A Flurry of Entries for Rallylegend 2022

Republic of San Marino. It’s enough to having you rubbing your eyes. You’ll need to read the Rallylegend entry list more than once to believe it, as a truly incredible array of names are ready for this twentieth edition, the likes of which we’ve rarely seen. Among the 180 attendees set to attend the most highly awaited rallying event of the year are world champions, international masters and big names, as well as a fleet of cars that, more than ever before, is a museum in motion featuring the most important and rarest cars in rallying history.

A real gesture of affection, from more than twenty nations, towards Rallylegend as it prepares to celebrate its first twenty years in the best possible way, showcasing this passion for rallying across the ages in its now habitual setting, the Republic of San Marino, on 13-16 October. And a lot of San Marino crews are also embracing their home event, with sixteen San Marino crews already signed up, as well as nine local drivers and co-drivers who will be part of ‘mixed’ crews.

The organisers have just one regret, and that’s that they cannot accept all 230 teams who applied for reasons relating to logistics and the structure of the race.

A RALLYLEGEND 2022 WITH STANDOUT GUESTS IN THE “LEGEND STARS”, MORE LEGENDARY THAN EVER…

The list of top drivers set to attend Rallylegend and take part in the rally, the Legend Stars, the celebrative Parades or the events in Rallylegend Village is extremely long.

World Rally champions from every era will line up for the Legend Stars, pure spectacle without the timekeeping. Names including Walter Rohrl and Christian Geistdorfer together with Markku Alen and Ilkka Kivimaki, with two Lancia 037 Martinis, our Miki Biasion (originally meant to be with Tiziano Siviero, to whom Rallylegend wishes a speedy recovery after he was involved in a serious road incident a few days ago), with a Lancia 037 Totip. The current leader of the 2022 Riders’ World Rally championship, Kalle Rovanpera, who will be at the wheel of a Toyota Celica ST 185 belonging to team Latvala, for a family derby with father Harri Rovanpera, driving a Celica ST 205. The list continues with Jimmy McRae, father of the unforgettable Colin, paired with Nicola Arena, with one of the many beautiful group A Subaru Impreza 555 cars; Swede Per-Gunnar Andersson, who some may remember as a Suzuki SX4 WRC factory driver in 2008, after having won two Junior world titles in 2004 and 2007, and Norwegian Ole Christian Veiby, former Hyundai Motorsport driver in WRC2 in 2020 and 2021. The two Scandinavians will drive powerful rallycross Audi S1 RX cars. There is also a significant Italian and San Marino presence in the Legend Stars. Tonino Tognana and Massimo De Antoni will take part in the first stage with the group 2 Ascona 1.9 SR and, in the second stage, with the Ferrari 308 GTB, “Tony” Fassina, with the unforgettable Lancia Stratos Bianca from the 1979 Sanremo win, the other Lancia Stratos of Mauro Sipsz and Monica Bregoli, Federico Ormezzano, with his Talbot Lotus, “Pedro” driving a Lancia Delta HF, young driver Alberto Battistolli, with the Lancia Delta Integrale that father Luigi drove with high success in historic European and Italian rallies, and Angelo Pucci Grossi, in the red Lancia Delta of father Pucci, a great rally champion who died too soon. Then there is thrill seeker Paolo Diana, who is back with the souped-up Fiat 131 racing, Paolo Valli, with the Lancia Delta S4, the rare and powerful Group B of Marco Gramenzi, the splendid group B Ford RS 200 of Ezio Facchinello, the fantastic Audi S1 E2 Pikes Peak of Giorgio Mela, the rare Hyundai Accent of Marcello Miotto, the Ford Focus WRC (formerly of McRae) of Carlo Falcone, and the beautiful Lancia Stratos and Lancia 037 Safari version of Filippo and Stefano Avandero.

