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The Scorpions

Fiat 500 racing has reached the UK in the form of the Trofeo Abarth 500 Great Britain

by Graham Heeps

Photo by Dave Ayres – www.motorsportmedia.co.uk

A new player on the UK touring car scene in 2010 is the Trofeo Abarth 500 Great Britain, which is a collaboration between Fiat Group Automobiles, Abarth, series organizer CTC, and the UK Abarth dealer network.

The race cars are identical Abarth 500 ACs purchased via CTC Ltd at a cost of £30k. The machines are used elsewhere in the pan-European Europa series, as well as an Italian championship. A full UK season costs around £50-60k all-in.

Based closely on the Abarth 500 road car, the major changes to standard are the substitution of parts from other Abarth products. The sealed engine is sourced from the Abarth Punto Esseesse and puts out around 185bhp. It’s a 1.4-liter unit with a Garrett GT 1446 turbocharger boosted to 1.6 bar. The ECU (swapped periodically from car to car to ensure parity) and gearbox are also sealed; the latter is a six-speed item also from the Punto, with a floor-mounted shifter in place of the standard 500’s dashboard lever. An adjustable Drexler LSD regulates the power delivery to the front wheels.

Other changes to the regular Abarth 500 include the removal of the steering weight change from the Sport button, which now only adjusts the throttle response. Power steering remains standard fit, but can be disconnected according to the driver’s preference.

Modifications to the brake system comprise the addition of driver-adjustable brake balance via a lever on the floor and the Punto Esseesse’s front brake package (Brembo four-piston caliper with 305mm discs), plus competition brake pads. The rear brakes are standard Abarth 500.

The Trofeo has been marketed heavily in the UK. Tie-ups with Abarth dealers around the country make sense, and the imaginative calendar has some appeal, with the championship running on the same bill as British F3 (Oulton Park), FIA F2 (Silverstone), British Superbikes (Cadwell Park), and the DTM (Brands Hatch). It also hooks up with the Trofeo Europe at Brands and Monza.

Unfortunately for the series, and despite the availability of car finance through Fiat Capital, grid numbers dropped from 14 at Oulton Park for Round 1 in April, to just nine by the time the cars reached Snetterton in early July. These are tough times for one-make touring car series in the UK, with the long-established Clio Cup currently down to a 14-car grid from a high of 24, just 12 months ago.

But Abarth series boss, Paulo Callea says that grid sizes are due to pick up again from the Silverstone Classic round in late July, and with a three-year commitment from FGA in place, he’s bullish about the Trofeo GB’s longer-term future.

On track

PMW completed a handful of laps of Cadwell Park in an Abarth 500 before the season got under way. A short test on wet-weather tires on a drying track made it hard to make definitive judgements about the car, but the short wheelbase and manic engine ought to make for some enjoyable racing. You have to be aware of the strong centering spring on the gearshift to avoid mis-selection, but on the evidence of our brief drive, that’s about it as far as banana skins go.