Two show trials and the “Cuvignone” on the menu of the “Laghi 2014”

 The countdown is nearly up for the 23^rd International Rally of the Lakes, which was presented this morning, Tuesday 11 March, in Palazzo Estense. This venue was no random choice, because, apart from the prestige, it will also be logistics centre of the most eagerly awaited motoring event of the year. In fact, the town hall of Varese will be the start and end point of a rally that is expected to be hard fought, and, as we explained a few days ago, the outcome is still very uncertain. And the reigning champion, Giuseppe Freguglia (SEE video interview), who, despite being aware of how difficult it will be to repeat his 2013 success, is determined to play all his cards in his Fiesta RRC, is of the same opinion.

(from left: Erika Ambesi, Andrea Sabella, Stefano Clerici, Luca Alfano, Beppe Freguglia and Luca Del Vitto)

VARESE AND THE SHOW TRIALS – Before looking at the list of favourites, here are the words of Andrea Sabella, the owner of A.S. Laghi, on the rally itself. “Last year, we came again to Varese, and I’m very happy about this. We found the Town Council to be collaborative (Councillor Stefano Clerici did the honours) and we received a lot of attention from the people; not only great enthusiasts, but also the curious and families were attracted by the racing cars and were present at the start and finish. I hope this is repeated this year, particularly if the weather helps us on Saturday and Sunday.”

The great innovation of 2014 is the double show trial around Colacem, in Caravate, on Saturday afternoon, which will determine the starting order for the six trials on Sunday. “Last year, the start from Varese prevented us from organising it, unfortunately, given the success it had in 2012; this time, we were able to design the course well in advance, and we found the solution where thousands can watch. What’s more, the two passes are separated by a reorganisation, so, in a few hundred metres, the spectators can not only enjoy the race, but also watch the work of the mechanics and speak with the drivers and navigators.”

(Gianesini, from Valtellina, with Solari, is the most accredited “foreigner” – photo courtesy of Alquati)

CUVIGNONE EXTENDED – Along the course, there is no section on the German Alp, this year. “But I’d like to point out that the reason is purely organisational; the time required and the difficulty of setting up didn’t allow us to tackle the Alp,” Sabella continued. “But there are no problems with the Council of Cuasso, in fact, we’ve agreed to come back in 2015.”

However, the special trial distance for the pilots is similar to what it was last year, because of the two show trials, and because of the extension of the most important section, the Cuvignone, which starts and ends on Sunday. “We’ve brought it up to fifteen kilometres, 5 more than last year, and this is even more demanding for the drivers and cars.” The other special trials are those of Sette Termini and Valganna, both of which are tackled twice.

(Giardini Estensi, protagonists: Andrea Crugnola, last year – photo, courtesy of Alquati)

THE STARTERS – The organisation has made official the list of the 104 teams entered: a significant number, in view of the crisis. Among these, there are several drivers who have already won in Varese, with the reigning champion, Freguglia, looking for a back-to-back victory (which he has not achieved since the times of Ogliari), but with a new navigator, Vozzo, from Como. With him last year, there was Falzone, who has gone over to Andrea Spataro, at the start with the number 1 in a Peugeot 207 S2000. In addition to Spataro, Pensotti, Bizzozero, Roncoroni and the Swiss Baccega also have S2000s, while Freguglia and Gianesini are racing in Fiesta RRCs. Of course, the man most eagerly awaited is the “superstar” Andrea Crugnola, at the start (with Massimo Sassi) in one of the eight S1600s entered, a Renault Clio supplied by his friend Robert Kubica. In the list of pretenders to the podium, there are the various Dipalmas, Marans, Ripolis, Res, and others. We would like to mention also Marchetti, in R3C, and Simone Miele, in A7 (in a Clio Williams), who has just made official his participation also in the WRC Italian Championship, in a Citroen Xsara.

(The Maran brothers, here in 2013, this time will have a Clio Maxi – photo courtesy of Alquati)

RICH SELECTION OF SIDE EVENTS – As has been the case in the last few years, the Rally of the Lakes is more than the race, and extends to a series of side events. The most important concerns the involvement of Luca Alfano, the young man from Varese who is affected by a rare disease that has not been fully diagnosed, who is collecting funds by selling his sweatshirts with the Carrrico label and copies of the book Più unico che raro (More unique than rare) published by 0111. Then, a less serious event, the election of the Miss who will appear on the presentation stage, and who made her debut today at the press conference (the young lady is Erika Ambesi, from Novara), and “Aperirally”, which is scheduled for Saturday evening, after the return of the cars to the closed park of Palazzo Estense. In the next few days, a number of presentations of individual cars and racing teams, will be set up in places around the province.

And like last year, VareseNews will be following the “Laghi” close up, through liveblogging, with real-time news, that everyone can contribute to, thanks to the opening of the comments space, using the hashtag #rallydeilaghi on Twitter and Instagram. This will be active on Friday, on the eve of the race, and of course … we hope you’ll all contribute.