The 107th edition of the Targa Florio officially opened the Italian Absolute Rally Junior Championship 2023 and at such a prestigious stage the rally team did not want to miss its presence and went to the with a young son of art who had already distinguished himself during this period Start of the past season.
We’re talking about Matteo Doretto who, together with Andrea Budoia, started his journey under the Italian flag reserved for the young promises of the future from the classic of classics.
The series signed by ACI Team Italia therefore started from the third act of the Absolute Italian Rally Championship, the first round on the fast and slippery Sicilian roads, and saw the driver from Pordenone start Friday’s show at a good pace, in seventh place but not far from the best.
The first lap on Saturday, at legendary specials that have written the history of our national rallying, allowed the Rosà team driver to close the gap with his predecessors and put himself in the position that could bring him close to the podium .
A few missteps, a few maneuvers dealing with a tricky inversion kept him stuck and he always finished the repeat of the three time trials in seventh place.
As positions seemed to have frozen, the Pordenone rider moved up a box in the final game of the day, round three at “Lascari – Gratteri” to finish the series’ opening act in sixth place among the CIAR junior competitors RC5N group and in the Rally5 class.
A booty increased by eighth place among the U25s, which also places him in the provisional classification of the tricolor at number thirteen, looking to the future with a great desire to progress.
“It was quite a difficult race” – says Doretto – “because there are roads over there with a very slippery surface, atypical compared to the races usually done in Italy. We focused on driving throughout the race. In one practice session, on both laps, I made a wrong U-turn and had to swerve, so I lay on the road for a few seconds. All in all, the Clio performed well, although we probably didn’t have an entirely suitable set-up for the conditions. It was our first time at ACI Team Italia and I have to say I had a pretty good time. I’m happy with the performance and the result because we brought the car home without taking any unnecessary risks in a race where the end is not so obvious. We’ve collected a few points for the championship and they can’t hurt. Now we have to try to close the gap to the best in the category in the face of a San Marino that will be the first race on gravel of the two scheduled in the championship. Full throttle ahead.”
“Making his Italian debut at the Targa Florio was a good test for Matteo” – reiterates Pier Domenico Fiorese (Rally Team President) – “and I must say that he coped very well with such an important debut. The Absolute Italian Rally Junior Championship will be a very formative showcase for him, as he can count on the professionalism of ACI Team Italia. I’m sure he can grow fast and we’ll see him fighting for the important positions soon. We will support him as best we can as a team.”