MANY BIG NAMES PREPARE TO RACE AT RALLYLEGEND: JARI-MATTI LATVALA IN THE “CLASSIC”

Countless champions and greats were unable to resist the call of the stopwatch and will be racing at Rallylegend in the three categories of “Historic”, “Classic” (the new name for “Myth”) and “WRC”, which also incorporates the R5, R-GT and Super 1600.

In the “Classic” category, a number of high calibre drivers will battle it out. Names like Jari-Matti Latvala, former World Rally factory driver and now team principal of Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT, set to race at Rallylegend with his team’s Toyota Celica St 165. Ready to make his life difficult are Gustavo Trelles, with Jorge Del Buono in a Subaru Legacy, Portuguese driver Rui Madeira, with a Subaru Impreza, “Lucky” Battistolli, with Fabrizia Pons and “Zippo” Zivian, they too with two group A Subaru Imprezas. And keep an eye on fast San Marino driver Marcello Colombini and the two-wheel drive of his BMW M3.

Among the “Historic” drivers are 2021 winner Simone Brusori, together with Enzo Zafferani, a piece of San Marino motorsport history, who will attempt a repeat performance in a Porsche 911 RS. But Manrico Falleri, paired with Sauro Farnocchia (Ford Escort MkII) and Francesco Nerobutto (Ford Escort RS) will be out to beat him, as will the San Marino trio of Giuliano Calzolari (Ford Escort RS), Stefano Rosati (Talbot Lotus) and Loris Baldacci (Ford Escort RS).

There are rich pickings in the “WRC” category too, with Swiss champion Sebastien Carron (Porsche 997 GT3) and Luca Pedersoli (Citroen DS3 WRC), a multiple winner of the Trofeo Asfalto and Italian WRC and a former European rally runner-up. Other competitive Swiss names include Mirko Puricelli and Max Beltrami in the Citroen DS3 WRC. Also competing is “Il Valli”, with the Ford Fiesta WRC Plus, Nicola Stefani, with the other “Plus” Citroen C3 WRC and Rachele Somaschini, with Daiana Darderi, in the Citroen C3 R5, a talented driver and federal instructor who campaigns against cystic fibrosis, a disease she herself has but that has not stopped her from forging a brilliant career behind the wheel.

RALLYLEGEND HERITAGE: ELEVEN FOUR-WHEELED GEMS WITH “PEDIGREE” 

Taking part in a regularity race are the “Rallylegend Heritage” vehicles, select and rare historic cars that stand out for their mechanics and original liveries and that, this year, date from 1974 to 1981. Also taking to the start line is Sandro Giacomelli, in the Group 4 Fiat 131 Abarth, winner of two previous editions of this category.

DREAM CARS AND DRIVERS IN THE “PARADES” ON SATURDAY 15 AND SUNDAY 16

Taking place around the track of “The Legend” special stage on Saturday and Sunday, the Rallylegend parades are not to be missed. One such parade is reserved for the Lancia 037 as it celebrates forty years since making its race debut, while others will showcase the Lancia Delta, and the Subaru Impreza, with the most important models in its racing history and the Best Imprezas of a project by Carlo Boroli. Many champions will take to the wheels of these marvels, including Juha Kankkunen, Dario Cerrato, Adartico Vudafieri, Andrea Aghini, Andrea Zanussi, Piero Liatti and Formula 1 greats René Arnoux and Arturo Merzario.

CESARE FIORIO, MALCOLM WILSON AND THE FAMILY OF COLIN MCRAE AMONG THE SPECIAL GUESTS

The successful race “leader” of Fiat, Lancia and Ferrari F1, Cesare Fiorio will be among the special guests taking part in events in the Rallylegend Village, along with Malcolm Wilson, former World Rally driver and now general manager of the M-Sport team in WRC. The family of the unforgettable Colin Mc Rae will also attend, involved in the Best Impreza project with father Jimmy, mother Margaret, brother Stuart and daughter Hollie, who will also play a part in events at the Village, accompanied by her mother Alison.