Twenty-two-year-old Peruvian rally driver, Raul Orlandini, is ready to take his second victory of the year at Rally Jauja this weekend, the second round of the 2008 Peruvian National Rally Championship.

On board his brand new Mitsubishi Lancer EVO IX, the 2006 Peruvian National Champion scored a commanding victory on the opening round of the series, Rally Playas, three weeks ago, by winning every special stage of the event and finishing 33.9 seconds ahead of his closest rival, Nicolas Fuchs.

Orlandini is the son of the late Peruvian rally legend Raul Orlandini Dibos, a five times winner of the most prestigious event in Peruvian rallying, the Incas Rally.

The young gun started his motorsport career in 1996 driving karts. He achieved third place during his first year in the national and regional championships before becoming champion in the regional series only one year later. In 1999 he repeated his success by taking the regional title again, and, in 2000, he took his first national championship.

In 2002, Orlandini went into circuit racing at only 17 years of age. His raw talent and blinding speed made a strong impression among his more experienced competitors and the national media.  He won some of the most difficult endurance races in the country like the ‘3 and 6 Hours of Peru,’ and as a result, he was given the Rookie of the Year award by the well-known local magazine ‘El Mundo del Automovil.’

Soon after that success Orlandini made his jump into the world of rallying. Since his switch in 2004, he has not only won the 2006 national title but he has also come very close to winning one of the most difficult events in the world, the Incas Rally, an event previously contested by some of the world’s greatest like Hannu Mikkola, Tony Fall, John Buffum, and Juha Kankkunen.

This year, Orlandini is determined to reclaim his title and become the second youngest driver to win the Incas Rally.  However, he is hungry for more, as he looks to compete in the World Rally Championship in the not so distant future. After his recent visit to Rally Argentina, the young driver from Peru can’t help but to hope to reach the international level some day and leave the family name up high.

Rally Jauja starts Friday, April 11 with a ceremonial start at 19.00hrs in the main square of Jauja by the beautiful Mantaro river valley. Drivers will cover a total of 58 competitive kilometres before reaching the finish on Sunday afternoon.

For more information: Contact Susan Bradley at +511 9942 777 55 or via email at rallyworld@mac.com