The long weekend of the Italian Baja 2007 begins today, the opening round of the Fia international cross country bajas and the Italian rallyes tout terrain championship. In the afternoon at the Dream village of Cordenons the start of the sporting and technical checks (from 15 to 19.30) which will then continue tomorrow morning (from 8 to 13.30), to give the definitive picture on the competitors at the start in the car and quad categories.
Engines still off. The great off-road event therefore comes to life with a whirlwind of chatter and predictions in many different languages among the professionals, especially mixing English with the most disparate inflections. In racing drivers from Spain, Portugal, Brazil, Germany, Belgium, Great Britain, Poland, Czechia, Slovakia, Hungary, Russia, Israel, Japan, Qatar, Lithuania and of course Italy. The common denominator is the passion for four-wheeled adventures, whether by car or motorbike, on rough and spectacular routes.
Accredited only from abroad as many as 42 journalists, photographers and TV operators: a great deployment of communicative forces for the Italian Baja which is proving that it once again has the credentials for top-level FIA competitions, as evidenced by the constant growth of also registered in the European dimension of the Cross Country specialty. At the level of car manufacturers, by now historical Japanese dominance with Mitsubishi (25, one third of the cars in the race field) overriding Nissan (17) and Suzuki (14).
The greatest commitment concerns Ralliart off-road division and Renato Rickler's team, with six crews and above all the reigning Italian champion, Roberto Ciampolini, on a Mitsubishi Pajero 3.2 Did turbodiesel. Also to keep an eye on is the Nissan of the Japanese champion Kenjiro Shinozuka. But the romantics of the specialty resist with their custom-built prototypes like Giuseppe Fornasari, who lines up four RR 450s, one driving it personally and the other three entrusted to Mario Ricci, Tonino Tognana and Franco Grigoletto. Then there are Valter Benazzato in a Peugeot 604 R and Riccardo Colombo in a Renault Megane. All to discover the values of the Autoport Evo4 of the Hungarian Sandor Kis, of the Buggy Smg of the Polish Komornicki, also citing the Bowler Wildcat 200 of the British Paul Mitson and David Johnston.
Extravagant bodywork, strength and reliability all to be verified, but an extraordinary desire to put oneself to the test while the crisp spring air gives the Italian Baja a special charm. , current Fiat driver returning from the Dakar with a brand new Panda in rally raid version, but the operation did not go through and the Bassano will be "only "the guest of honor of the event.
