Simone Tempestini becomes first Romanian driver to win a stage in the European Rally Championship

Simone Tempestini triumphed in the Rally Hungary and became the first Romanian driver in history to win a stage in the European Rally Championship.

Tempestini, an eight-time national champion of Romania, drove a Skoda Fabia RS Rally2 alongside co-driver Sergiu Itu, according to Agerpres. Together, the two won two of the thirteen special stages, were on the podium for another six, and completed the nearly 190 kilometers with a time of 1:52:50.4.

The Romanian team was 17 seconds faster than the second-place finishers, the French duo Franceschi Mathieu/Andy Malfoy, also driving a Skova Fabia RS Rally2.

The podium was completed by the Hungarians Miklos Csomos/Attila Nagy (Skoda Fabia Evo), 29.9s behind. Bogdan Cuzma and Danish co-driver Ditte Kammersgaard (Skoda Fabia RS) ranked 17th, 12:27.2 behind the winners. The team of Cristiana Oprea/Alexia Parteni (Opel Corsa Rally4) finished 8th in the ERC4 section, with a time of 2:30:12.1.

“We are extremely happy, I don’t even know what to say after this stage. I don't know how many believed in our chances to win a stage. We felt excellent here in Hungary, and we are happy to have brought the Romanian flag to the top step of the podium, especially since you all saw how many top drivers came to the stage. We won't have time to celebrate, the season has just begun, and we need to work hard at every kilometer of the special stages. We want to write a beautiful page in the history of Romanian motorsport," said Simone Tempestini.

Nearly 80 drivers took part in the race. A total of 28 Rally2 configuration models, similar to Tempestini's car, competed over the three days.

This marks the first time a Romanian driver has not only finished on the podium of a modern European Rally Championship stage but won a rally of this level. Tempestini, who was born in Italy but has lived in Romania for 15 years and received citizenship, becomes the current leader of the 2024 season in Europe’s most prestigious rally competition, with 33 points, followed by Frenchman Mathieu with 29 points.

Along with Titi Aur, Simone Tempestini holds the record for national titles in Romania, both having 8

This year, a total of 8 stages are scheduled. The next rallies are in Sweden, Estonia, Italy, the Czech Republic, the United Kingdom, and Poland.

(Photo source: fia erc European rally championship on Facebook)