Mon 27 May 2024
Ciprian Lupu has no plans to settle for making a sole appearance in this year’s FIA European Rally Championship following his one-off outing on Rally di Roma Capitale last season.
Romanian Lupu, who is tetraplegic and a wheelchair user, finished 17th in the ERC4 category and 10th among the RC5 class contenders alongside co-driver Andrei Pintilii on Italy’s round of the ERC in 2023.
As well as a return to Rally di Roma Capitale (26 - 28 July), Lupu hopes to contest Barum Czech Rally Zlín (16 - 18 August) and ERC newcomer Rally Silesia in Poland from 11 - 13 October aboard a Napoca Rally Academy-entered Renault Clio Rally5.
“My hope this year, also like last year, is to do three events but we managed to do just Rome last year,” Lupu said. “It was very hard for me because my physical condition affects me more when it’s hot but the target was to finish the rally and I did this.
“It’s possible to do Rome again, even with the heat because I know what to expect from it. After that we will go in Czech Republic and also we want to do Silesia in Poland. That’s the target for us and the chances are more than 80 per cent because we work in the winter to make this possible.”
Short film captures enormity of the achievement of Lupu’s ERC debut
Ciprian Lupu’s heroics in reaching the finish of his FIA European Rally Championship debut, last July’s Rally di Roma Capitale, have been captured in a short film. The film, the work of Mihai Luncan, is available to watch here:
https://www.facebook.com/ciprian.lupu.73/videos/1380780442843858
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