It's nice on ice but Campedelli's ERC ambitions remain solid

The Italian ace scored a stage win on Rally di Roma Capitale and finished in the points on three occasions during a partial ERC campaign aboard a Škoda Fabia Rally2 Evo in 2023.  

He’s currently working on plans to contest the ERC-counting Rally Islas Canarias, Rally di Roma Capitale and Rali Ceredigion in an all-new Fabia RS Rally2 co-driven by Tania Canton and run by Step Five Motorsport.  

“Even if we’d like to, it’s unfortunately not in the plan to make the entire championship in ERC,” said the 37-year-old Campedelli. “So, my target, and I hope to reach it, is Canarias, Rome and the new rally in Wales.  

“I would like to remain in the international window and especially on Tarmac where I feel more comfortable.

“The car will be the new Škoda and we are speaking about the details with the same team, Step Five. It will be our fifth year together and when I feel comfortable, I don’t change the set-up and also because we won two championships in Italy.”   

Of his decision to select the all-new Rali Ceredigion as one of his target events, the 2023 Italian Tarmac champion explained: “The first reason is that it’s new for many drivers. The second reason is it’s Tarmac and the third reason is because I see a couple of video clips and the environment was really spectacular. I believe it’s a rally that if it’s raining or not steady conditions, you can play a big role in terms of strategy.”

Campedelli’s ERC campaign will be in addition to his overall Italian championship programme.

Campedelli to help an ex-ERC champion on the Monte
Prior to embarking on his competition schedule for 2024, Simone Campedelli will be on Rallye Monte-Carlo duty this week as part of 2019 European champion Chris Ingram’s ice note crew.  

“I started this big role with Robert Kubica, a good friend of mine,” Campedelli explained. “This gave me a big experience and in the last three seasons, Chris wanted me on his side. For me it’s a pleasure, it’s work, it’s an international window and now it’s almost nine years that I do the ice crew on Monte. I have a lot of experience and I know all the stages, even creating a database [to keep all the information].  

“With Chris we have this special relationship. He’s a good guy and, for me, he’s one of the best talents we have in this game right now. He could be at the top.”