In the spectacular setting of Piazza del Campidoglio in Rome the ten crews who will take part in the Italian Junior Rally Absolute Championship 2022, the series dedicated to young people developed by Automobile Club d’Italia and Aci Sport which will have Motorsport Italia as its technical partner and will make use of the collaboration of Pirelli, Renault and Sparco. The cars that will be used by the drivers will be the new ones Renault Clio Rally5. At the same time, Motorsport Italia presented in preview also the tenth edition of the Rally of Rome Capital.
Who are the protagonists
The Italian Federation has carried out an important selection work among the very youngall born after 1994, to make up the roster of ten crews that were presented. They are Sara Carra-Giovanni Barbaro, Alessandro Casella-Rosario Siragusano, Guglielmo De Nuzzo-Fabio Grimaldi, Fabio Solitro-Rosario Navarra, Davide Nicelli-Tiziano Pieri, Davide Porta-Marco Demontis, Mattia Zanin-Fabio Pizzol, Davide Gianaroli-Alessio Spezzani, Matteo Ceriali-Luca Ferraris, Edoardo De Antoni-Martina Musiari.
Six races: we start from Sanremo
The Absolute Italian Junior Rally Championship this year will consist of a calendar of six dates, four on asphalt and two on dirt. First round will be the Rallye Sanremo (April 8-9) with its technical special stages that have hosted the World Championship for years; we will then continue with the two dirt roads, the Rally of the Adriatic which this year will change its face by moving to Urbino and the Rally of San Marino, historic appointment of the tricolor calendar. Second half of the season with the Rally of Rome Capitalwhich will allow the drivers to compete with the Fia European Rally Championship and close with the Rally 1000 Miglia and the Rally Due Vallithe latter with a coefficient of 1.5.
The car: Renault Clio Rally5 with Pirelli tires
The big news of the 2022 season will obviously be the car, as the ten crews will face the championship aboard as many wheeled Renault Clio Rally5s. Pirelli. The Milanese company has developed and evolved two asphalt choices for this series, the PZero RA and the Cinturato Rwb and the Scorpion K for dirt. These are tires capable of ensuring performance and grip in all conditions.
The Clio Rally5s are powered by a turbo engine of 1.3 liters able to deliver 180 horsepower and 300 Nm of torque and promise to ensure a great show both on dirt and asphalt. Also crucial attention to safety, since the cars will mount the new Sparco “Master” seat of the latest generation, developed and produced by Sparco in compliance with the new FIA 8855-2021 homologation standards and able to meet driver safety requirements very similar to those guaranteed by the seats installed on Rally1 cars. To complete the safety equipment, the Sparco Prime H-9 Evo belts FIA 8853-2016 approved with aluminum buckle to ensure maximum lightness.