TURIN (ITALPRESS) – The wait is over, the year 2025 will officially see the return of Lancia to the world of competition and rallying, thanks to the new Lancia Ypsilon Rally4 HF and the unprecedented Lancia Trophy, the first edition of which will be held precisely in Italy. In fact, it will be the appointments of the Campionato Italiano Assoluto Rally (CIAR) that will hold the baptism of the new competitive course of the Turin-based manufacturer, with a calendar composed of 6 races in five appointments and a final staggering prize: a place in the official Lancia team in the European Rally Championship 2026, if the Champion will be an Under35!A unique prize in the tricolor panorama, which aims to bring young people back to high-level international contexts. The award is in addition to the already rich prize pool worth 160 thousand euros, which will distribute a value of 22.5 thousand euros at each round. With entries still closed, there are already more than 80 Lancia Ypsilon Rally4 HFs pre-ordered at the European level. A resounding result that makes the small racing hatchback a commercial success even before its homologation, scheduled for March 1, 2025.Each appointment on the calendar will host inside its service park the “Lancia Corse HF Village,” a real beating heart where drivers, insiders, guests, partners and fans will be able to meet and discover all the news related to the Brand that, with its 10 world titles, has more than anyone else written memorable pages in the history of this discipline.Lancia will be personally involved as promoter of the Trophy, which has already found the support of important partners such as Michelin and Sparco. The Turin-based brand will then be assisted by two important companies active in the world of competition: LPD Italia for the sporting, technical and logistical part while Gino Motorsport will take care of the part related to spare parts in the race field.Registration for the Lancia 2025 Trophy has a cost of 2.500 euros for the entire season-but there are also options for those who wish to compete in only a few rounds-and, in addition to the official Lancia CORSE HF racing suits and championship apparel both branded Sparco, entitles each crew to compete for both the overall standings and one of the three planned category classifications: Junior, which will welcome all Under25s (born on or after January 1, 2001); Master, which encompasses drivers between 25 and 35 years old (born between January 1, 1990 and December 31, 2000); and Expert, for all over-35s (born before January 1, 1990). Prizes will be awarded to the top three in each category, bringing the number of crews awarded in each race to 9. In each event, in fact, the winners of the Junior and Master classifications will take home prizes worth 5,000 euros each, 3,000 euros instead will go to the runners-up in the two classifications while the last step on the podium will be worth 1,500 euros in both categories. Entrants in the Expert category will also be able to count on a prize pool dedicated to them: 2,000 euros to the winner, 1,000 euros to the second and 500 euros to the third.Lancia’s big goal is to launch the specialty’s talents into the world of professional rallying and give them a real chance to grow. That is why the Lancia Trophy will put up for grabs the chance to become an official driver and compete in the European Rally Championship 2026 behind the wheel of a factory Lancia Ypsilon Rally4 HF. A prize that alone is worth more than 200,000 euros and will be awarded if the Overall Champion of the Trophy is an Under 35 driver, i.e., registered in the Junior or Master category.All Lancia Champions will be celebrated in a dedicated event at the end of the year, with a grand awards ceremony in Turin, where the winners of the three categories will share the final prize money: for the Junior 10,000 euros or ERC in case the driver also won the Overall; for the Master 10.000 euros or ERC in case the driver has also won the Absolute; finally, for the Expert 5,000 euros.The amounts of the Lancia Trophy prizes are understood to be in value: 50% in cash and 50% in vouchers at Stellantis Racing Shop.The Lancia Trophy rankings will distribute points to all drivers who reach the finishing platform, with a scale that rewards the top 20 finishers and grants a point to all those who have completed the race, both in the overall and category rankings. Trophiesists will also come to terms with bonus points, ready to revolutionize the rankings and the final verdict of the season: the Best Performer, the Miki Stage and the Rally+ roulette.Best Performer rewards pure speed with 5 bonus points in the overall standings for the driver who will win the most scratches in the special stages over the course of the rally. A bonus that will also be awarded in case of early abandonment: the courage to dare always rewards. The Miki Stage, on the other hand, is a dive into Lancia’s glorious past. It is dedicated to 2-time World Champion Miki Biasion and will award 3 bonus points in the overall standings to the driver who is fastest in the last PS of the rally. Believing in oneself, one could explain the Rally+ formula this way. Once in the season, each driver will be able to elect a rally as his ‘bonus’ in order to receive additional points, in the overall and category standings, if he or she results in the overall Top5 at the end of the race.The anticipation for Lancia’s return to the world of rallying has been confirmed by the sales success of the new Lancia Ypsilon Rally4 HF, which in January already registered more than 80 pre-orders worldwide. A decidedly positive result that suggests a boom in entries for the Lancia Trophy. Commercial success must be married for Lancia with sporting fairness, and it is in this sense that the decision to move the homologation of the car to March 1, 2025 and to postpone the start of the Trophy to the Targa Florio Rally in May should be seen. The aim is to allow all drivers and teams to receive the cars and, consequently, begin to gain experience at the same time, without giving time advantages to anyone.Following this philosophy, the Lancia 2025 Trophy will follow the stages of the CIAR but will start on May 9, at the Rally Targa Florio, and then continue a fortnight later at the Rally Due Valli. July will see the important event of the Rally di Roma Capitale, also valid for the European Championship. The Capitoline event will be divided into two races for the Trofeo, allowing teams and drivers to optimize travel costs and aim for the double prize money: the first leg will count as Round 3, while the second leg will count as Round 4. After the summer break, the Lancia Trophy will be on stage at Rally del Lazio, before the grand finale at Rallye Sanremo.But even before it starts, the Lancia Corse HF team will be present at Rally Regione Piemonte with its full hospitality and many surprises, ready to welcome drivers and fans. This event, although not valid for the Trophy, will represent the symbolic prelude to the season, underlining the strong bond between the Turin-based company and the Piedmont region. An opportunity to ignite enthusiasm, in anticipation of the official debut of the Trophy at the Rally Targa Florio a few weeks later.THE OFFICIAL CALENDAR OF THE LANCIA TROPHY 20258-11 May 2025 – Targa Florio (Coeff.1,5)May 30-31, 2025 – Rally Due Valli4-5 July 2025 – Rally di Roma Capitale – Leg 16 July 2025 – Rally di Roma Capitale – Leg 213-14 September 2025 – Rally del Lazio17-18 October 2025 – Rallye Sanremo (Coeff.1,5) “With the Ypsilon Rally4 HF and the Lancia Trophy, we celebrate our legendary past and, at the same time, we look to the future, offering young talents a unique opportunity to establish themselves,” said Luca Napolitano, Ceo Lancia. “This project is also an important technological laboratory to develop innovative solutions that will be applied in our range cars, such as the future Lancia HF. The Lancia Trophy represents an opportunity for all fans to experience and share in this extraordinary renaissance.In the coming weeks, the sporting and technical regulations and the entry form for the Lancia Trophy 2025 will be made public.
– Stellantis press office photo -(ITALPRESS).
