Ecomotori Abarth 500 CNG - natural born winner

© EcomotoriUnassuming as it may be, the Abarth 500 CNG proves to be a "pocket rocket" and a force to be reckoned with

The Italian Alternative Energy Championship may be a low profile rally series, but what about the FIA World Championship for Alternative Energies? Having won the 2015 Monte Carlo rally, driver Nicola Ventura and co-driver Guido Guerrini now lead the general standings, so now the challenge is to keep the good pace until the end of the season. We wish the Ecomotori Racing Team luck and success, but history shows that those who win rally by rally at the beginning of the season tend to "burn out” later on and lose in the long run. Hopefully this will not be the case.

As for the latest victory, the Monte Carlo rally was quite a difficult one since it lasts for three days and is over 1000 km long. The Ventura/Guerrini duo ranked ninth after the first three special stages (out of seven overall), but then pushed the pedal to the metal and won the entire event. The team's tempo was so good that the final two special stages actually just went to confirm they were going to win, but it was certain anyway. Last but not least, the Abarth 500 CNG (equipped with a Bigas system and Cavagna tanks) achieved remarkable results in the energy consumption category – it came tenth. This means it was the most efficient non-hybrid, non-EV in the rally.

The credit for low energy consumption goes to the important technical work carried out by Bigas on the eve of the race, which allowed the CNG-converted Fiat 500 Eco-Abarth to have a great performance on the difficult climbs that lead up to the legendary hills like the Col de Turini, while at the same time maintaining a really low level of energy consumption.

Nicola Ventura, driver

Having celebrated the victory at Rally Monte Carlo, the team are already thinking about the next event in the calendar – the San Marino-Vatican City Ecorally, scheduled for mid-May. Will they add a third victory to the collection? We'll have to wait and see, but let's keep our fingers crossed.