Pordenone, 12 February 2024_ It will be the 14th Italian Baja di Primavera, the fourth time of the Artugna Race concentrated in two days, Friday 15 and Saturday 16 March, to inaugurate the 2024 Italian Cross Country Baja and Side by Side Vehicles Championship with the appointment organized by the Fuoristrada Club 4x4 Pordenone.
The choice to run on the dirt roads of the foothills, from Polcenigo to Aviano, intersecting Fontanafredda and Budoia, was made in the post-pandemic period to offer a less difficult approach to the competitors at the start of the season compared to the river beds of the Tagliamento, the setting for the world championship race in the summer. Therefore, a rally route with some possible fording (depending on the whims of the weather) on the "stream that doesn't exist", the stream with two names. In the upper part it is perennial and is called “Cunath”, while in the lower part its riverbed is often dry and here it is called “Artugna" (source Pordenonewithlove.it). A watercourse that quenched the thirst of the ancient inhabitants of Budoia and gave them the stones to build houses and stables that are still resistant to the wear and tear of time.
The Spring Baja, like all off-circuit automotive challenges, is also an opportunity to look around, discover places and people, and adapt to the environment. The race is characterized by a single selective sector of 27.73 km to be repeated four times, with an interval after the first two laps to allow assistance from the mechanics at the Interporto Centro Ingrosso di Pordenone, where the competition headquarters will be installed.
Expected at the restart are the outgoing champions, Alfio Bordonaro (Ccb) and Amerigo Ventura (Svv), who made use of the Pordenone navigators Stefano Lovisa and Mirko Brun, the expression of an effervescent local "school" full of talent.
Artugna will kick off a new season full of excellent auspices.
Press Office Italian Baja
photo C. Capone
