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07 Dec 2020

The Abarth 124 rally wins the FIA R-GT Cup for the third time, with the young Italian driver Andrea Mabellini behind the wheel

With 2nd place in the ACI Rally Monza last weekend, Mabellini wins the FIA R-GT Cup, in practice the Gran Turismo “world championship  

The Abarth 124 rally wins the FIA R-GT Cup for the third time, with the young Italian driver Andrea Mabellini behind the wheel

 

  • With 2nd place in the ACI Rally Monza last weekend, Mabellini wins the FIA R-GT Cup, in practice the Gran Turismo “world championship”
  • At the same time, the final round of the Italian F4 Championship powered by Abarth was taking place at Vallelunga. Victory went to the Britons Bearman and Edgar, with Italy’s Pizzi taking second place overall ahead of Sweden’s Beganovic.

 

The Abarth 124 rally was confirmed as the monarch of Gran Turismo in rallies, by winning the FIA R-GT Cup for the third year running, this time with the young Italian Andrea Mabellini behind the wheel, with Virginia Lenzi in the Bernini Rally team car. Mabellini clenched the 2020 title courtesy of his success in the Rally di Roma Capitale in July, and his second placing in the difficult ACI Rally Monza, the last race in the WRC World Championship. In 2018, the Frenchman Raphaël Astier took this prestigious title, followed in 2019 by the Italian Enrico Brazzoli.

 

In the 2020 FIA R-GT Cup, Mabellini came in ahead of the Czech Republic driver Petr Nešetřil (Porsche 997 GT3) and Belgium’s Luc Caprasse (Abarth 124 rally), tied for third place with the Frenchman Pierre Ragues (Alpine A110S). In fifth place was another Abarth 124 rally driver, Italy’s Roberto Gobbin, who, with Alessandro Cervi, ended the ACI Rally Monza fifth in his class.

 

A very well-deserved title, achieved with a great result in the difficult ACI Rally Monza, run in extreme conditions of snow, ice and mud, all of which emphasized the qualities of the Abarth 124 rally, enabling Mabellini to grasp a win even in this race. The young driver ran knowing it was vital for him to finish the race so he could win the championship, and still came in first. A crowning glory to a highly positive season for Andrea Mabellini, in which he took the Abarth Rally Cup, part of the FIA ERC European Rally Championship.

 

Andrea Mabellini (Bernini Rally): “This has been the most difficult race of my career: extreme weather conditions and needing to reach the finish line. The Abarth 124 rally really demonstrated its sturdiness and incredible efficiency on harder tracks and snow, where I found the best setups I could, thanks to the ability to set the power range and traction while driving”.

 

The weather also hit the final event in the Italian F4 Championship powered by Abarth, on the Vallelunga circuit in Rome. Heavy rain meant the second of the three scheduled races had to be canceled. With Gabriele Minì (Italy, Prema Powerteam) already having taken the championship, Race1 was won by the Briton Oliver Bearman (US Racing), ahead of Italy’s Francesco Pizzi (Van Amersfoort Racing) and his fellow Brit Jonny Edgar (Van Amersfoort Racing). The result meant Pizzi could confirm his second place in the championship rankings. Edgar then sealed his great day by winning Race3, coming in ahead of Russia’s Kirill Smal (Prema Powerteam) and Gabriele Minì, who finished his amazing season on the podium.

 

2020 FIA R-GT 2020 rankings: 1. Andrea Mabellini (ITA, Abarth 124 rally), 43 points; 3. Petr Nešetřil (CZE, Porsche 997 GT3), 33; 3. Luc Caprasse (BEL, Abarth 124 rally) and Pierre Ragues (Alpine A110S), 25; 5. Roberto Gobbin (ITA, Abarth 124 rally), 25.

 

Italian F4 Championship powered by Abarth 2020 rankings: 1. Gabriele Minì (ITA, Prema Powerteam), 284; 2. Francesco Pizzi (ITA, Van Amersfoort Racing), 208; 3. Dino Beganovic (SWE, Prema Powerteam), 179; 4. Jonny Edgar (GBR, Van Amersfoort Racing), 169; 5. Gabriel Bortoleto (BRA, Prema Powerteam), 157.

 

 

Turin, December 7th, 2020

 

 

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