ERC 2024 event guide: Rally di Roma Capitale

The brainchild of Max Rendina, a former competitor, Rally di Roma Capitale attracts huge numbers of fans and offers a tough but exciting challenge for drivers and their teams with plenty of twists, turns, surface changes, plus high ambient and ground temperatures.   

What? Rally di Roma Capitale, 2024 FIA European Rally Championship Round 5 of 8  

When? 26 - 28 July  

Where? Fiuggi and Rome, Italy 

What’s new? Event organiser Motorsport Italia is planning a new Power Stage location with details of another new stage due to be announced in the coming months.   

What’s in store? The focus of Italy’s ERC counter will be firmly on Rome on Friday 26 July when the Eternal City hosts the traditional driving parade, start ceremony and opening super special stage. Once again, the historic Colosseum will provide a stunning backdrop as the ERC stars go up against the clock in front of the world-famous landmark. From Rome, crews return to the town of Fiuggi to the southeast, the event’s hub for two days of intense action. Doubling as a round of the national championship, the ERC regulars can expect even bigger competition than normal. Indeed, only two non-Italians have won the event since it joined the ERC in 2017, making it one of the toughest events for visiting drivers on the 2024 calendar.

What the organisers have said? Bruno De Pinato, chairman of the organising committee: “Once again we’ll be bringing the rally right into the heart of Rome but also to the beautiful Lazio region. I’m very pleased to say the stage in front of the Colosseum will be back, as well as the driving parade through Rome, and we thank all the people and authorities who are making this possible because it’s a big undertaking. We can expect some real excitement.”  

What the drivers have said? Simone Campedelli, 2017 winner (CIR event): “It’s not an easy rally with medium-grip Tarmac. Fortunately, we make this rally in July when we expect really good weather. Because you don’t have so many corners where you can cut you can use quite a hard set-up. As a rally driver you always focus on the ‘real’ rally because the stages are really demanding. But [having the stage in Rome] is something we need in our world to get more people involved and passionate about rally. Like we say in Italy, ‘we need the bread every day’ and we have to create an atmosphere to help with the promotion and the visibility. The ERC always has a big appeal.”  

More information: https://www.rallydiromacapitale.it  

Rally di Roma Capitale is organised by Motorsport Italia through close partnerships with the Municipality of Roma Capitale, the Lazio Region, and a significant number of investors and other municipalities. First run in 2013, Rally di Roma Capitale made its ERC debut in 2017 as Italy returned to the European championship for the first time in four years when Rallye Sanremo was on the calendar. It proved a big hit then and continues to flourish now.