Last week, Lancia revealed more details about its return to rallying. The new Lancia Ypsilon Rally4 HF is set to hit the market early next year, and front-wheel-drive models will compete in their own series alongside the Italian Rally Championship next season.
Read more: Lancia reveals its plans – a return to international rally stages ahead
The winner of the Lancia Rally Trophy will receive a sweet reward: a spot on Lancia’s official team and a full package for the European Rally Championship season in 2026.
Biasion, 66, has served as an advisor for Lancia’s rally project and has been involved in the car’s development.
“I think that the choice to start with the Rally4 is very good. It’s very good because, of course, Lancia is back in motorsport, and so it’s wise to go inside via the rear door and not sparkling because, as everybody knows, the World Rally Championship is really, really expensive,” Biasion told the European Rally Championship website.
Rally4 cars indeed lack their own class in the WRC, unlike in the ERC and many national championships.
“Rally4 is the most popular category in Europe and most of the drivers in the national championships compete in this category, so it’s a very good choice,” Biasion emphasised.
He also highlighted how incredible it would be to see Lancia return to the absolute pinnacle of rallying, noting the brand’s record of ten manufacturers’ titles from decades past.
“Of course the dream of everybody, and for me also, is to have a rally car that could compete in the top class. At the moment, the rules for the future are not yet ready and the costs to be competitive, or in order to compete in the World Rally Championship, are too high.”
“But if the FIA will change something, let us dream. We have to dream. I am not speaking as a Lancia ambassador only, but as a rally fan also and a Lancia fan. It’s a dream, and it’s not forbidden to dream,” said Biasion, who won two WRC titles with Lancia.
