MRF Tyres to launch into Italian Gravel with three cars
Cingoli (Italy), 23 April 2021: The first round of the Campionato Italiano Rally Terra (CIRT) or the Italian Rally Championship – Gravel gets underway this weekend with the Rally Adriatico and Team MRF Tyres will be well represented with three cars at the starting line.
Rally Adriatico will be run over nine stages and 64.71km of competitive rally action on Saturday April 24. The rally is staged around Cingoli, in the Macerata region, on Italy’s mid-eastern coastline.
Italian legend, Paolo Andreucci with Francesco Pinelli will lead the charge for Team MRF Tyres in the Skoda Fabia Rally2 Evo. The pair had a one-off drive in the opening round of the Italian tarmac championship and moving to gravel will prove to be an exciting prospect.
Simone Campedelli and Gianfrancesco Maria Rappa are also rallying the full CIRT for Team MRF Tyres in a Volkswagen Polo R5. Campedelli and Rappa are starting their full season in the CIRT on the back of a podium in the regional, Rally Della Val d’Orcia which was held in March.
The third car on MRF Tyres is for Tamara Molinaro and Piercarlo Capolongo who will rally a Citroën C3 R5.
Molinaro rallied on MRF Tyres for the first time in 2020, taking the class victory in the Female division and second in the Under 25s.
The trio represents a mixture of youth and experience as Team MRF Tyres gets its 2021 CIRT campaign underway. The Italian Championship is ultra-competitive and will allow MRF Tyres to compete against some of the world’s best drivers while maintaining its aggressive development program.
The crews have undertaken pre-event tests in preparation for the Adriatico Rally.
The rally sees nine stages broken up into three legs of three repeated stages.
Colognola is the first stage of the loop, providing a 5.40km blast. The second stage is Panicali at 5.24km meaning that the crews will have no room for error and must be immediately on the pace. The third stage of the loop is Dei Laghi and is the longest of the three at 10.93km.
Over 90 cars are competing in the Adriatico Rally, with 39 leading Rally2 (R5) cars entered.
The rally will get underway at 7:57 local time or 11:27 if you are in India. It will run throughout the day on Saturday, with the final stage due to commence at 17:35 in Italy or 21:15 in India.
Stay up to date with the rally on Team MRF Tyres Facebook, Twitter and Instagram pages.u
Quotes
Paolo Andreucci, Driver, Skoda Fabia Rally2 Evo
“We have completed the test in the lead-up to the first round of the CIRT and the Adriatico Rally. We tested the adaptation of the tyres for the compact ground on these beautiful special stages.”
“The stages are very fast and we must be precise with our pace notes and tyre choice. We have several choices for this weekend with MRF Tyres and everyone will have to be careful with their tyre choice.”
Simone Campedelli, Driver, Volkswagen Polo R5
“We will be back in the Italian Gravel Championship this year, a championship I won at the beginning of my career in 2007. I have decided to go back to the Championship as I believe that we can have strong results with MRF Tyres.”
“The Adriatico Rally is one that I have had success with over the years with a lot of podiums. We are ready and we will have done a test before the rally.”
“There are a lot of cars in R5 and it will be difficult. I am looking forward to bring the best result possible for myself and for MRF Tyres.”
Tamara Molinaro, Driver, Citroën C3 R5
“I am very proud to be a part of the MRF Tyres family this year. We worked really well together last year and I am looking forward to this weekend. I will be trying my best to develop my own driving and look to the Ladies Championship.”
“I really can’t wait to get back in the car, the last rally I did was the Tuscan Rally in 2020 (where she finished 1st in Female and 2nd in Under 25 categories) and it has been quite a long wait.”
“I am aiming to close the gap to the top drivers as I continue my own development. This weekend, I am aiming for the best result possible for myself and Team MRF Tyres.”
