Pirelli Juniors prepare for title showdown on final Italian Championship round

The Italian Junior Rally Championship, for drivers of two-wheel drive cars aged 28 or under, will be decided on this weekend’s Rally San Martino di Castrozza, held on the twisty mountain roads of the Dolomites from September 15-17. A Pirelli driver will definitely win the prestigious title – but which one? Both Renault Clio R3 driver Andrea Nucita and Citroen DS3 R3 driver Simone Campedelli and have a chance of lifting the title, thanks to a series of superlative performances this year on Pirelli’s rally tyres. After five rounds, Nucita currently leads the standings with 192 points to Campedelli’s 143. However, the points system still mean that it is possible for Campedelli – recently crowned Italian 2WD Champion – to claim the title. Nucita, co-driven by Sara Cotone, has the odds stacked in his favour but still has to make sure that he finishes the challenging all-asphalt San Martino event: no easy task, as it is one of the most difficult rallies on the Italian calendar. “I’m very proud to represent my home region of Sicily and naturally we will be trying our hardest to succeed here,” said the 21-year-old. “Throughout the season we’ve been very fortunate to have the support of Pirelli: the tyres have performed excellently in a very wide variety of conditions, which makes me optimistic for this latest round of the championship. But of course I am not taking anything for granted.” Campedelli, who has also been victorious on Pirelli tyres this year, has promised to go flat-out in order to try and wrap up his second title of the year. “Even though we started one rally later than our rivals this year, we still stand a mathematical chance of taking the Junior championship,” said Campedelli. “It’s not going to be an easy task, as it’s my first time here and we’re going to have to pay close attention to the changeable weather conditions. But we’re going to fight down to the very last metre of the rally!” Both Junior drivers have used a wide variety of Pirelli tyres throughout the course of the season, helping them to claim victories both on gravel and asphalt, in an ample range of different weather and road conditions. It has been another extremely successful season for Pirelli on the Italian Rally Championship, so far winning the overall title thanks to Paolo Andreucci and Peugeot Italia with two rounds to go, as well as the 2WD title with Campedelli on the penultimate round. The Rally San Martino di Castrozza, the final round of the Italian Championship, is well-known for its changeable mountain weather, and the event gets underway on Thursday 15 September with a ceremonial start and spectator superspecial stage. Two full days of action then take place on Friday and Saturday, before the finish back in San Martino on Saturday afternoon – where the 2011 Italian Junior champion will be crowned. *** For further information on Pirelli in rallying please contact: Anthony Peacock  +44 7765 896930 anthony@mediatica.co.uk