FAST FIATS COMING TO CUMBRIA

Carlisle will witness it’s own version of the “Italian Job” with the news that the prestigious manufacturer backed Fiat Rally Cup will be a feature of the Pirelli International Rally which returns to Carlisle after a three year absence over the weekend of 20/ 21 May bringing all the top contenders in the Kwik Fit/ Pirelli British Rally Championship back to Cumbria.

The 2005 Fiat Rally Cup is likely to attract the countries crop of up and coming talent who will go head to head in identical Fiat Stilo’s, the stylish Italian cars tweaked to give some 190 bhp. Some 40 cars, previously used in the Italian Copa Stilo series have been made available to intending competitors and there is likely to be no shortage of takers with the series offering a £20,000 prize fund plus a brand new Fiat Stilo Abarth for the outright winner and £2,000 for the winner of each round.

A spokesman for the Pirelli International Rally commented, “We are delighted to welcome the Fiat Rally Cup drivers to Carlisle and feel sure they will enjoy the challenge of tackling the stages in North Cumbria and Kielder Forest and having the opportunity to compare their times with the top stars in the British Rally Championship. It’s a tough challenge and whoever comes out on top will certainly have earned their money”

The Pirelli International Rally is the second round of the Kwik Fit/ Pirelli British Rally Championship, one of the longest running events in the championship, it returns to Carlisle after having been based in Gateshead for the last three years.Further information on the 2005 Pirelli International Rally is available from the event’s Media Manager, Ed Graham, [email protected]