INDIA in F1

Tag: MRF Tyres Rally team

  • MRF Tyres secures fourth consecutive Italian Gravel Championship

    MRF Tyres secures fourth consecutive Italian Gravel Championship

    Cingoli, 19 November 2024: MRF Tyres team of Alberto Battistolli and Simone Scattolin clinched their first Italian crown capping off the weekend in style coming out triumphant in the Marche-based rally, 17th Rally delle Marche, the final event of the 2024 season.

    The Italian crew of Alberto Battistolli and Simone Scattolin won the 17th Rally delle Marche, claiming their first Italian Gravel Rally Championship of their career. 

    A fantastic season also saw Marchioro-Marchetti secure the 2WD title and Grossi-Cardinali triumph in the Pucci Grossi Trophy – ACI Sport Under 25 Cup.

    The Indian team celebrated its fourth Italian Gravel Championship title in a row. Following three consecutive wins with Paolo Andreucci in 2021, 2022, and 2023.

    An exceptional driving display, well supported by the team and the performance of MRF Tyres helped Battistolli and Scattolin lead from the opening stage to the finish, achieving their second victory of the season. This triumph sealed the championship with a final score of 71.5 points.

    Driving the Skoda Fabia RS Rally2, the crew showcased determination, performance, and resilience. Their late-season surge, including victories at Rally Vermentino and Rally delle Marche, overturned the standings and delivered their first national title. Despite intense competition, Battistolli managed to maintain focus during the final stages, balancing the need to push hard while avoiding mistakes.

    MRF Tyres’s other official crew, Emanuele Dati and Daiana Darderi, also delivered a strong performance. Competing in a Skoda Fabia RS Rally2 for the first time, Dati adapted quickly and secured an impressive seventh place in the overall standings.

    MRF Tyres’s season-long dominance extended beyond the top class. At Rally Vermentino, Nicolò Marchioro and Marco Marchetti, driving a Peugeot 208 Rally4, secured the Italian 2WD Championship with a round to spare as part of the MRF Rally Trophy Italia program. The success continued at the 17th Rally delle Marche, where Angelo Pucci Grossi and Francesco Cardinali claimed a remarkable victory in the Pucci Grossi Trophy – ACI Sport Under 25 Cup. Grossi, competing in his debut season with MRF Tyres, achieved this milestone in honour of his father, culminating an emotional season with a win in the Skoda Fabia Rally2 Evo.

    Alberto Battistolli:

    “This season has been a rollercoaster, but ending it like this is incredible. I want to share this success with Simone, the team, MRF Tyres, and everyone who supported us. Here at Rally delle Marche we gave everything, stayed focused, and pushed hard. The final stages were the toughest of my career, knowing we had to keep the pace and avoid mistakes to secure the title. It’s an amazing feeling and a fantastic way to close the year.”

    Classification  Campionato Italiano Rally Terra 2024 – Final Standings

    1. Alberto Battistolli pt. 71.5, 

    2. Tommaso Ciuffi pt. 51; 

    3. Umberto Scandola pt. 50; 

    4. Enrico Oldrati pt. 46; 

    5. Jaakko Lavio pt. 38

  • Team MRF Tyres crowned European champions again

    Team MRF Tyres crowned European champions again

    Chennai, August 19, 2023 Team MRF Tyres are the new 2023 FIA European Rally Champions. Team MRF Tyres scored a historic double as they secured this year’s title with two rounds to spare of the eight round 2023 FIA ERC Championship.

    Team MRF Tyres is the winner of the FIA European Rally Championship for Teams for a second year after it reached the penultimate event of the season with an unassailable advantage*.

    Team scores enough points before the start of Barum Czech Rally, to get their 2nd Team Championship title.

    Points scored by Simone Campedelli, Efrén Llarena and Mārtiṇš Sesks during the first six events of the 2023 ERC season were enough for Team MRF Tyres to celebrate another momentous achievement on the international motorsport stage.

    Vivek Ponnusamy, Team Representative who heads up MRF Tyres ERC participation, said: “History is not made, it is repeated and I’m incredibly happy and proud for the entire team right from the MRF Tyres management, the engineers, the tyre technicians, drivers and co-drivers, it’s a great achievement.

    “Coming to Europe as an underdog and performing at this level of competition and to win the FIA European Rally Championship for Teams back-to-back is phenomenal and I’m over the moon. Even if this weekend’s rally has not started, we are already drenched in champagne so it’s a very good feeling.”

    Team MRF successfully defended its 2022 team’s crown in what has been a hard-fought season with MRF Tyres taking on, and winning, against the established Global MNC rally tyre manufacturers. Having dominated in the FIA Asia Pacific Rally Championships for 9 wins, MRF Tyres set its sights on rallying in the top levels of European competition and joined the FIA ERC in 2020. With an intensive product development strategy, MRF Tyres soon started winning stages, rallies, and championships. This second championship win in the ERC is proof of the quality, performance and resilience of MRF Tyres.

    Team MRF Tyres entered the 2023 FIA ERC season with high hopes after a championship winning performance in 2022 and it was immediately clear that any result would have to be earned, as the field was one toughest in years.

