Radicofani, Italy (March 20, 2023) - American rally driver Mark Piatkowski made his highly anticipated international rallying debut at Rally Della Val D’Orcia last weekend behind the wheel of an LPS Competition-prepped Volkswagen Polo N5, where a power steering failure brought an end to an impressive drive.

Piatkowski and co-driver Alessio Angeli entered Rally Della Val D’Orcia with the goals of giving Piatkowski a new rally experience, and growing his driving abilities beyond what he has been able to do in the US.

After testing earlier in the week, Piatkowski said, “I’m getting progressively more comfortable with the car and shakedown times showed it.

“It’s still several worlds away from my Subaru back home, but I believe in myself and am trying to dig deep.”

The rally kicked off on Saturday with a ceremonial start in the medieval Tuscan town of Radicofani. The fanfare and excitement around the starting ramp was far beyond anything Piatkowski had experienced prior in the world of US rallying.

“I felt like a WRC star!” he said of the experience.

Saturday’s ceremonial start in Radicofani

When the rally officially got underway on Sunday, things continued to go well for Piatkowski and the team.

Right from stage one Piatkowski held an impressive pace, finding himself second-in-class, only 13.8 seconds off of leader Aronne Travaglia. Throughout the first loop, the story stayed mostly the same with Piatkowski applying pressure on Travaglia while gaining distance from the rest of his class.

“I was pleased to see that,” Piatkowski said, “I wasn’t expecting to show up and be the class of the field, but it’s a confirmation of my abilities to hold a competitive pace right from the start.”

Unfortunately, on the first stage of the second loop of the rally, Piatkowski’s pace fell off when on-stage he lost power steering, and had to muscle the wheel to get to the flying finish.

Upon inspection, Piatkowski and Angeli found that the belt running the power steering, alternator, and water pump had snapped, and without any replacement on hand, the duo had to throw in the towel.

Codriver Alessio Angeli inspecting the broken belt at the end of Stage 4

“I don’t give up usually, but there was no point in continuing,” Piatkowski admitted.

Angeli said of Piatkowski’s drive, “For his first time in an N5 car and first rally outside of the US, I was very impressed with his tempo,” adding, “I can tell it all came naturally to him, even in the test, we were going quickly straight away.”

With Piatkowski’s pace, he stood a good chance at winning the class had the car not forced a retirement, as Travaglia suffered his own issues on the next stage and lost over four minutes.

“While I am disappointed, I’m not really one to think about what could’ve been,” Piatkowski said. “Overall I’m still extremely proud of what we were able to pull together this weekend, and I had an incredible time getting to experience a new car, a new championship, and a new rally community.

“I seriously can’t thank everyone who helped me get here enough, and I wish I could have brought home a trophy for all of my team's efforts, but that’s rally unfortunately.

“I’d still love to come back and give it another go, we’ll have to see what the future holds, I’ll continue to chase my dreams.”

Piatkowski would like to thank his sponsors:

###