incentives to reward drivers using the rally-prepared car in the several key international championships via an exciting new initiative, the “Abarth 124 Rally International Challenge”.
The biggest prizes are on offer for competitors in the FIA R-GT Cup as the overall winner will receive an Abarth 124 Rally, while the class winner in each of the other four races will receive 15,000 euros, with 12,000 euro going to the second placed finisher and 10,000 euros to third place. Meanwhile the participation grant has been set at 3,000 euros.
The FIA R-GT Cup championship this year comprises of five events, one of which, the Rallye Monte Carlo, has already taken place. However the rallies still to take place comprise of the Rally Tour de Corse (6-8 April), the Rally Roma Capitale (20-22 July), the Rally Barum, Czech Republic, (24-26 August) and the Rallye International du Valais, Switzerland, (18-20 October).
There are also prizes to be won in the FIA European Rally Championship, which has a schedule of eight events, namely the Rally Acores (22-24 March), Rally Islas Canarias (3-5 May), Acropolis Rally in Greece (1-3 June), Cyprus Rally (15-17 June), Rally di Roma Capitale (20-22 July), Rally Barum (24-26 August), Rally of Poland (21-23 September) and finally Latvia’s Rally Liepaja (12-14 October).
Overall victory in the R-GT class will be worth 25,000 euros, added to which there are the prizes (up to a maximum of five) of 12,000 euros to the winner, 9,000 euros to the second places crew and 7,000 euros for finishing third. The participation grant in the European Championship has been set at 2,000 euros.
There are also prizes for teams that compete in their respective national championships within the EU, in the R-GT class. The winner will collect a final prize of 20,000 euros, while success in each individual race will bring a prize of 10,000 euros, with 7,000 euros for second place and 5,000 euros for third. The participation grant in national events is 1,000 euros.
Last year, an Abarth 124 Rally won the R-GT class in the Italian Championship, with Fabrizio Andolfi Jr, and in Spain, with Alvaro Muñiz Mora, demonstrating outstanding reliability and competitiveness in its very first season: Andolfi finished all ten rallies he took part in (seven were valid for the 124 Rally Selenia Trophy, together with the Rally di Romagna, the Rally San Marino on gravel roads and the Rallye du Valais), winning his class eight times and achieving very impressive results.
Another fine demonstration of the Abarth Spider's potential came last month in the Rallye Monte Carlo, where Andrea Nucita and Marco Vozzo recorded an incredible fiurth best time overall - amongst the official WRC cars - in the event's toughest special test stage, held in extreme conditions with show and ice. Making good use of the electronic engine control and traction control commands, the Italian driver showed that difficult conditions bring out the best in this rear-wheel-drive car, helping to make the rally speciality even more spectacular.
The new initiatives for 2018 were announced during the “Abarth Selenia 2017 Trophy” awards ceremony, held at Officine Abarth, Luca Napolitano, where Head of EMEA Fiat and Abarth Brands, and Fabio Migliavacca, Head of Racing, presented an Abarth 124 Spider to the winner of the Abarth 124 Rally Selenia Trophy, Fabrizio Andolfi Junior, and cash prizes to the Under 23 winner, Andrea Modanesi, and the winner of the Abarth Selenia Trophy, circuit racing competition, Cosimo Barberini.
