Premium
The coach of the national rally team, Daniel Ungur, set the names of the 10 drivers that will take part in the national junior squad for the 2021 season, according to the official website of the Romanian Federation of Sport Motoring, on Thursday.
These 10 drivers will represent Romania in the World Rally Championship (WRC), the European Rally Championship (ERC) and the Balcan Rally Trophy (BRT).
The 10 pilots who will compete under the national flag are Simone Tempestini, Norbert Maior, Raul Badiu, Mihnea Muresan, Danut Budai, David Tarta, Paul Popa, Cristian Sugar, Adrian Iliescu and Andrei Girtofan.
"All are new generation athletes, and some of them do not even need any presentation. It is a normal decision, and for some of them it is a natural step for increasing their performance level," said coach Daniel Ungur.
Simone Tempestini (26 years old), is the absolute quadruple senior champion, and in 2016 he became the world champion in Juniors. In 2020, the driver from Cluj won 4 out of the 5 races internally he participated in. On an international plan, he competed in Italy and Spain, for the European championship, the best result being 5th general place in Rally di Roma Capitale.
Andrei Girtofan (24 years old), the son of former national champion Dan Girtofan, debuted in rallying in 2016, and in 2019 placed 6th in the general ranking of the National Rally Championship. Last year, he took part in the Serbian Rally, part of the Balkan Rally Trophy and came in 6th.
Furthermore, Norbert Maior (22 years old) is a national junior champion, alongside his sister Francisca in 2019. Norbert made the step to a new stage in the previous season, when he competed on a Peugeot 208 R2. This was the big surprise of the National Rally Championship Betano 2020, managing to finish 3rd in the general, also becoming champion of 2-wheel drive and RC4 Class. He made his debut in the European Rally Championship, in Hungary, when he finished 5th at ERC3 Junior, although he competed as a supper rally after a forfeit in the first day.