    The season started well with a podium for Efrén Llarena and Sara Fernandez in the Rally Islas Canarias. After the podium success in Spain, the season moved to the fast gravel stages of Rally Liepaja and Rally Poland and Martins Sesks with Renars Francis would dominate these two fast rallies. Both rallies demanded absolute precision and confidence from the driver and the tyre, with the MRF product performing faultlessly throughout the events.

    The back-to-back wins put Team MRF Tyres in the prime position for the Team’s Championship, which was further solidified with another podium in the first Royal Rally of Scandinavia. With solid points, including vital Powerstage points for Simone Campedelli and Tania Canton at the Rally di Roma Capitale, the goal of a second Team’s Championship was achieved. To underline MRF Tyres’ success, the second team, the MRF Tyres Dealer Team sits third in the standings, having taken podiums with Mads Ostberg and Patrik Barth, along with stage wins for Andrea Mabellini and Virigina Lenzi.

    With two wins and two podiums in six rallies for Team MRF Tyres, it has undoubtedly been a year of sheer dominance.

    The team, however, will not back off in its pursuit of success in top line rallying in Europe. There are two rounds of the FIA ERC remaining, and the commitment to competition has never been stronger. The 2023 Team’s Championship sits alongside 2022 FIA ERC driver’s and team’s championship, along with championships from the Italian gravel and tarmac championship from 2021 and 2022 and the 2021 Finnish Rally Championship.

    Quotes

    Arun Mammen, Vice-Chairman & Managing Director, MRF Ltd.

    “I am extremely proud of the success achieved by MRF Tyres in the 2023 FIA European Rally Championship. As India’s leading tyre manufacturer we looked to take India to the world stage and compete in the toughest rally competitions in the world. We knew it would take dedication and determination to succeed and to do it once was a challenge, to back up that success in 2023 proves the talent and skill of the entire team at MRF Tyres. I would like to extend my congratulations to the team and I look forward to our future challenges.”

    Martins Sesks, driver, Team MRF Tyres

    “We came into this year knowing that it would be a challenge. In the FIA European Rally Championship, you have to earn every result, as the quality of the teams and the drivers is very high. I have been proud to represent MRF Tyres in the Championship and being able to stand on the top step of the podium after winning at home in Latvia and in Poland, has made me extremely proud. I would like to thank and I would also congratulate everyone at MRF Tyres for this Championship success.”

    Efrén Llarena, driver, Team MRF Tyres

    “I am proud to have been a part of Team MRF Tyres for the last couple of seasons and to be a part of their championship title success. As a team, we have put in so much hard work and we are always trying to improve, trying new ideas and looking for the extra tenths of seconds. You just have to look at the dedication of everyone at MRF Tyres, and you understand that this Championship didn’t come by chance, but by hard work. I would like to thank and congratulate the entire MRF Tyres team.”

    Simone Campedelli, driver, Team MRF Tyres

    “It has been a tough and rewarding season with MRF Tyres and it has been great to be a part of the Championship success. The testing and effort that has gone into the success from the entire team is clear. The success we have achieved across Europe makes it clear that MRF Tyres will play an important role in the future of European rallying. Congratulations to everyone in the team.”

    *Subject to confirmation of the results by FIA

  • Team MRF Tyres takes a dominant win on Rally Liepaja

    Team MRF Tyres takes a dominant win on Rally Liepaja

    Liepaja (Latvia), 19 June 2023: Team MRF Tyres has dominated the The Rally Liepaja, the fourth round of the 2023 FIA European Rally Championship with a double podium for MRF Tyres here on Sunday.

    Team MRF Tyres drivers Martins Sesks and Renars Francis won the rally by over 41 seconds, taking seven stage wins from the nine stages completed.

    They took maximum points, winning an incredibly tight Powerstage by 0.005 seconds to end the weekend on a high.

    The Lativan duo, in their Skoda Fabia RS Rally2, had the rally in control from the outset. They also set the fastest time in qualifying and then made it look easy on the stages.

    However, the Latvian roads demanded total confidence and precision from the team, car and from MRF Tyres, and they delivered with aplomb.

    With top speeds on the stages topping 120kmph on the loose gravel roads MRF Tyres and Sesks were in absolute control.

    The success for MRF Tyres continued with Mads Ostberg and Patrik Barth as they finished third for the MRF Tyres Dealer Team in their Citroen C3 Rally2.

    The Norwegian team set competitive times throughout the rally to take their second podium of the season.

    Team MRF Tyres saw an additional two cars inside the top 10 with Spanish duo of Efren Llarena and Sara Fernandez coming home in ninth ahead of Italians Simone Campedelli and Tania Canton.

    With two wins in a row, Sesks and Renars close in on the title lead and sit in second in the Driver’s standings.

    Furthermore, Team MRF Tyres has extended its lead at the top of the Team’s Championship.

    The next round of the FIA European Rally Championship is the Rally Sweden, taking the crews to a new gravel round in the Scandanvian summer.

    Martin Sesks, Winner, said: “What in incredible rally! I must thank my team and MRF Tyres for giving me such a fantastic car. The tyres were amazing throughout the weekend and really allowed me to push. To win at home once again was amazing. There were so many fans lining the stages! I am looking forward to the next round in Sweden.”

