Ralliart Italy Rally Team Venezuela Mid-Programme Review

It’s three events down and three to go in Rally Team Venezuela’s onslaught on the WRC 2 Production Cup in partnership with Ralliart Italy.

It all started this season at Rally México, when Carlos Fessman, Alexander Gelvez and Alejandro Lombardo competed with their FIA North American and Central American Rally Championship team. After this WRC taster, they decided to join forces with three times FIA Production car World Rally Championship winners Ralliart Italy to take on the WRC 2 Production Cup in the second half of the 2013 FIA World Rally Championship calendar.

Ex-professional basketball player Fessman’s first event with the Italian team was Rally d’Italia where he clocked useful kilometres as a privateer, which would stand him in good stead for Rally Finland, his Production Cup opener. In Finland, he was joined by teammate Alexander Gelvez. Gelvez claimed a Production Cup podium on his first ever European rally, coming home third in the category and foretelling good things for the future of Rally Team Venezuela's WRC campaign.

Fessman returned to Rallye Deutschland alone, but immediately found himself comfortable on Tarmac and claimed his own Production Cup podium finish on the Trier-based event, having led the category earlier in the rally. Germany barreled into Australia and all three Rally Team Venezuela crews decided to take on the event Down Under.

With Alexander Gelvez graduating to drive a MINI John Cooper Works RRC at Rally Australia with Ralliart Italy’s sister team Motorsport Italia, this time out it was Lombardo who challenged the Production Cup field alongside Fessman. They successfully sealed second and third in the category, with Lombardo taking the runner-up’s spot on his first outing with the team.

A positive catalogue of results behind them, the three drivers now look ahead to Rallye de France where they will all compete in the Production Cup in Ralliart Italy-run Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X cars. They hope to see a continued improvement in their times and maybe even seal that elusive Production Cup win on the Alsatian Tarmac.

Team Manager Bruno De Pianto believes that the Venezuelan crews have met their targets so far and hopes that the season continues to unfold so positively: “It’s been great having the guys working with us. They’re very focused and a lot of fun to be around. The opportunity they’ve been given by Venezuela and its Ministry of Sport is fantastic. We’ve seen really encouraging progress so far and I don’t think it’s out of the question to see one of them winning the Production Cup category before the end of the season. There’s plenty more to come from these guys and it’s our pleasure at Ralliart Italy to be part of their journey.”


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