JOSE CAPARO WINS FIA RALLY STAR AMERICAN FINAL

Jose “Abito” Caparo is the winner of the FIA Rally Star American Final after the Peruvian came out on top following three days of intense competition and assessment.

The 26-year-old was one of 12 drivers in contention for the FIA Rally Star American Final victory – and a place in the upcoming FIA Rally Star Training Season – when action resumed at the Maggiora Offroad Arena in northern Italy for the final day.

After six passes of a 930-metre mixed-surface stage, he rose to the occasion and showed his strength during various physical and mental tests. Abito Caparo was chosen as the winner of the FIA Rally Star American Final following an interview with the five-person jury chaired by FIA Deputy President for Sport Robert Reid.

As well as securing the coveted title, Abito can now look forward to taking part in the FIA Rally Star Training Camp from May 21 to June 1, plus six rallies starting with Rally San Marino on June 16. If Caparo completes the FIA Rally Star Training Season as one of the four best performing drivers, he will secure a dream drive in the 2024 FIA Junior WRC Championship.

Abito will join previous Continental Final winners, Max Smart (South Africa), Taylor Gill (Australia), Romet Jürgenson (Estonia) and Abdullah Al Tawqi (Oman) who have also qualified for the Training Season.

Annia Cilloniz from Peru was selected by the FIA Rally Star Jury following her performances throughout the three days of the FIA Rally Star American Final. The sixth and final place in the FIA Rally Star Training Season will be decided during the Women’s Final the following day, when Annia Cilloniz (Peru) will go up against Kristie Ellis (South Africa), Maja Hallén Fellenius (Sweden), Pragathi Gowda (India) and Farah Zakaria (Jordan). The winner of the FIA Rally Star Women’s Final will be announced during the afternoon of Thursday May 4.

In warm and dry conditions, in contrast to the rainy first day, the 12 drivers representing Uruguay, Paraguay, Peru, Argentina, Costa Rica, Mexico and Canada completed three passes for a total distance of 2.790 kilometres. Meanwhile, the two female day 3 participants focused on physical tests and a Jury interview having completed their driving assessment on Tuesday.

42 drivers from 8 countries competed in the American Final, qualifying through Digital or Slalom Challenges organized by National Sporting Authorities or the online #RallyAtHome Challenges.

While the experience of the contestants differs with some only having competed virtually, they have approached the Final with the shared goal of securing a place in the Training Season, when they will savour a life-changing experience. With the four best performing drivers during the Training Season stepping up to the FIA Junior WRC Championship for 2024 as their prize, FIA Rally Star provides an incredible chance for young talents around the world to live their dreams at little or no personal expense.

Jose “Abito” Caparo, 26, from Peru expressed: I am feeling like the happiest person in the world right now, but I think it’s because I’m going to fit into this life that I like. I was preparing so much for this, so I’m feeling very, very blessed. I know this is just the start for now, so I will give it everything and be happy for sure. That is my focus of becoming a driver. Let’s be the next one!

Annia Cilloniz, 24, from Peru: It’s amazing! We came here in a very short time and everything was happening so soon. And now my dreams have come true. I’ve been looking for this my whole life. It’s a big thing for me. However, I know that tomorrow I have to push the restart button and start over at the Women’s Final. But I think that it’s a very good opportunity and I’m going to give it all.

Robert Reid, FIA Deputy President for Sport and Chairman of the jury said: We are looking for somebody who can go on in this program for the next three years. In fact, we are looking for somebody who can be junior world champion in 2025. So obviously, it’s easy to measure performance. It’s more difficult to measure potential, but that’s what we are trying to do. We are trying to look and see who we feel has the potential to go on through all the training and rallies they will do in the next few years and be a rally star of the future.

Maciej Woda, Jury Member and Managing Director of M-Sport Poland said: Today, we were able to push the drivers to their maximum capacity. There was driving, fitness and a reflex test. This was followed by the interviews which the drivers had with the jury. At the end of the day, we had to make quite a difficult choice of choosing our winner, but we believe we found an interesting character and a driver with a lot of potential.