As many as six drivers from the "Trinacria" region are expected at the start of the Italian Baja di Primavera. They will team up with UFO Samsa in the Trieste-based Big Inn team.
Pordenone, February 27, 2026. This has never happened before, as far as Italian off-road racing insiders can remember. As many as six Sicilian drivers will travel up the Italian peninsula to race in Friuli at the Italian Baja di Primavera – Artugna Race, the first stage of the new Italian Cross Country Championship, scheduled for Friday, March 13th and Saturday, March 14th, on the dirt roads of the foothills between Aviano, Budoia, and Polcenigo. The "reverse landing" operation is being orchestrated by Alfio Bordonaro, former overall champion of the specialty in 2022 and 2023, winner of nine editions of the Challenge Suzuki, almost entirely consecutive, from 2016 to 2025. He is loyal to the Hamamatsu brand, which, however, no longer offers its own trophy this year.
The Catania native will be at the start with a different Grand Vitara T1 than the one he used in the last three seasons, and his son Mario, a twenty-year-old with enduro experience, will make his four-wheel debut in a Group T2 Grand Vitara (series derivatives) to try to follow in his father's footsteps. Also coming out of Bordonaro's "garage" will be the Vitara driven by Chinti Marino Gambazza, thus resuming a broken connection with cross-country, and the one provided to Angelo Tomarchio, who is looking to explore new horizons after extensive Porsche Cup experience on the track. Completing the lineup are Mirko Emanuele and Carmelo Ciancio, driving their Vitara and Mitsubishi Pajero 3.5 V6s, respectively. Thus, a sixth entry from the "Trinacria" is piquing curiosity, especially since they will be supported by the Bologna-based Ito Motor Sport team from Monghidoro (Gianni Morandi's hometown), capable of making their engines "sing." They will also be teaming up with the Trieste-based Big Inn team, the same team as Fabio Samsa, who is expected to start with a Toyota Hilux Overdrive T1 Plus, already described as a sort of "UFO" in Italian Cross Country with the potential to shake up the rankings of recent years. Registration for the Artugna Race closes on Monday, March 9th.
The secretariat of the Fuoristrada Club 4x4 Pordenone reminds competitors that they must also register for the Italian Championship on the ACI Sport website if they wish to earn points for the championship race.
Italian Baja Press Office
Photo: Acisport
