A strong response from competitors for the event organized by the Automobile Club Sassari: over thirty crews are competing for the European Championship with names of undisputed prominence. To the 98 of the three rallies, another 23 are added in the average speed race.
Porto Cervo, April 21, 2026 – The wait is over: the entry lists for the 9th Costa Smeralda Historic Rally – Martini Trophy have recently been released, and the satisfaction with the response is palpable among the staff of the Automobile Club Sassari, organizer of the event scheduled in Porto Cervo starting Thursday, April 23, with the first part of the administrative and technical checks, and running until the afternoon of Saturday, April 25, with the awards ceremony at the end of the two race legs.
One hundred and twenty-one registered crews is a significant number that rewards the effort put into the constant growth of the rally since October 2018, when, even without championship validity, it began its journey, immediately becoming a fixed appointment for several drivers. The peak was reached with the continental validity, which is combined with the national one (Tricolore)—a triple achievement for the latter, given that it is extended to the historic rally, the “classic” rally, and the historic regularity rally.
Eleven nations are represented, and about twenty crews from across the border are ready to face their Italian “colleagues” for a challenge that will be played out over more than 150 timed kilometers and twelve special stages. Thirty-three appear on the entry list of the rally valid as the second round of the pre-1992 FIA European Historic Rally Championship, where the number 1 has been assigned to the Toyota Celica ST185 of reigning champion Jari-Matti Latvala, navigated by Topi Luhtinen. Behind them will start the Porsche 911 RS of Angelo Lombardo and Roberto Consiglio, followed by the Ford Sierra Cosworth 4×4 of Valter Pierangioli and Michela Baldini, strong national crews certainly with an extra incentive given by the challenge against the four-time WRC vice-world champion. Among the crews to watch closely will certainly be the one formed by Bertrand Fassio and Jean-François De Montredon, also with a Porsche 911 RS; the same goes for Osian Pryce and Dale Furniss with the very fast Ford Escort RS. The highly anticipated locals Emanuele Farris and Giuseppe Pirisinu on a Porsche 911 SC/RS, as well as Vittorio Musselli and Massimiliano Frau with a similar car, will try to give them a run for their money. Also at the start is Renato Travaglia, ready to redeem himself after his retirement in Arezzo, with the BMW M3 shared with Massimo Nalli; special attention also goes to Enrico Brazzoli, already a continental titleholder, who shows up with the Porsche 911 RS alongside Martina Musiari.
Following the entries for the European race, the platoon of drivers chasing the Tricolore (Italian Championship) will start, for which the Costa Smeralda is the second of the eight seasonal rounds. The first of them will be Natale Mannino together with Giacomo Giannone with the Porsche 911 SC, followed by the BMW M3 of Adriano Lovisetto in his “debut” at the Costa Smeralda rally, alongside Marco Corda. It is also a debut on the technical roads of Gallura for Andrea Smiderle and Gianni Marchi with the Subaru Legacy 4WD. In the 4th Group, there is also the Sierra Cosworth of Giorgio Costenaro with Elsa Dal Dosso on the pace notes, as well as the BMW M3 with which Matteo Luise and Melissa Ferro appear at the start of a rally that has brought them considerable satisfaction in the past with the Fiat Ritmo. Remaining among the more recent cars, the Peugeot 309 GTI stands out, with which the young rising star Valentino Ledda will make his debut among the “Historics,” flanked by Lorenzo Fratta, who will duel in the class with the other local crew composed of Antonio Dettori and Marco Demontis in a Renault Clio 16S.
In the 3rd Group, Enrico Volpato and Samuele Sordelli with the Ford Escort RS, and the crews of the other 911 SCs, Riccardo Bianco – Matteo Barbiero and Beniamino Lo Presti – Agostino Benenti, will certainly try to threaten Mannino. The challenge for supremacy in the 2nd Group is also one to watch entirely, where the protagonists will be the Porsche 911s, with that of Giosuè and Fabio Rizzuto, already a protagonist in the CIRAS opening, battling it out with that of Nicola Tricomi with Christian Soriani. For the record, there is one car competing in the 1st Group: the BMW 2002 of Francesco Mannino and Marco Romeo.
Among the lower engine capacities, watch out for the performance of Tiziano Nerobutto in the “1600”, returning this year to the wheel of the Volkswagen Golf GTI together with Giulia Zanchetta, engaged in a derby with one of the loyalists of the Costa Smeralda, Elba’s Massimo Giudicelli flanked by Miriam Iuretig. The same goes for the “1300” with the Peugeot 205 Rallyes of Galullo – Calandriello, Casalloni – Figoni, and Pessot – Mazzone.
Twelve Autobianchi A112 Abarths are competing in the namesake Trophy, a private series that in this edition will also be joined by the Memory Fornaca organized by the “Amici di Nino”.
Also present are the “Classic” cars, namely those from the 1993 – 2000 period, with four registered crews among which stands out the Ford Escort Cosworth of Riccardo Mariotti and Giuseppe Tricoli facing off against Giuseppe Messori and Pietro Paolo Cottu in a Mitsubishi Lancer.
Finally, there are ten cars that will compete in the regularity rally with an “average 60” (60 km/h) to which another thirteen are added in the “average 50” (50 km/h) category; for them, the challenge will end after the eleventh precision stage, reaching the podium at the Molo Vecchio of Porto Cervo before the rally cars.
Lastly, expressing satisfaction with the total numbers is the President of ACI Sassari, Giulio Pes di San Vittorio; a result achieved through the intense work carried out and the collaborations that made everything possible. Therefore, heartfelt thanks go to: the Autonomous Region of Sardinia, the municipalities of Olbia and Arzachena, and all others involved in the rally; furthermore, to the partners of the event such as Smeralda Holding, Sparco, Martini, Cerasarda, Pirelli, Testoni Bunker Point, Sardares, Cantine Surrau, and Gruppo Autoplus.
