Pordenone, February 13, 2026. The wait has officially begun. Registrations open today for the Artugna Race, the 16th Italian Spring Baja, scheduled for March 13-14. It is the first of five events in the CI2C, the acronym for the 2026 Italian Cross Country Championship. The event is organized by the Fuoristrada Club 4x4 Pordenone with the support of ACI Sport, the Federation that is about to appoint the new National Commissions and announce a series of significant innovations for the upcoming season. For the sixth consecutive year, the Italian Baja di Primavera takes place on the bed of the "non-existent creek," near the foothills between the towns of Aviano, Budoia, and Polcenigo. The Artugna is a network of dirt sections, generally on a compact surface, but there are at least a couple of sections on muddy puddles that can swell in heavy rains. After all, off-roading is a race of endurance, daring, as well as speed: natural pitfalls and hazards are part of the game. However, the Artugna has track grip characteristics that make the challenge attractive even to rally cars, with the hope of expanding the competitor pool. Four steps on the single selective sector of approximately 30 km, from Aviano to San Giovanni di Polcenigo, do not create impossible ruts, and at the start of the season, even those with the most robust vehicles do not want to suffer severe mechanical stress. The race headquarters has been confirmed in the evocative setting of Villa Policreti in Castello d'Aviano, with the start and finish in Piazza Duomo. The last three editions have been won by Manuele Mengozzi from the Marche region in a Toyota Hilux Overdrive, last year teamed up with Elisa Tassile from Friuli.
Italian Baja Press Office
Photo credit Aci Sport
