Rockaway, New Jersey (February 23, 2023) - American Rally Association LN4 Champion Mark Piatkowski will make his European rally debut at next month’s Rally Della Val D’Orcia, the opening round of the Italian Gravel Championship.

Piatkowski will be piloting a Volkswagen Polo N5 car built by RMC Motorsport, and prepared by LPS Competition. He will be entering in the Italian “N5 Trophy” where he will compete against identical spec N5 cars.

“I’m at a point in my life where it’s now or never,” says Piatkowski, “I’m here to make moves in my rally career and try new challenges.

“I’m aware that in order to progress myself as a driver, I need to take myself out of my comfort zone, compete in new cars, and in new events.

“I have a long term plan, and this is only step-one. I won’t back down from my dreams.”

Rally Della Val D’Orcia

Rally Della Val D’Orcia is one of Italy’s premier gravel rallies. Serving as the season opener, Rally Della Val D’Orcia consists of over 75 kilometers of special stage roads, this year landing on the weekend of March 17-19.

Every year the rally draws thousands of people to the Val D’Orcia area of Tuscany, as it becomes a motorsport hub, mixing a passion for motorsport with the area’s famous wine and food.

The stage route is mainly comprised of roads that were used as special stages in the 1980s for Rallye Sanremo, where Group B cars flew through the gravel stages in the WRC’s most popular era.

”I can’t believe I get to rally the same stages run by the crazy Group B cars in the 80’s when the world championship event made its way through Tuscany,” said Piatkowski, “How cool is that!”

Piatkowski’s Plan in Italy

For the 2023 Rally Della Val D’Orcia, Mark Piatkowski will be teaming up with experienced Italian co-driver Alessio Angeli.

Angeli has over 160 starts as a co-driver since 2006, six of which have been at Val D’Orcia.

”I am very excited to partner with Mark" says Angeli. “He is my first foreign driver and I am honored he has chosen me.

“Mark and I have been working behind the scenes the past few weeks and we have a test scheduled the week of the rally. I hope my experience will bring us good speed.”

Paired with Piatkowski’s experience and dedication, as proven by his ARA LN4 Championship, and 2022 Sno*Drift overall win, the pair hope to be a strong force to contend with on the Italian roads in March.

The car they will be piloting is a Volkswagen Polo N5. The N5 class was created to fill the gap that existed between more expensive Rally2 and R5 cars, and the less powerful Proto and Group N cars.

Mark’s Volkswagen Polo N5 for Rally Della Val D’Orcia

Every N5 car follows a spec drivetrain and suspension package consisting of a 1.6T PSA inline-4, a Subaru sequential transmission, Subaru front and rear differentials, and Macpherson three-way-adjustable suspension.

The N5 class is similar in pace to the R4, and Rally2-kit cars in the FIA pyramid.

“The plan is to take this one event at a time,” says Piatkowski. “For sure I’d like to do more Italian events, and I will work hard towards that goal, but for now we want to see what we can do, weigh our options, and see what potential partnerships we can make with sponsors.”

For more information and to follow Mark’s Italian rally journey, go to:
www.MAP-Rally.com/n5-italy