    Co-driver Efren Llarena said: “We are finding the speed we need this year. The MRF Tyres have been brilliant and we are looking forward to getting back out and really proving our pace. I would like to congratulate Martins, Renars on their victory and also to Mads and Patrik for their podium on MRF Tyres!”

    Simone Campedelli of Team MRF Tyres said: “This is a challenging rally! The roads are so fast and challenging and you earn every point in this Championship. I am really happy to have a clean rally and the MRF Tyres car has been great. Let’s look forward to Sweden and congratulations to Team MRF Tyres and Martins, Renars for their win!”

    Overall results for MRF Tyres drivers

    1. Sesks/Francis (Skoda Fabia RS Rally2)
    3. Ostberg/Barth (Citroen C3 Rally 2) +1:04.0
    9. Llarena/Fernandez (Skoda Fabia2 Rally evo) +2:18.3
    10. Capedelli/Canton (Skoda Fabia Rally2 evo) +2:27.4
    13. Mabellini/Lenzi (Skoda Fabia Rally2 evo) 3:01.0
    16. Radstrom/Johansson (Ford Fiesta Rally2) +4:00.7

  • Solid podium for MRF Tyres at Gran Canaria

    Solid podium for MRF Tyres at Gran Canaria

    Gran Canaria, 6 May 2023: Efren Llarena and co-driver Sara Fernandez won a solid podium for MRF Tyres in the 47th edition of the Rally Islas Canarias which concluded here on Satureday.

    It helped the Indian tyre giant’s rally team to continue on their improvement curve on the tarmac surface.

    Yoann Bonato is a two-time winner in the FIA European Rally Championship after a sublime drive to victory on Rally Islas Canarias today.

    With fellow Frenchman Benjamin Boulloud co-driving, Bonato started leg two 11.0s in front of European championship leader Hayden Paddon. He eventually triumphed by 36.9s following a day dominated by the changeable weather conditions – and some seriously close competition throughout the field.

    Paddon takes crucial second

    Paddon extended his title advantage in second place with defending European champion Efrén Llarena coming home third. Jon Armstrong claimed FIA ERC3 honours, Bendegúz Hangodi inherited the FIA ERC4 victory after long-term leader Roberto Daprà retired, while Michelin was the Winning Tyre.

    Efren Llarena & Sara Fernandez excel for MRF Tyres

    Between the team MRF Tyres crews, Efren Llarena together with Sara Fernandez finished in 3rd position: working on car setup throughout the day paid off as the two closed the event with a solid podium.

    In the top ten also Martins Sesks and Renars Francis who reached the finish in 8th position: the Latvian driver managed to gain some positions by finding a better feeling with car setup stage after stage, together with a better physical shape after some health issues in the previous days.

    Sadly, Simone Campedelli and Tania Canton had to retire during the last road section due to a technical issue: Simone was gaining some positions with a consistent run during the whole day.

    Fastest Crew

    What a day for Andrea Mabellini and Virginia Lenzi! they have been the fastest crew among the Dealer Team drivers, claiming their maiden ERC stage win in SS11. An unfortunate weather change in the morning meant he lost almost all the time gained yesterday but the young Italians managed to climb up as much as possible in the remaining stages with an aggressive driving style and they completed their crescendo with the second stage win on the power stage and a final 12th place. They are followed by Mads Ostberg paired with Patrik Barth in 18th position: the Norwegian kept working on the car’s setup and times on the boards showed that the direction taken was the right one.

    Italian duo, Andrea Nucita – Rudy Pollet positioned their car in 6th position in the final classification: satisfaction for his improved driving style setting the target to keep his pace as much higher as possible. For Bogdan Cuzma – Ilka Minor a solid event: positively impressed with the Medium compound behavior within the wet and damp and some good mileage for the next tarmac events to tackle. Unfortunately, Javier Pardo and Adrian Perez, has been forced to retire due to a double puncture in SS9.

    About the Rally Islas Canarias

    With the stages climbing and descending at a frequent rate, drivers pay close attention to corner speed and lines to ensure optimal momentum is maintained, while precise car set-up and pacenote accuracy are vital. One of the notable features of the sealed stages is the abrasive surface, constructed partly from volcanic lava. It means grip levels are high and remain constant if it rains, although tyre wear can increase in dry conditions. However, with the opportunity to take ‘cuts’ through corners limited, the roads remain relatively debris-free. The rally’s 47´th edition marks a return to a more traditional May date.

    Final provisional classification:
    3. Llarena Efrén – Fernández Sara +53.4
    6. Nucita Andrea – Pollet Rudy +1:15.0
    8. Sesks Mārtiņš – Francis Renārs +1:33.8
    12. Mabellini Andrea – Lenzi Virginia +1:47.5
    16. Østberg Mads – Barth Patrik +2:36.9
    21. Cuzma Bogdan – Minor Ilka +11:04.6

    DNF.Pardo Siota J. – Pérez Fernández A.
    DNF. Campedelli Simone – Canton Tania