Reigning national champion Simone Tempestini is among the favorites to win the fifth stage of the European Rally Championship (FIA ERC), Rally di Roma Capitale, which starts on Friday evening at the Colosseum in the Italian capital.
Ranked 5th in the overall standings at mid-season, Tempestini is in his sixth participation in Italy’s benchmark rally, which will take place in the Lazio area over a total distance of almost 800 kilometers, of which 189 on 13 special stages.
Tempestini will compete with a Skoda Fabia Rally RS
Together with his co-pilot Sergiu Itu, the pilot from Napoca Rally Academy will be at the start aboard a Skoda Fabia Rally RS model, the same one with which he won the Hungarian Rally in the spring, becoming the first Romanian to achieve such a feat in the continental competition.
The competition this weekend promises to be a big one for the Romanians, and no less than 103 crews from 18 countries have registered in Rome. Among the top drivers who will win in Italy are Hayden Paddon (reigning European champion), Efren Llarena (European champion in 2022), Franceschi Mathieu (French champion), Jon Armstrong (ERC3 champion 2023) or Mikolaj Marczyk (double champion) of Poland).
Temperatures are expected to be high
“It will be a tough rally and any mistake can cost you a lot. In addition, the temperatures are predicted to be extremely high, it will be over 60 degrees in the car at every test, and that will exhaust us. We are ready and we can’t wait for the start”, said Tempestini before the official start.
The best ranking in Rome of the pilot born in Italy, but settled in Romania since 16 years ago and a Romanian citizen since 2016, was the 5th place in the 2017 and 2020 editions. “I am aware that there is a bit of pressure now because I have need a good position in the ranking to be able to hope for the title. As always, we will fight for every second and kilometer, we want to surpass ourselves”, added the absolute champion of Romania.
Romania will be represented by two other crews in Italy
In addition to Tempestini/Itu, our country will be represented by two other crews in Italy. Ciprian Lupu, the only quadriplegic driver in European rally competitions, will team up with Andrei Aițculesei, while Cristiana Oprea and Denisa Partenie.
Friday evening will be the official start with a super special around the famous Colosseum in Rome, and on Saturday and Sunday 12 other special tests are scheduled, all exclusively on asphalt. The last three editions were won only by crews from Italy, the only one who broke the tradition in recent years being the Russian Aleksey Lukyanuk, absent this time.
Source: www.promotor.ro
