Triumph on the Edge: Fariña and Rodriguez Snatch Victory in the Peugeot Rally Cup Ibérica!

Motorsport is always about emotions. Races where everything is decided by a single turn, podiums where victory hangs by a thread, and finals that no one expects. It was in such a tense atmosphere, between hope and disappointment, that Giovanni Farina competed in the 2025 Princess of Asturias Rally.

The 27-year-old driver from Tenerife, along with his co-driver Alejandro Rodriguez (One Racing team), became the champions of the Peugeot Rally Cup Ibérica, beating their rivals by just one point! An incredible outcome that seemed impossible just a few hours earlier, but ultimately wrote the names of the young athletes into the history of the competition.

The rally did not start well for them. The guys from Tenerife only needed to finish in the top four in their category to win the championship. But the burden of being favorites weighed on them more than they expected. Farina couldn't show his best form, felt the pressure, and couldn't accelerate. He himself admitted that he didn't show his "driving level" at the start. The psychological pressure prevented him from driving at his usual pace, as he had done in the stages in Madeira or Rías Baixas, and from the very beginning, it distanced him from the fight for the lead.

And then a flat tire on Friday added to the problems. They changed the tire right on the track, lost a lot of time, and fell behind their rivals. "We thought everything was lost, no one could stop Miguel, and we needed at least fourth place to score points. After the puncture, we lost a lot of time and were very far from our rivals." The stopwatch relentlessly ticked away, and they felt the title slipping from their hands. They had to accept that nothing could be changed. It was the hardest moment of the weekend.

And when it seemed that everything was already decided, Sergi Pérez and Jaume Comellas dropped out of the race. This unexpected setback gave Giovanni and Alejandro a chance, which they seized to snatch victory. "When we arrived at the finish line and found out that Sergi had dropped out, we were very happy," recalls Farina. From despair, he moved up to fourth place, which brought them the national title.

In the end, after excluding one of the four stages, Farina and Rodriguez finished the championship with 66 points, while Miguel Garcia and Osel Roman, who won in Asturias, scored 65 points. On the last day, the islanders won three stages and didn't take any risks on the last one, as they had already secured the title.

This is not just a victory, but the fulfillment of a dream that has accompanied Giovanni since childhood: "Since childhood, you dream of becoming a champion of Spain. And here also Portugal, so it couldn't be better."

Despite the fact that victory can be relaxing, Giovanni Farina and Alejandro Rodriguez – for whom it was a debut in the national championship, and about whom his partner says that "he was on top, learned quickly, and will go far" – understand that now is not the time to rest. "There is still a lot of work ahead, and the season is not over yet. We have two more races in Desafío," he explains, referring to the parallel Peugeot championship, in which they also lead. There are two stages left until the end of this championship: the Rally Catalunya and the Rally La Nucia-Mediterranean. "We must continue to work and fight to win both titles and become the best this year, as well as create a great project for next season," concludes the 2025 Peugeot Rally Cup Ibérica champion.