Team MRF Tyres have clinched the 2021 Italian Rally Championship-Gravel title – after Paolo Andreucci and co-driver Rudy Briani finished second in the Liburna Rally, the season finale. The Indian tyre manufacturer picked up the title in its first year competing in the championship.
- MRF wins Italian Rally title in debut season
- Andreucci clinches 12th Italian Rally title
- Campedelli and Trevsani finish in the top 10
Andreucci wins 2021 Italian Rally Championship for MRF Tyres
With Andreucci’s chief title rival Umberto Scandola retiring from the rally early on, Andreucci had to focus on finishing at least second to clinch the overall title. That is exactly what he did, piloting his Skoda Fabia Rally2 Evo to a second place finish in the Liburna Rally.
This is Andreucci’s 12th Italian Championship title victory. “A great rally ending a great season. At the beginning of the year, we had a goal to get a top three finish and being crowned champions today is an incredible result,” he said.
“This is my 12th title and this victory is due to the excellent teamwork from MRF Tyres and the H Sport team. Podium finishes over the last few races is testament to the amount of hard work that everyone has put in. Our performances over the last few months have been great.”
MRF Tyres in rallying
MRF has enjoyed a string of good results in international rallying this year. They recently also won the 2021 Finnish Rally Drivers’ Championship, with drivers Emil Lindholm and Reeta Hamalainen.
As for the team’s other drivers in the Italian Rally Championship, Simone Campedelli and co-driver Gianfrancesco Rappa overcame early gear shift issues to take fourth overall. Jacopo Trevsani and Andrea Marchesini gained more experience in the Rally2 class and finished eighth overall.
Meanwhile, Tamara Molinaro and Piercarlo Capolongo won the ladies category and finished third in the Under 25 category in their Citroen C3 Rally2. They finished 11th overall at the championship.
MRF will now be focusing on the European Rally Championship finale, Rally Islas Canarias, on November 18-20.
