Diesel motorsport debuts for Italian marques

Italian marques Fiat and Alfa Romeo are no strangers to motorsport, however, each will have noteworthy local motorsport debuts next month. Indeed, the brands will each be pursuing honours with diesel-powered vehicles for the first time.

The first Latin oiler to take to the track will be an Alfa Romeo 159 2.4 JTD at the WPS Bathurst 12 Hour production car race on Easter Sunday, April 8. To be sponsored Supercharge Batteries and Thomson Alfa Romeo of Parramatta, the JTD will be driven by Thomson Alfa Romeo's Kean Booker and Rocco Rinaldo as well as Alfa Romeo Australia head honcho, David Stone.

"The 159 JTD a private entry, so I will be at the wheel in a personal capacity!" says David Stone (pictured with (l-r) Booker and Rinaldo). "But that doesn't mean I won't be out to prove everything we have been saying about diesel and Alfa Romeo being a perfect fit. Bathurst is the ideal place for it.

"On a track like Mt Panorama, torque is highly important, and fuel economy in an endurance race can be decisive as well. Add in the fact that we will probably have one of the cars with the lowest emissions at the event and it is clear that the 159 JTD will not just be a very different car at Bathurst, but also one that has the potential to be the surprise car of the event!" Stone said.

Fiat's Australian diesel competition debut will come in the tarmac rally sphere -- specifically the 2007 Targa Tasmania which kicks off with the official Prologue in George Town near Launceston on April 17.

Motorsport veteran, Phil Buggee and co-driver Paul Freame, will be behind the wheel of Fiat Punto 1.9 Sport competing in the Showroom category of the greuelling six-day event.

Buggee and Freame are past class and category 5MS winners in Targa Tasmania, and are making their competitive return to the event after sitting out 2006. Buggee is a life-member of the Fiat Car Club of Victoria and has been racing and rallying Fiats for over 30 years.

"When the opportunity came up to drive the Punto in Targa we jumped at the chance, and with the support of BP in Tasmania and Pirelli, we've made it happen."

"We are looking forward to contesting the Modern section after five years of competing with the Classics, in a brand new car, literally straight off the showroom floor," Buggee said.

"The chance to be the first turbodiesel to compete in Targa Tasmania is just one of the firsts for this project."

"We're probably going to use less fuel than any other car in the field. We reckon our total usage will be less than 250 litres for the whole trip," Buggee said.

Meantime suggestions of a factory-backed (petrol-engined!) entry into the 2008 Australian Rally Championship are gaining weight. Fiat debuted is S2000 Punto successfully in the Safari Rally in Kenya earlier this month.

Wearing the factory Abarth colours (see pics of the car's Geneva show debut), the Punto took out the Intercontinental Rally Challenge (IRC) classification at the iconic event despite a puncture and a gearbox failure.

Look out for the Carsales Network's coverage of both the WPS 12 Hour and Targa Tasmania next month.

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