WITH THE 46TH RALLY IL CIOCCO E VALLE DEL SERCHIO BEGINS, ON 10 AND 11 MARCH, THE ITALIAN ABSOLUTE RALLY CHAMPIONSHIP – CIAR SPARCO 2023.

RENEWED LOOK FOR THE OPENING RACE OF THE HIGHEST ITALIAN SERIES. THE IL CIOCCO RALLY WILL ALSO BE VALID FOR THE COEFF AREA RALLY CUP. 1,5

The spectacular natural scenery and the technical and demanding special stages of Garfagnana and Mediavalle, in northern Tuscany, will still host the 46th Il Ciocco and Valle del Serchio rally, opening 2023 of the Italian Absolute Rally Championship "branded" Sparco.

With the end of the Covid19 emergency, the structure of the traditional "first" tricolor of Il Ciocco, scheduled for 10 and 11 March next which, for the occasion, presents itself with a renewed look, involving again the territory of the province of Lucca. And it will do it in a big way, with the capital Lucca that will be the starting point of the 46th Il Ciocco and Valle del Serchio rally, thanks to the enthusiastic opening and collaboration of the Municipality of Lucca and the Automobile Club of Lucca ACI LUCCA - ACI Sport Trustee

News also regarding the stretch of road where the shakedown will be carried out, on the special stage "Mutigliano", near the city.

The final arrival is also back in the splendid main square of Castelnuovo Garfagnana, just below the majestic Rocca Ariostea. The beating heart of the rally remains in Tenuta Il Ciocco, a traditional venue since the first edition in 1976.

Registrations will open on Wednesday 8 February and will close on Wednesday 1 March.

THE RALLY IL CIOCCO AND VALLE DEL SERCHIO 2023 CIAR VERSION: HOW IT WILL BE.

As mentioned above, departure of the rally from Lucca, with the section that will start Friday, March 10, at 15.00, from the historic and prestigious Caffè delle Mura, in the center, after the crews have carried out, always in Lucca, at the headquarters of the city Automobile Club, the technical-sporting verification operations.

The arrival of section 1 is scheduled at Il Ciocco, at 4.30 pm, after the Power Stage of the race, called "Il Ciocco 1", has been carried out inside the Il Ciocco Estate, which will be broadcast live on television.

The start of Section 2 of the race will take place from Il Ciocco, at 7.00 am on Saturday 11 March to go to face a package of special stages that follows, broadly speaking, that of the 2022 edition, with "Careggine", which will be repeated three times, "Renaio", "Il Ciocco" and "Puglianella", with two passages each.

Final arrival in Castelnuovo Garfagnana, in the heart of the town.

Last year Andrea Crugnola won the Il Ciocco rally, with Ometto (Italian rally champions at the end of the season) on a Citroen C3 Rally2, ahead of Damiano De Tommaso, with Ascalone (Skoda Fabia Rally2) and Basso-Granai (Hyundai i20 Rally2).

VALERIO BARSELLA: "AT THE RALLY IL CIOCCO 2023 AS ALWAYS IMPORTANT NEWS"

Despite the 45 editions in the archive, the Il Ciocco e Valle del Serchio rally manages, every year, to propose something new.

"After the Covid19 emergency – explains Valerio Barsella, from the bridge of the opening race of the CIAR Sparco 2023 – during which, I remember, the Il Ciocco rally was still and always held, we returned to broaden our gaze, immediately finding a full adhesion, by the Municipality of Lucca and Automobile Club Lucca, to our proposal to start the race from the capital and to have Lucca also carry out the preliminary verification operations technical-sporting. We will return to Castelnuovo Garfagnana for the final arrival, where there is always a big party for this event. The race course, which has some variations, is a severe and probing test and is appreciated, in general, by many crews".

In the picture: The winners of the Il Ciocco and Valle Del Serchio 2022 Crugnola-Ometto rally

Credits: Luca AmicoRally Dal Porto

Italian Absolute Rally Championship Sparco ACI Sport