It's closing in on the end of the year and there is no better way to finish the season than the amazing Monster Energy Monza Rally Show. Set at the iconic Autodromo Nazionale Monza best known for being the home to the Formula 1 Italian GP, for its 37th year Monza Rally Show hosts teams from across the globe in a 10 Stage rally battle.
2016 was the third year for Baggsy to be invited as a Triple 0 car to open each Stage of the rally. This year he was joined by fellow Monster Energy athlete Casey Currie. Casey is better known for his Off-Road Truck racing in the US. Baggsy along with his V8 S13 and Casey bringing his 500+ HP Short Course Pro Lite truck, the shared pit box was ringing with the sound of V8 rumble. Baggsy and Casey's next door neighbour for the weekend would come in the form of Moto GP legend and Monster Energy Athlete Valentino Rossi. Rossi a crowd favourite and previous winner of Monza Rally show was battling to take another title and he didn't disappoint, taking his 5th victory at the event.
A few adjustments were made to Baggsy's car including a brand new ST Suspension kit and new double sized Forge Motorsport fuel cell. The new fuel cell was installed to guaranteed the 6.2 litre V8 had enough Sunoco Racing E85R fuel to make the full distance of each 10km stage of Monza Circuit. Baggsy tore up the blacktop of Monza Circuit giving media passenger rides all weekend and putting on the ultimate smoke show for the thousands of spectators. No other event has an atmosphere quite like Monza Rally Show. Using parts of the current modern day F1 circuit and the historic bankings of the iconic Italian venue, it is a true test of driver and vehicle.
Baggsy: This is my third year at Monza Rally, and I love the level of professionalism that this event has, and how involved the fans are here. What’s really cool is that we can come here with a drift car, and put on a show that people are not used to seeing, and they get really hyped about it. I guess if I’m honest a lot of the fans probably don’t fully understand what I’m doing straight away, but to me it’s helping promote drifting and also grow interest in drift within the rally community. Being able to drive flat out around Monza in my car is just awesome. It’s not just about the six corners that I’m allowed to drift, it’s about all the other stuff as well – the famous banking, the chicanes. Going out into the wood sections and seeing the fans having parties and BBQs. Then we come past and its all whistles, flags, and people hanging off trees and waving; it’s so much fun to go round and see all of that while I’m driving. And you know, it’s Monza! The place is very special and has a lot of history. For me personally it’s awesome to be able to say that I’ve driven around the track in my own competition car. I get to watch Formula1 on TV and then am able to say; ‘I’ve driven round there!’ It’s pretty big! After three years, Monza also gets to feel a little bit like home. We really understand the format now and can help put on the best possible show while making sure that we don’t disrupt the rally too much. It’s the last event of the year for my team and I too, and it’s the most fun. We bring out all the members of the team, and we have a blast. On top of all of that, this year was the first time we had the V8 S13 to bring with us, the incredible difference from engine, drivetrain and suspension set up really made this years Monza Rally Show one of the best so far. I can't wait to hopefully return next year.
With the last event of 2016 under his belt, next stop for Baggsy will be the Autosport International show 12-15th January 2017 at the Birmingham NEC where he will be unveiling something very cool.
Steve Baggsy Biagioni 2009 British Drifting Champion. 2014 European Kings of Kings Champion. Monster Energy Athlete! #Baggsy
