Tandalò crowns the winners of its fourth edition

Tandalò ends with smiles all round. See you in 2020 for more surprises.

The fourth edition of Italy’s only dirt hill climb took place from Friday 11 to Sunday 13 October in the municipality of Buddusò, in beautiful Sardinia, dressed in its autumn colours.

There were many new developments in the sporting and organisational programme this year. Thanks to the Sardinia Region and the municipalities of Buddusò, Alà dei Sardi, Padru, Pattada, Nule, Osidda and Golfo Aranci, the event was able to expand its sporting and tourism offer. One of the most important changes was the race’s inclusion in the Italian Dirt Speed Championship, alongside the traditional Experimental Atipica event. Another major new feature was the “Manscione”.

The Italian Dirt Speed Championship race was won by Marcello Gallo, a true hill climb ace who improved his time on every run. Simone Firenze finished second, also in a Kart Cross, 9.42 seconds behind, and Christian Tiramani third, 24.88 seconds back, also in a Kart Cross.

The Experimental Atipica race, the heart of the event, this year crowned the best competitor in each discipline: Rally, Off-Road Speed, Kart Cross and Open. There were plenty of exciting battles between Italian, Spanish and Monegasque competitors. In the end, the winners were:

Rally category: overall winners Egisto Vanni - Pempori Rocco in a Skoda R5; second place Marco Canu - Carlotta Piras in a Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9; third place Andrea Carta - Antonello Corda in a Skoda R5.

Off-Road Speed category: overall winner Duilio Lunardi in a Can Am X3; second place Luca Pagani in a Polaris Razor; third place Monegasque competitor Renato Moscati in a Nissan Taft Maserati.

Kart Cross category: overall winner Spaniard Jurado Abel; second place another Spaniard, Remuinan; third overall Buddusò Racing’s Antonello Biancu.

Open category: Franco Canalis won in a Suzuki Prototype; second place Paolo Mele in a 4x4 Buggy Prototype; third overall Maurizio Baroni in a Kawasaki Prototype. Canalis was also the fastest in the Atipica race, although no overall combined classification was planned.

The Manscione, the ultimate head-to-head race, featured the 20 best cars competing across various categories. One full-throttle climb to claim the most coveted title: King of Tandalò 2019. Marcello Gallo took the win in his Kart Cross, in outstanding form this year and unbeatable. Spaniard Jurado finished second, 1.05 seconds back, with Simone Firenze third, 2.31 seconds back.

At the end of the race, all the drivers and teams thanked us for the wonderful experience, the warm welcome and the sportsmanship. This is the true reward that keeps the organising team going, already hard at work on the 2020 edition.

Another new feature was the live race broadcast on Facebook, a major investment that paid off for all the fans who followed the race on their phones and computers. Tommy Rossi, announcer for Radio Super Sound, introduced the competing crews and individual drivers.

Friday was a real crowd-puller in Alà dei Sardi, where local schoolchildren, accompanied by their teachers, watched the scrutineering and got to admire the competing cars and racing machines. On Friday afternoon, the grand opening ceremony for the 4th Tandalò Hill Climb took place in the centre of Buddusò, the home of the race, where residents and curious onlookers gathered to watch. Representatives of the participating municipalities were in attendance, along with the Tamburini e Trombettieri Città di Oristano association, whose music accompanied the competing cars as they drove onto the start podium.

The Tandalò family worked brilliantly together this year, and all the services set up along the course ensured the event ran smoothly despite a few unexpected challenges.

The event was made possible thanks to the excellent work of the course marshals, the ever-ready 4x4 teams, staff, timekeepers, fire and rescue crews, race direction and all the other volunteers who put their hearts into making it a success. Around 100 people without whom none of this would be possible.

The Tandalò Village, specially set up for the event with a giant screen showing the stage times, provided a welcoming space for drivers and teams to relax together. It was a place to review their performances, chat and share experiences with fellow drivers, teams and supporters. The largest room also housed the stage for the award ceremony. Other facilities included the Timekeepers’ Room, Secretariat, Press Room and Stewards’ Room.

Tandalò is also a tourism destination. The surrounding area enjoyed a significant boost, with many hotels and bed and breakfasts fully booked by teams, event staff, tourists and spectators who had travelled from afar—providing a welcome boost to local businesses too.

Our thanks go to Aci Sport for enabling us to organise this event and supporting us in many ways.

Numerous photographers and journalists from the local area and across Italy followed the three-day event on site, which began on Friday in Alà dei Sardi with technical scrutineering.

The Hill Climb also embraces solidarity, supporting the Cystic Fibrosis Research Foundation Onlus with the #Correreperunrespiro campaign. On Sunday, driver and project ambassador Rachele Somaschini also joined us.

The organisers, drivEvent Adventure, Tandalò Motorsport and LRT Sardinia, would like to thank everyone and look forward to seeing you all in 2020. We have more new developments in mind, which we’ll reveal over the coming months on our website and social media channels. Best wishes to our Gigi Satta for a speedy recovery after Saturday’s unexpected incident.