XXXVIII Rallye Elba Storico-Trofeo Locman Italy: the legacy of the great rallies: 50 years since the debut of the FIAT 131 Abarth
24-09-2026 18:30 - Press releases
An iconic car that made Italian sporting and industrial history has been celebrated
Capoliveri (Elba Island-Livorno), 24 September 2026 – The XXXVIII Rallye Elba Storico-Trofeo Locman Italy has begun. It began not with the roar of engines, but in the wake of memories. Memories of sporting history, and also of industrial history, written by the Fiat 131 Abarth, which evolved from an ordinary family saloon into one of the most powerful rally cars in the world, becoming an icon of an era.
In 1976, the Fiat 131 Abarth Group 4 made its debut right here at the Rally dell’Isola d’Elba, with two major names behind the wheel: Maurizio Verini and Markku Alén. That debut marked the beginning of an extraordinary sporting adventure, culminating in three World Manufacturers’ Championship titles. Fifty years later, the 2026 Rallye Elba Storico has celebrated that car in the very place where its legend began, with a special conference attended by Michèle Mouton, the first woman to challenge the leading male drivers at the highest level of the World Rally Championship during the 1980s.
The speakers at the event held in Piazza Matteotti in Capoliveri, moderated by Cristiano Marcacci, Editor-in-Chief of the daily newspaper “IL TIRRENO”, included:
WALTER MONTAGNA, MAYOR OF CAPOLIVERI: “This year we wanted to pay tribute to the official debut of the FIAT 131 Abarth, which right here at the Rally dell’Isola d’Elba achieved an historic one-two finish. I was born in 1969 and I still remember with great emotion the way rallies were experienced back then, although today many people cannot imagine the amount of work required to organise an event of this scale. I am truly delighted with the result. Together with ACI Livorno Sport, Luciano Fiori and Marco Fiorillo, we have been working for six years to build a better rally every year: they bring extraordinary professionalism, while we as a local administration provide passion and constant financial and promotional support. Seeing the square so lively and full of people at the end of September shows that we are moving in the right direction. My sincere thanks to everyone, and I wish you all a great rally!”
MARCO FIORILLO, PRESIDENT OF ACI LIVORNO: “As Mayor Walter Montagna pointed out, our aim is to improve every year, also by listening to and adopting the recommendations coming from the International Federation. I started out in short trousers, in 1975, with the triumph of the Alfetta GT, followed later by the debut of the Lancia 037. Elba has always been a privileged testing ground for the major car manufacturers: one only has to think of the Lancia Stratos in Portoferraio. It is a tremendous legacy, built on history, passion and expertise, which today we have both the responsibility and the pride to carry forward. As Automobile Club Livorno, we have inherited something truly important, and we feel the full responsibility of keeping it alive and helping it grow. This is why we try to commit the greatest possible technical and financial resources, because promoting sport is part of our mission, but above all because we firmly believe that this event is an extraordinary vehicle for enhancing the prestige of the whole of Elba Island and taking its name around the world, just as it has always done throughout its long history. We therefore want to continue along this path with conviction. Finally, for me it is a huge emotion to have Miki Biasion alongside me. Working alongside a champion with his experience and expertise is an honour, but also an extraordinary opportunity to learn and grow. He is a person of immense knowledge and, despite the many years of experience I have gained in the field, I have to admit that I still have a great deal to learn from him.”
