ERC returns to asphalt at Rally di Roma Capitale

For 6^e consecutive year, the Italian event constitutes one of the meetings of the European competition. The program consists of 187,14 timed kilometers divided into 13 special stages, the first of which on Friday evening (from 20:08 p.m.) is always special since it takes place in Rome near the Colosseum. The rest of the route is located 85 km south-east of the capital around the spa town of Fiuggi where the service park is located. On this terrain which regularly reserves surprises due to an often changing level of grip, the main candidates for the title will once again do battle.

At the wheel of his Skoda Fabia Rally2 Evo, Efren Llarena dominates the championship ERC

Leader of the championship with 46 points ahead, Efren Llarena has significant experience in this event with already 4 participations. With his Fabia Rally2, the 27-year-old Spaniard will aim for another good result which will bring him a little closer to the coronation. He will have to be wary of his compatriot Nil Solans whose only attempt in Italy ended in an accident. Respectively 3^e, 4^e and 5^e behind the Spanish, Simone Tempestini (Fabia), Alberto Battistolli (Fabia) and Javier Pardo (Fabia) should not be able to claim victory, but a second place would allow them to assert their position. For his 3^e and final round in the ERC this season, Yoann Bonato (Citroën C3) will draw on his experience from last year (17^e) to aim for a good place overall. As is often the case in the ERC, local competitors will come to confuse the issue. At Roma, the Transalpines have regularly laid down the law and it would not be surprising if this happened again with Giandomenico Basso (i20) double winner in Fiuggi, Andrea Crugnola (C3) who leads the national championship, Damiano De Tommaso (Fabia) or Fabio Andolfi (Fabia).

Manu Guigou is currently leading the RGT Cup category (Photo Grégory Lenormand / DPPI)

On the French side, in addition to Bonato, Laurent Pellier (Corsa) will try to resume his march forward in ERC4 after his Latvian misstep. The Roma Capitale also welcomes the 3^e meeting of the RGT Cup and a Franco-French duel is announced between the Alpine by Manu Guigou and Raphaël Astier. Finally, among the 7 competitors in the Clio Trophy, Ghjuvanni Red will look to do well in the game.