The 35th San Marino Rally, the second event in the Italian Championship, ended today (Sunday, April 1), in the tiny republic on Mount Titan. The works Grande Punto Abarth driven by Giandomenico Basso and Mitia Dotta secured second place, earning valuable points for the national rally championship, ahead of the Mitsubishi Lancer driven by Gamba-Guzzi and the Peugeot 207 driven by Rossetti-Chiarcossi. First place went to Longhi-Imerito (Subaru).
The Grande Punto Abarth won two of the ten special stages, proving to be highly competitive on the dirt only terrain of the San Marino event. Every one of the stages tackled by Basso and his navigator Dotta involved extremely slippery, muddy conditions, and the duo conducted an aggressive rally throughout the entire first leg and during the first portion of the second leg, earning them fourth position in the drivers’ championship, just three places behind provisional leader Cantamessa.
The Team Abarth Grande Punto, now in its second competitive season and with three titles already under its belt (the 2006 International Rally Challenge,European Championship and Italian Championship), had a trouble-free rally.
“This is a practically unknown rally to me, as I’ve only driven it twice before, and even then with different special stages,” commented Giandomenico Basso upon his arrival at the Republic of San Marino. “This is therefore a very rewarding result. We won two out of the ten special stages, with constant podium finishes for the other stages in second place. We slowed the pace down a little for the last two stages but without taking any risks and letting Travaglia past, because he doesn’t score any championship points. After the bad luck at the 'Ciocco' rally, we’re back in the game.”
The championship also continues in a promising vein for the Grande Punto Abarth Multijet driven by Davide Gatti and Maurizio Barone. After starting the first rally fought out on dirt – and the second in the championship – with a crash which, however, caused no damage or injury, things improved with the car notching up excellent results, including a second place in the two wheel drive category for the penultimate special stage.
Lastly, a privately entered Grande Punto Abarth in Scuderia Grifone livery earned third place in the final Rally Terra Trophy standings, with an eleventh overall placing by the Grossi-Girelli team.
The next event in the Italian Championship is the 1000 Miglia Rally, scheduled from April 19 to 21.
Final standings for the 35th San Marino Rally (valid for the Italian Championship):
1. Longhi-Imerito (Subaru Impreza) 2h 07m 51.2s
2. Basso-Dotta (Grande Punto Abarth) +33.5s
3. Gamba-Guzzi (Mitsubishi) +52.5s
4. Rossetti-Chiarcossi (Peugeot 207) +1m 10.8s
5. Dallavilla-Rocco (Mitsubishi) +1m 16.1s
Italian Rally Championship Drivers’ Standings (after two events):
1. Cantamessa (Mitsubishi) 11; 2. Andreucci (Mitsubishi) and Longhi (Subaru) 10; 4. Basso (Grande Punto Abarth) 8; 5. Perico (Mitsubishi) 7; 6. Perego (Mitsubishi) 6
Turin, April 1, 2007
International
