A fabulous entry list for Rallylegend 2014

More than 170 entry requests, among them many other champions, crews coming from 22 different countries, waiting for the official Entry List. A disproportionate car park 2014, with all the four-wheeled queens of the history of rallies at the start: sixty wonderful cars in the Historic category, around fifity in the Myth, more than thirty spectacular Legend Stars and a big success for the Wrc Hankook Trophy, with twenty-seven between World Rally Cars and Kit Cars.

It will be another astonishing Rallylegend, the one that will go on stage in the Republic of San Marino next 9th to 12th October.

More than 170 entry requests have reached the organisers, a very important number in itself and above all in the light of the serious crisis going on internationally and also in the world of motorsport.

“What has surprised us more pleasently even more than in the past - Vito Piarulli, General Manager of Rallylegend explains – is the international character of our event, with entry requests arrived from twenty-two different countries, with almost half of the crews coming from abroad, added to the high number of great champions who want to come back and take the start and to the valued quality of the enrolled cars, the true best of the best of the history of rallies. We are really glad to observe also the success of the Wrc-Kit Car Trophy, sustained by our new sponsor Hankook, with twenty-seven entries and first-level drivers: a result that really goes beyond our best forecast. A relationship with a good start and that I hope will go on throughout time, as it happened with Volkswagen, Asset Banca, Eberhard&Co., Official Time Keeping of the event, Valvoline, Sparco, Dado, Lauretana and Karcher”.

The staff of Rallylegend is thus working on the official Entry List, which could still reserve some important surprises, facing with great enthusiasm the final rush which will lead the Republic of San Marino in the heart of attention and passion of all those who love yesterday's and today's rallies starting on the 9th October. The support and the long-term collaboration with the Ministry for Sports and Tourism and with the Automobile Federation is particularly important and valuable.

GIGI GALLI AND ERIC COMAS AT THE START OF RALLYLEGEND

The last two resounding subscriptions to Rallylegend 2014 are those of Gigi Galli, who will entertain the audience on the Ford Focus Wrc, and of the Frenchman Eric Comas, former Formula 1 driver and F. 3000 champion, who will be rallying in the Historic cars on a fascinating Lancia Stratos. Two great aces, who add up to Stig Blomqvist, who will celebrate the 30th anniversary from the world rally title he won in 1984 on his Audi Quattro A2, driving the same car, to the multi-champion Juha Kankkunen, on the Lancia Delta Integrale, to Didier Auriol, in the Wrc Trophy, who is back on the Citroen Xsara Wrc of the D-Max Racing team, with which he won last year, to the Finnish champion Markku Alen, still very much beloved by fans of all over the world, with the faithful Ilkka Kivimaki again on the Lancia 037, to Armin Schwarz who will be back behind a Wrc wheel. Luis Moya will also be present, next to Bernhard Ostmann on the Volkswagen Golf Gti group 2 of the Sports Museum of the German House. Forerunner to all these rally aces and to all crews will be Jari-Matti Latvala, together with his co-driver Miikka Anttila on the Volkswagen Polo R Wrc, with a fresh world title for Constructors Championship in 2014 for the second year in a row and of course main sponsor of the event. Hans Thorszelius, on the other hand, will be present in San Marino to remember his legendary driver, Bjiorn Waldegaard, the Swedish ace who recently passed away. The organisers together with the other champions and the fans will celebrate his endeavours.

MANY CHAMPIONS PRESENT AT RALLYLEGEND, COMING FROM ALL OVER EUROPE

Together with the champions of the World Rally Championship, there will be many other important drivers of the international scenario who will take part to Rallylegend. Among them, the following names are to be underlined: the Norwegian Valter Jensen (Lancia Rally 037), multi-champion in the Historical European Championship, the Germans Manfred Pommer (Audi Quattro A2), rallycross European vice-champion in 1995, Oliver Louisoder, driver of endurance races of excellent level, who is entering Rallylegend with an unusual Jaguar E-Type, Dieter Depping, tester and many times German and Dutch rally champion, the Czech Miroslav Janota (Opel Kadett Gte), protagonist of the Historic Eurorally and Petr Fulin (Opel Kadett Gte), Etcc S2000 champion in 2013 and a specialist in endurance races. Other prestigious presence is that of the journalist Michael Gerber, together with Peter Thul, Responsible for Volkswagen Brand and Product Marketing, onboard the wonderful Audi Sport Quattro S1, of Yvonne Metha, wife of the lamented Kenyan champion Shekhar Metha, who will be co-driving the Englishman Whitehouse on a Lancia 037, and of the Portuguese Antonio Pinto Dos Santos, who will be bringing the Renault 4 L back to rallies, the same he rallied with in the world championship some years ago.

The group of the Italian champions is also very much nourished, first in row is “Lucky” Battistolli, yesterday's champion as an offical driver and today's again on historical cars, coming to San Marino with his fascinating Ferrari 308 Gtb, then “Bobo” Cambiaghi, protagonist in the 70s and coming today at Rallylegend 2014 on a Porsche 911 with the journalist Emanuele Sanfront as a co-driver. Other protagonists will be Bruno Bentivogli (Alfa Alfetta Gtv6), Piergiorgio Bedini (Ford Escort MkII), Graziano Rossi, motorbike champion and coming here with his spectacular Bmw M3, as Mauro Miele, then Simone Romagna, rally gravel champion and Marcello Miotto with the Lancia Delta Integrale, Marco Gramenzi (Lancia Delta S4), the ace of the uphill races, “Pedro”, European champion of the "historicals" in 2013, Enrico Brazzoli, another protagonist of the continental historical rallies, Giuseppe Bosurgi and Paolo Baggio, on four bright Lancia 037, Giovanni Recordati, coming back on a Porsche 911, Tobia Cavallini (Citroen Xsara Wrc), Edoardo Bresolin (Peugeot 307 Wrc), Fabrizio Colombi (Skoda Fabia Wrc) and Carlo Falcone, the “flying consul”, for the first time on the Ford Focus Wrc. And finally, Piero Gobbi will be back on his Lancia Stratos and Flaviano Polato, with his small and cute Fiat 126 rally.

THE DRIVERS FROM SAN MARINO HONOUR THE HOME EVENT OF THE YEAR.

There are about thirty entirely Sammarinese crews, plus some "mixed" who have strongly wanted to be present at the most important rally event of the season in the Ancient Land of Freedom. A concrete way to express the devotion towards Rallylegend, which is for San Marino not only a sports event, but also the event with the highest resonance and bringing to the small Republic the highest number of spectators of the whole year. On a rally car will also sit Paolo Valli, who will be behind the wheel of his incredible Lancia Delta S4, divided between organising duties and special stages. But among the top drivers of the rally we will see also the guaranteed Giuliano Calzolari (Ford Escort Rs), Stefano Rosati (Talbot Lotus), Davide Cesarini (Ford Escort Rs1600), Marcello Colombini (Bmw M3 E30), Loris Baldacci (Fiat Punto Kit). And with a debut at Rallylegend - full of emotions - of the young Andrea Ercolani, on an Opel Kadett Gte. The son of that Massimo Ercolani, who was taken away from his affectionates too early, some years ago and who still remains the greatest rally champion that the Republic of San Marino has ever had.

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