Alba AR2
Italian Group C junior champion with two world titles.
The Alba AR2 was a Group C junior sports prototype built by the Italian firm Alba Engineering in 1983 and raced until 1995. Alba Engineering was founded that same year by Giorgio Stirano, a former chassis engineer for Osella. Wealthy Italian racing driver and industrialist Martino Finotto commissioned Stirano to build two cars for the new Group C junior class, intending to race them with his friend Carlo Facetti in the sports car world championship. Stirano oversaw the creation of two carbon fiber reinforced plastic monocoques. The engine, a 1.8-liter four-cylinder turbo initially producing 410 hp, was developed at CARMA, a company run by Finotto and Facetti. Because the FIA required engine manufacturers to be registered with it—and CARMA was not—a deal was quickly made with Giannini Automobili, and from 1984 the engine was called the Giannini Carma FF.
In 1984, the AR2 was well over the weight limit, so the chassis was revised in early 1985. The cars received bodies made of synthetic resin reinforced with aramid and carbon fibers, plus new chassis parts made of titanium. The engine was improved to 460 hp (338 kW) in 1985. The cars were run by the Italian Jolly Club team, closely linked to Finotto.
The AR2’s racing debut came at the 1983 Silverstone 1000 km, after a planned entry at Monza was withdrawn for technical reasons. Finotto and Facetti won their class there, despite being more than 10 seconds per lap slower than the faster Group C cars. Only two other cars entered the C-Junior class that day: a Mazda 717C and a Harrier RX83C, which did not start. The car also won its class at the Nürburgring Nordschleife. At Le Mans, the car retired after 158 laps when broken chassis parts were found during a pit stop; the third driver was Marco Vanoli. After an engine failure at Spa, Finotto and Facetti took a class win and tenth overall at Brands Hatch. Another class victory came at Fuji. The second chassis debuted at Imola, driven by Fulvio Ballabio and Guido Daccò, but both cars failed—Facetti/Finotto due to an electrical fault, Ballabio/Daccò due to engine failure. After a retirement at Mugello, a 12th-place finish and class win at Kyalami—with Massimo Faraci as third driver—secured the Group C Junior world championship.
In 1984, the class was renamed C2. The Jolly Club team used both chassis all season.
Quick Facts
- Manufacturer
- Alba Engineering
- Year introduced
- 1983
- Chassis
- Carbon fiber reinforced plastic monocoque
- Team
- Jolly Club
- Notable drivers
- Martino Finotto
- Carlo Facetti
- Marco Vanoli
- Guido Daccò
Facts from the source article.
Lore & Background
Alba Engineering was founded in 1983 by Giorgio Stirano, a former chassis engineer for Osella. Wealthy Italian racing driver and industrialist Martino Finotto commissioned Stirano to design and build two racing cars for the new Group C junior class, intending to race them with his friend Carlo Facetti in the sports car world championship. Two carbon fiber reinforced plastic monocoques were created, and the engine was developed at CARMA, a company run by Finotto and Facetti. Because the FIA only allowed registered engine manufacturers in the world championship, a contract was made with Giannini Automobili, and the engine was named Giannini Carma FF in 1984.
The AR2 debuted at the 1983 Silverstone 1000 km race with a class victory. It won its class at the Nürburgring and at Brands Hatch, where it finished tenth overall. At Le Mans, the car retired after 158 laps due to broken chassis parts. The season ended with a class win at Kyalami, securing the world championship in Group C-Junior. In 1984, the class was renamed C2, and the Jolly Club team again won the world championship, highlighted by a third-place overall finish at Mosport. From 1985, successor models appeared, and the AR2 made fewer appearances. A third chassis, number 004, was sold to the United States and raced in North America with limited success.
Reader's Guide
The Alba AR2 is notable as the first car from Alba Engineering, a small Italian constructor that achieved immediate success in the Group C junior category. Its two consecutive world championship titles in 1983 and 1984 demonstrated the effectiveness of Stirano's lightweight carbon fiber monocoque design and the robust CARMA turbo engine. The car's class victories at circuits like Silverstone, the Nürburgring, Brands Hatch, and Kyalami established it as a dominant force in its category. Although later overshadowed by its successors and more powerful Group C cars, the AR2 remained in use until 1995, with its final race at Mosport. Its legacy lies in proving that a small, privateer effort could compete at the highest level of endurance racing, and in laying the foundation for Alba's subsequent models.
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