LUCIANO FIORI, PRESIDENT OF ACI LIVORNO SPORT: “This is an extremely significant day for us: exactly 50 years ago, the FIAT 131 Abarth Rally made its official debut here on Elba, with three memorable cars and the crews Verini-Russo, Alén-Kivimäki and Bacchelli-Rossetti. To talk about this history today in front of so many champions, and alongside our Clerk of the Course, Marco Fiorillo – a true living memory of rallying, with more than 500 events to his name – is a huge emotion for me. Remembering that within FIAT, together with Cesare Fiorio, Elba was specifically chosen as the place from which to relaunch the brand in rallying says a great deal, if not everything, about the value and prestige our territory has always enjoyed within the world of motorsport. Rallying has been a fundamental driver of the island’s economic development and also opened the way for many other sports. Thanks to the support of the municipalities, Portoferraio Mayor Tiziano Nocentini and all the local administrators present, the organisational machine that first started in 1968 continues today to have a significant impact and to involve the entire territory. For us, it is a great source of pride to show that this sport is not simply about ‘putting your foot down’, but is a resource capable of creating economic value, promoting the territory and, above all, bringing together the entire Elban community.”
MICHÈLE MOUTON: “The 131 Abarth was certainly not an easy car to drive: you really had to use a lot of strength on the steering wheel. I competed in three championships in France with my team-mate Jean-Claude Andruet and I had to work extremely hard. The fact that it was such a physical and demanding car pushed me to give even more, teaching me how to drive faster even when I later moved on to other cars. In our day, rallying was a little like a marathon: there was an incredible atmosphere involving the drivers, the media and the public. Today that environment has changed a great deal, but it still remains a wonderful experience.”
MAURIZIO VERINI, FORMER OFFICIAL FIAT DRIVER: “The 131 Abarth was a real form of redemption for us FIAT drivers and engineers in our rivalry with Lancia. At first, we were not convinced by the idea at all: the 131 had been conceived as a family car, a four-door saloon used every day to go to work. We did not experience the first period particularly well, but once we started developing it and winning, we completely changed our minds. Over time it became an extraordinarily competitive car, one to which I have remained deeply attached. And Elba has a special place in those memories, which I will always carry in my heart.”
GIUSEPPE “GEPPI” CERRI, FORMER PROFESSIONAL WORKS CO-DRIVER: “Seeing these cars here today is like travelling back in time fifty years. Even though I never competed in the 131 Abarth, I have extraordinary and vivid memories of it as a spectator. I personally experienced the transition from the 124 Spider – which at the time enjoyed enormo
Source: Press Office
Capoliveri (Elba Island-Livorno), 24 September 2026 – The XXXVIII Rallye Elba Storico-Trofeo Locman Italy has begun. It began not with the roar of engines, but in the wake of memories. Memories of sporting history, and also of industrial history, written by the Fiat 131 Abarth, which evolved from an ordinary family saloon into one of the most powerful rally cars in the world, becoming an icon of an era.
In 1976, the Fiat 131 Abarth Group 4 made its debut right here at the Rally dell’Isola d’Elba, with two major names behind the wheel: Maurizio Verini and Markku Alén. That debut marked the beginning of an extraordinary sporting adventure, culminating in three World Manufacturers’ Championship titles. Fifty years later, the 2026 Rallye Elba Storico has celebrated that car in the very place where its legend began, with a special conference attended by Michèle Mouton, the first woman to challenge the leading male drivers at the highest level of the World Rally Championship during the 1980s.
The speakers at the event held in Piazza Matteotti in Capoliveri, moderated by Cristiano Marcacci, Editor-in-Chief of the daily newspaper “IL TIRRENO”, included:
WALTER MONTAGNA, MAYOR OF CAPOLIVERI: “This year we wanted to pay tribute to the official debut of the FIAT 131 Abarth, which right here at the Rally dell’Isola d’Elba achieved an historic one-two finish. I was born in 1969 and I still remember with great emotion the way rallies were experienced back then, although today many people cannot imagine the amount of work required to organise an event of this scale. I am truly delighted with the result. Together with ACI Livorno Sport, Luciano Fiori and Marco Fiorillo, we have been working for six years to build a better rally every year: they bring extraordinary professionalism, while we as a local administration provide passion and constant financial and promotional support. Seeing the square so lively and full of people at the end of September shows that we are moving in the right direction. My sincere thanks to everyone, and I wish you all a great rally!”
