After eight years away from cross-country rally, Nunzio Coffaro will make his return at the Rallye du Maroc. He will serve as the co-driver of the #421 Polaris RZR piloted by Andrea Schiumarini, which is entered in the SSV category by TH-Trucks.
Coffaro last did an international rally rad in 2016, when the discipline was held under the FIA World Cup for Cross-Country Rallies prior to the current World Rally-Raid Championship. As a Toyota Motorsport driver, he won the 2012 World Cup in the T1.2 subcategory for 4×2 cars followed by the T1.1 4×4 title the following year.
The Venezuelan made his cross-country début in 2009 after competing in off-road races like the Outback Challenge in Australia and other events in South America.
2012 also saw his first Dakar Rally, finishing thirty-eighth and best among T1.2 entries in a Toyota Hilux with Daniel Meneses as navigator. After moving up to T1.1, the two improved their finish to twentieth in 2013.
His most recent action came in 2016, finishing thirty-first overall at Dakar followed by the World Cup’s Baja Russia Northern Forest and Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge. Despite the hiatus, he hopes to resume his career and head to the Dakar again.
“Cross-country rallying is my life,” said Coffaro. “I’ve been competing in these off-road events for over two decades, perfecting my skills to reach the highest level. It’s the perfect combination of adrenaline, strategy, and passion that drives me to keep going.”
While navigation is different from driving and he had to learn Italian to speak with Schiumarini, he feels “right at home with these familiar teams. We’ve practiced with roadbooks we created ourselves to maximise communication and understanding between driver and navigator.”
Schiumarini raced a T1.2 Century CR6 at the latest Dakar Rally in January, where he finished twenty-fourth in Ultimate.
The 2024 Rallye du Maroc will take place on 6–11 October.
