With the second placing secured by Andrea Navarra and Guido D’Amore in the Fiat Rally Turkey, Abarth leads both the Manufacturers’ and Drivers’ championships of the Intercontinental Rally Challenge.
After a first leg concluding with the Grande Punto Abarth driven by the young Finn Anton Alen in first place, the second day was filled with surprises. The first of these concerned Alen himself, when a stone severed his rear brake line. After leading for ten special stages, the Finn was forced to concede first place, two timed trials from the end of the rally, to the French driver Vouilloz, in a Peugeot 207. After slipping down to second, Alen was then slowed down even further by a puncture during the final timed trial, and eventually finished fourth. “This was not a good day,” said the son of the great Markku, without losing any of the composure he had shown throughout the weekend. While fourth place was not as gratifying for him as the finish he deserved, the ease with which he got to grips with the Grande Punto Abarth lets him look forward with confidence.
With Alen out of the running for first place, it was up to Andrea Navarra and Volkan Isik to realise the ambitions of the Italian marque. Navarra drove confidently and skilfully, taking second place and bagging further points, securing him the lead in the prestigious intercontinental series, whereas Isik missed the opportunity for a podium placing, breaking a suspension linkage just a handful of kilometres before the end and finishing sixth.
“Without the disadvantage of having to go first on the Turkish gravel,” said Navarra, “I was able to drive more aggressively and take more advantage of the Grande Punto Abarth’s potential. The Turkish Rally was particularly tough and picking up serious points here is extremely encouraging for the rest of the season.”
“When you have five drivers all within half a minute of each other two thirds of the way through the rally,” commented Abarth motorsports division chief Claudio Berro, “you can always expect a finale full of surprises. This is exactly what happened here and, unfortunately, it was at our expense: while it was a shame for Anton Alen and Volkan Isik, on the other hand, it allowed Navarra to strengthen his lead in the Intercontinental Rally Challenge and Abarth to move to the top of the manufacturers’ championship.”
The next round in the Intercontinental Rally Challenge is the Ypres Rally, which will be run in Belgium on June 22 and 23.
Fiat Rally Turkey standings:
1. Vouilloz-Klinger (Peugeot 207), 2h 31m 52.9s; 2. Navarra-D’Amore (Grande Punto Abarth) +24.2s; 3. Ojeda-Costa (Peugeot 207) +1m 13.0s; 4. Alen-Alanne (Grande Punto Abarth) +1m 52.0s; 5. Travaglia-Granai (Mitsubishi Lancer) +2m 02.3s.
Intercontinental Rally Challenge standings
Drivers: 1. Andrea Navarra (Grande Punto Abarth) 18 points; 2. Nicolas Vouilloz (Peugeot 207) 10; 3. Hideaki Miyoshi (Mitsubishi Lancer) 8; 4. Asad Anwar (Mitsubishi Lancer) and Enrique Garcia Ojeda (Peugeot 207) 6; 6. Sammy Aslam (Mitsubishi Lancer) and Anton Alen (Grande Punto Abarth) 5; 8. Robert Gow (Mitsubishi Lancer) and Renato Travaglia (Mitsubishi Lancer) 4; 10 Navraj Hans (Mitsubishi Lancer) and Volkan Isik (Grande Punto Abarth) 3.
Manufacturers: 1. Abarth 23 points; 2. Mitsubishi 20; 3. Peugeot 16; 4. Citroën 1.
Turin, May 13, 2007
International
