Campedelli reveals his hopes for 2023

The popular Italian hopes to build on what he learned during the 2022 season, during which he contested six rallies aboard a Škoda Fabia Rally2 with championship winners Team MRF Tyres. 

Campedelli’s season didn’t start the way he’d anticipated with a suspension fault ruling him out of contention in the opening round. A trip into a ditch at ORLEN 78th Rally Poland was another cause for frustration, but the 36-year-old continued to collect solid points for his team, highlighted by a second-place finish on home soil at Rally di Roma Capitale. 

Quizzed on his plans for the new year, Campedelli confirmed his desire to remain with MRF for a full eight-round programme. A deal is still being negotiated - although FIAERC.com understands that MRF is unlikely to announce its line-up before February - around one month prior to the Fafe season opener (11 - 12 March).

“After doing six rallies in the ERC this year, a full campaign is what I’m really hoping for - that is my main goal and I have already spoken with MRF about it,” said Campedelli. “We have been working together for two years now and I would like for this to continue, but of course, I have to await their decision. 

“I think that we showed really good speed in some places and we have a lot of positive things that we can take from this season. In places, especially on Tarmac, we showed that we could be really, really competitive. 

“Unfortunately at the beginning of the season we had two rallies which were not so good for us - we struggled a lot with the car in Fafe and Azores. I also paid a lot for my inexperience in Poland - but considering our experience I think it was also not that bad.”

Campedelli was quick to point out his reliable finishing record this season. Alongside ERC rounds, the Fabia man also won the Italian Tarmac series - finishing 11 of the 13 rallies he started. 

“We competed in 13 rallies this year,” he said, “and we arrived at the end of 11 of them - we had one retirement for technical failure and another for an accident. I think that is really a statistic we can be proud of.

“When you are working for a tyre manufacturer, it’s important to bring home as much data as possible so that we can continually develop better tyres. When you consider that, I believe we have done a strong season.”