The Can Am Maverick podium saw the Mantua team take the lead in impressive form ahead of Castagnera-Marcon and Cisella-Mingozzi. A tough and selective race that gave the Italian Cross Country Championship field a run for its money.
Today, the car and motorcycle "test race" for the World Championship bid concludes.
May 17, 2026_ "Two days of extremely tough and uncertain racing," in the words of its protagonists, and the 2026 Sardegna Rally Raid awarded the Italian championship victory to Alessandro and Marco Trivini Bellini in a Can Am Maverick T4 with a total time of 7:11'25''. They were the most inspired to tackle a difficult and complicated route, designed by Tiziano Siviero as a miniature of "his" Dakar, concentrated into two days plus one. Indeed, a third selective sector is still being run today to complete the "test race" for the 2027 FIA (car) and FIM (motorcycle) world championships. But since the Italian Cross Country Championship competitors are free to decide whether to further torture their worn-out vehicles from the comings and goings through forests and scree, and to find residual energy in their muscles before returning to their work routine tomorrow, many have thrown in the towel. Both are more than justified in putting themselves back in the game today for "flagship honor," accepting the Automobile Club Sassari and Motoclub Insolita Sardegna's global 500km timed challenge. Nonetheless, the Mantua team's success was clear and worthy: first on Friday at the end of the first stage, ahead of Andrea Castagnera - Alberto Marcon on a Can Am T3, 2'41'' behind, and Kevin Manocchi - Gianluca Sbaraglia on a Yamaha Yxz, 14'39'' behind; Castagnera and Marcon finished first again yesterday, ignoring the extremely stressed brake issues, closing the gap to 2:39. Alejandro Martin Cisella and Erika Mingozzi, also in a Can Am T4, took third place, though they were 17:34 behind, adding a 10-minute penalty. Aside from the first two finishers, everyone from Cisella on down suffered more or less substantial penalties, both for missing some of the waypoints along the course and for going off the road (no major incidents), resulting in difficult recovery and lengthy service stops. Junior Manocchi finished fourth at 41:06. The turbo engine replacing the naturally aspirated one didn't have the desired effect, "but coming to Sardinia has already been a gift from an anonymous benefactor, and there will be more changes for the Italian Baja in June," said his father Michele, who finished sixth. In the middle of the "Manocchi sandwich," the Sicilian-Friulian duo of Alfio Bordonaro and Stefano Lovisa in a Suzuki Grand Vitara, proudly and determinedly topped Group 1 (prototypes). Having lost rivals Lorenzo Codecà and Gilberto Minetti due to navigation and mechanical issues, and Stefano Sabellico and Andrea Taloni due to a collision with a tree (both in a Vitara), the remaining class drivers struggled in the rear, each with their own battered vehicles: Andrea Schiumarini and Daniele Fontana Sacchetti (Mitsubishi L200) over 5 hours, and Alessandro Uliana and Alessandro Santuz (Isuzu Trooper) over 6 hours. Seventh place in the top ten, which clearly pleased Alberto Gazzetta and Andrea Pizzato, first in Group TH (homologation expired) in a livelier Suzuki Jimny than ever, skillfully exploiting its compact size and ease of driving on the maze of forest tracks. The winners of the Artugna Race, Andrea Tomasini and Angelo Mirolo in a Polaris Razor T4, had to settle for eighth place this time, but it was already something of a miracle to be back at the start yesterday after a wheel blown off on Friday and the accumulated delay. Not bad was the ninth place for Stefano Rossi and Erica Bombardini in a Mitsubishi Pajero, who also had a series of minor problems, but were perfectly offset by TH's second place. The ordeal for Gianluca Morra and Stefano Tironi, who had been racing with a broken axle shaft on Friday, ended with their Suzuki Grand Vitara returning to Molo Brin in Olbia, finishing tenth overall and first in Group T2.
Italian Baja Press Office
