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Skoda Octavia vRS Beats Ferrari 458 Italia's Time On Romania' Most Known Road

Romania’s coolest public place for driving, the Transfagarasan, has become a local mecca for automotive enthusiasts after the former Top Gear presenter Jeremy Clarkson named it “the best road in the world.” This week, a local driver in a Skoda Octavia vRS beat a record set last year by an Italian in a Ferrari 458 Italia.
Skoda Octavia vRS on Transfagarasan road in Romania 10 photos
Photo: Teodor Vlad/Skoda
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At this point, you are probably questioning what kind of record we are referring. In August 2015, an Italian driver named Fabio Barone decided to set a record on the famous Transfagarasan road. No previous officially timed runs were clocked on the said segment.

All legal arrangements were made, and a section of 12,3 kilometers (7,64 miles) was closed for traffic, so that the attempt can be executed safely.

Mr. Barone drove his Ferrari 458 Italia on the route from the "Balea" Waterfall to the "Balea" Lake in nine minutes, 13 seconds, and 442 thousands of a second.

At the time, Fabio Barone was excited about his result and moved on to drive his car on other famous routes around the world. We must note that he did return this year with other members of the Ferrari Club to participate in a regularity race for classic cars held on the same road.

Last year’s record was left untouched until this September, when local driver Andrei Mitrasca, also known as the first and only Romanian ever to race at Pikes Peak, saw the previous time as "an invitation that could not be refused."

Mitrasca, the guy that drove his race car across the U.S. to run in the famous Pikes Peak Hill Climb, managed to get all the clearances and had the road closed down for his attempt.

The local team behind this attempt chose a standard Skoda Octavia vRS 230, which also happens to be the fastest Czech car ever made. The car remained stock, but it was fitted with different tires, in the form of Dunlop SP Sport Maxx. Mitrasca had a co-driver, Magda Matei, who only had participated in a single racing event before this feat.

The Romanian crew managed to break the record set by Fabio Barone last year by 47 seconds, which is a funny coincidence since that is the same number on Mitrasca’s race car. For those interested in official figures, the time achieved was of eight minutes, 26 seconds, and 160 thousands of a second.

The Romanian Federation of Motorsport was there to homologate the record, which was timed with internationally-approved TAG Heuer devices.

After completing the single timed run, Andrei Mitrasca, the driver that beat a Ferrari 458 Italia in a stock Skoda Octavia vRS, stated that he is delighted that the attempt was successful.

Mitrasca also said that he did not reach extremely high speeds, but that he managed to keep a brisk pace and push hard in the corners. Andrei believes that the weather was also on his side, and he wrote on his Facebook wall that he would be sad if nobody came to break the record set by him, which is an unusually optimist view of this achievement.

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About the author: Sebastian Toma
Sebastian Toma profile photo

Sebastian's love for cars began at a young age. Little did he know that a career would emerge from this passion (and that it would not, sadly, involve being a professional racecar driver). In over fourteen years, he got behind the wheel of several hundred vehicles and in the offices of the most important car publications in his homeland.
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