MARCO FIORILLO, PRESIDENT OF ACI LIVORNO: “As Mayor Walter Montagna pointed out, our aim is to improve every year, also by listening to and adopting the recommendations coming from the International Federation. I started out in short trousers, in 1975, with the triumph of the Alfetta GT, followed later by the debut of the Lancia 037. Elba has always been a privileged testing ground for the major car manufacturers: one only has to think of the Lancia Stratos in Portoferraio. It is a tremendous legacy, built on history, passion and expertise, which today we have both the responsibility and the pride to carry forward. As Automobile Club Livorno, we have inherited something truly important, and we feel the full responsibility of keeping it alive and helping it grow. This is why we try to commit the greatest possible technical and financial resources, because promoting sport is part of our mission, but above all because we firmly believe that this event is an extraordinary vehicle for enhancing the prestige of the whole of Elba Island and taking its name around the world, just as it has always done throughout its long history. We therefore want to continue along this path with conviction. Finally, for me it is a huge emotion to have Miki Biasion alongside me. Working alongside a champion with his experience and expertise is an honour, but also an extraordinary opportunity to learn and grow. He is a person of immense knowledge and, despite the many years of experience I have gained in the field, I have to admit that I still have a great deal to learn from him.”
LUCIANO FIORI, PRESIDENT OF ACI LIVORNO SPORT: “This is an extremely significant day for us: exactly 50 years ago, the FIAT 131 Abarth Rally made its official debut here on Elba, with three memorable cars and the crews Verini-Russo, Alén-Kivimäki and Bacchelli-Rossetti. To talk about this history today in front of so many champions, and alongside our Clerk of the Course, Marco Fiorillo – a true living memory of rallying, with more than 500 events to his name – is a huge emotion for me. Remembering that within FIAT, together with Cesare Fiorio, Elba was specifically chosen as the place from which to relaunch the brand in rallying says a great deal, if not everything, about the value and prestige our territory has always enjoyed within the world of motorsport. Rallying has been a fundamental driver of the island’s economic development and also opened the way for many other sports. Thanks to the support of the municipalities, Portoferraio Mayor Tiziano Nocentini and all the local administrators present, the organisational machine that first started in 1968 continues today to have a significant impact and to involve the entire territory. For us, it is a great source of pride to show that this sport is not simply about ‘putting your foot down’, but is a resource capable of creating economic value, promoting the territory and, above all, bringing together the entire Elban community.”
MICHÈLE MOUTON: “The 131 Abarth was certainly not an easy car to drive: you really had to use a lot of strength on the steering wheel. I competed in three championships in France with my team-mate Jean-Claude Andruet and I had to work extremely hard. The fact that it was such a physical and demanding car pushed me to give even more, teaching me how to drive faster even when I later moved on to other cars. In our day, rallying was a little like a marathon: there was an incredible atmosphere involving the drivers, the media and the public. Today that environment has changed a great deal, but it still remains a wonderful experience.”
MAURIZIO VERINI, FORMER OFFICIAL FIAT DRIVER: “The 131 Abarth was a real form of redemption for us FIAT drivers and engineers in our rivalry with Lancia. At first, we were not convinced by the idea at all: the 131 had been conceived as a family car, a four-door saloon used every day to go to work. We did not experience the first period particularly well, but once we started developing it and winning, we completely changed our minds. Over time it became an extraordinarily competitive car, one to which I have remained deeply attached. And Elba has a special place in those memories, which I will always carry in my heart.”
GIUSEPPE “GEPPI” CERRI, FORMER PROFESSIONAL WORKS CO-DRIVER: “Seeing these cars here today is like travelling back in time fifty years. Even though I never competed in the 131 Abarth, I have extraordinary and vivid memories of it as a spectator. I personally experienced the transition from the 124 Spider – which at the time enjoyed enormo
Source: Press Office
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