After the first five races of the Abarth Rally Cup, the championship dedicated to the Abarth 124 rallies that takes place as part of the ERC European Championship, there will be two teams battling for victory in the last race of the championship, the Hungarian Rally, scheduled for this weekend.
The Italian team Bernini Rally, with Andrea Nucita and Bernardo di Caro and the Polish team Rallytechnology, with Dariusz Polonski and Lukasz Sitek will be those battling for the Abarth Rally Cup 2019. The winner will receive a prize of €30,000.
The Abarth teams have shared the victories won in the previous 5 seasonal races of the Abarth Rally Cup: Nucita achieved three successes, winning on the dirt tracks of Latvia, Poland and on asphalt in the Czech Republic, while his rival won the Rally of Rome in Italy and took second place three times, placing the two teams respectively first and second in the Abarth Rally Cup, separated by only 8 points, and meaning that they will have to challenge one another for the title in the last race.
In third place in the Abarth Rally Cup, the Spanish team SMC Junior Motorsport formed by Alberto Monarri and Alberto Chamorro won the Rally Islas Canarias, the opening race of the ERC season, also valid for the Spanish Championship Asphalt Rally, CERA. And for the second year running, the same team took the CERA Two-Wheel Drive title, finishing 2 races ahead.
Andrea Nucita (Bernini Rally): "Winning the title would mean achieving the goal we set ourselves at the beginning of the season. I believe that we have a good chance of winning, but we have to be very focused if we want to avoid making mistakes. It will be a great challenge".
Dariusz Polonski (Rallyetechnology): "Mathematically speaking, we only have one chance to win. We are here to continue learning how to drive this fantastic car. Andrea Nucita is a great pilot and for us it would be very satisfying to come close to his performance. In any case, we're aiming to win, even if that would be a surprise for us".
Both teams are participating in the Hungarian Rally for the first time. The Rally has a very fast, technical asphalt route that winds through narrow country roads. Another difficulty for the drivers will be the ever-changing weather conditions that will make the route trickier because of the different grip levels experienced on the race days. But these conditions will enhance the power, traction and dynamic equilibrium of the Abarth 124 rally.
The Czech Republic team, composed of Martin Rada and Jugas Jasoslav will also be competing in the Hungarian Rally, with the colors of the Abarth Agrotec Czech Team.
The race will start in the city of Nyíregyháza at 6.05 pm on Friday, November 8th, when the first special test will also be held. Saturday will host the first leg, with the start at 7.10am and finish at 7.03pm, after 6 special stages. Sunday will be the last day of the competition, starting at 7.20 am and finishing at 6.37pm, with another 7 timed stages. The whole route is 1,001 km long, 211.50 of which are divided into 14 special stages.
Turin, November 7th 2019.