We are lifting the first veil on the 9th Sardegna Rally Race. OK, so the Bike Village aspiration of the Perfect Rally may seem presumptuous, as is expecting perfection. We shall be content if we hold a magical edition of a Rally that has been unequalled over the past nine years .
Nine is the number of triple perfection, a triangulation of exceptional events covering sky, sea and land. So why not make the 9th Sardegna Rally Race the perfect Rally? We shall do our best, as we do every year. We know that perfection is not of this Earth, of course, but we intend to make the Rally unequalled on our Earth, on the Paradise Island and in the 9th Celestial Sphere overlooking the Mediterranean.
We shall, momentarily, leave aside the atmosphere of the Sardegna Rally Race, universally recognized and adopted as a benchmark. It’s a competitive event but also a unique environmental and scenic experience imbued with life and passion. But please, allow us to illustrate the specific innovations studied for the 2016 Sardegna Rally Race, scheduled from 2 to 7 June next. Objective – triple perfection, remember.
– The Dates. 2-7 June. We chose the beginning of June as it is the virtual start of the holiday season and of big summer events. It’s a time of year when Sardinia is exploding with plant life, a paradise that is harder to recognize as such later on, when it becomes hotter and drier. It is an incomparable time to visit. Look at the calendar. A public holiday the day before, one at the end, and the great party of the Sardegna Rally Race in the middle. For the maximum saving of energy and holidays.
– Triple Ring Stage. Simply take a look at the Sardegna Rally Race Map and its optimized formula (by popular demand). A first Ring stage to open the Rally, with start and finish at San Teodoro, the Bike Village capital. And then, the Grand Finale with two other ring stages, both beginning and ending at Arbatax, the true paradise of the East Coast. That’s three final days of Rally, Sport and Holidays in a hugely acclaimed resort. You choose! The most compact of Rallies, hugely practical for Assistance and maximum enjoyment for companions, friends and family.
– Triple Competition Formula, three Rallies in one, plus a major innovation in the rules. The Sardegna Rally Race is a key event, the fulcrum of the World Calendar and of the Italian Raid TT Championship; plus a major new Bike Village development – the Enduro Rally Cup. The Sardegna Rally Race Enduro Rally Cup is a perfectly balanced solution. A national licence, an Enduro bike, standard production-bike autonomy and dedicated fast refuelling pits. With your Enduro bike, let’s be honest they’re the best for the Sardegna Rally Race, straight from home dirt tracks directly to Rally Heaven. What more’s on offer? Oh yes, SSVs can come too. Finally, there’s a Veteran Class, a category we requested in Geneva and that starting from this year is valid for the World Championship.
– Triple Deadline for entries. We are not trying to hurry you or breathing down your necks. We know you’re already on the case but three deadlines with different rates means that, once again, the early birds will benefit from the lowest registration fees in the history of the Rally Raid. We are talking just about Euro 2,000, about World Championships and about the most original, innovative and safest World Rally Race. Bear that in mind.
To end the triple must of the now historic Sardegna Rally Race: the loveliest route in the World Championship, traced with one eye on the competition and the other on Sardinia; and the Must of a Rally on home ground, in Italy and in Europe – the only one and, apart from anything else, the coolest. Five perfect stages in a Magical Triangulation of San Teodoro, Sa Itria and its fantastic Bivouac, and Arbatax. Plus much more, including a Super Prize in the pipeline but we shall talk about that and other things soon!
Piero Batini,