For Alessio Rossano Bellan, the Salsomaggiore Terme Rally is one of the essential dates on the sporting calendar of each season and in 2023 the tradition will be respected with the driver from Taglio di Po ready to start.
After years of focusing on pursuing prestigious championships, first the IRC and then the CIRA, the Polesine will continue to live on the emotional wave, choosing the events that are close to his heart or that, for one reason or another, allow him to escape from everyday life.
“Our 2023 is a year of transition,” says Bellan, “and we will continue to select our presences based on the joy of being there, consistent with our professional commitments.” Salsomaggiore Terme is a race I love and since I first came here in 2020 with the Clio R3 I’ve always been there. It’s a race that I particularly like, I can’t wait.”
A happy marriage to date that is between the AB Motorsport flag bearer and the Emilian if you look at a scoreboard showing a third grade in 2020 and 2022 and a second in 2021 but which could have rewarded him more substantially.
“We’ll do our best,” adds Bellan, “but the main goal is to switch off and have fun.” Let’s hope it holds up as it’s always frustrated our plans here. We’ve had some class wins for tire choice, most notably last year when we got off to a bad start with four used used Cinturatos, only to come back as soon as the sun came out with special wins. However, we are confident.”
A Skoda Fabia Rally2 awaits Bellan, managed by Autotecnica2 and ready to be shared again with Susy Ghisoni, as she did on the Costa del Gargano.
There will be two days of competition, starting on Saturday July 29th, which will develop on the double passage of the “Show Salsomaggiore” (2.50 km), a tasty aperitif that anticipates the next part, Sunday July 30th, which will bring to the plate the triple round of “Pellegrino Parmense” (7.50 km) and “Varano de’ Melegari” (7.50 km).
“This year will be much tougher than in the past” – concludes Bellan – “because we will be competing with the Autotecnica2 Skoda Fabia Rally2.” We have always done well with the Rally4 and we have driven very fast here because I really like the practice. I love the track in Varano, it’s practically a hilly track, but the Pellegrino Parmense is also very nice. I’ll continue with Susy here too, hoping that I’m doing as well as I did on the Gargano. At last week’s radar retreat we took a look at the roster and I have to say there are some very respectable names. We only have four races left with this Fabia, so finishing in the top ten overall could be a realistic goal for us.”
