It has been a very positive weekend for the Grande Punto Abarth S2000, which was on the podium at the 92nd Targa Florio Rally with Andrea Navarra and Guido D’Amore, and won two European championship events: the Croatia Rally with Corrado Fontana, and the Slovnaft Rally of Bratislava, in the Slovak Republic, with Polish driver Grzyb.
There was an exciting end to the Targa Florio Rally, the fourth event in the Italian Championship, with Navarra climbing from 5th to 3rd place in the final moments, passing his team-mate Renato Travaglia, with Lorenzo Granai, who was held up by a puncture. In spite of this, Travaglia managed to finish the race in fourth place.
An excellent result for two Sicilian drivers at the wheel of two private Grande Punto Abarth S2000s. Totò Riolo took 5th place, ahead of young Marco Runfola in 6th.
The Targa Florio Rally is also valid for the API-IP Oro Diesel Trophy, reserved for the diesel-engined Fiat Grande Punto Multijet. At the end of a fierce duel, the winner was Umberto Consigli, who managed to get ahead of Gianpietro Bendotti in the second leg. This success enables Consigli to consolidate his lead in the Trophy.
The Croatia Rally, the third event in the European Championship, was won by the private Grande Punto Abarth S2000 driven by Corrado Fontana and Renzo Casazza, who leapt into second place in the overall standings thanks to this result. In the same race, there was an excellent performance by Volkan Isik of Turkey, who crossed the line in third place, also in a Grande Punto Abarth S2000. The Italian driver won the race with a clear lead of 1’14.7” over the Peugeot 207 driven by Polish driver Solowow.
Also in the international field, we should underline the success of the Grande Punto Abarth S2000 in the Slovak Republic, at the Slovnaft Rally of Bratislava: Polish driver Grzyb led the Mitsubishi Lancer driven by Orsak (Czech Republic) and another Grande Punto Abarth S2000, driven by local driver Beres.
The next appointment for the Italian Championship is the Salento Rally, run in Puglia on June 5 to 7, and for the European title, the Polish Rally, on June 6 to 8.
Standings at the 92nd Targa Florio Rally: 1. Rossetti–Chiarcossi (Peugeot 207 Super 2000) in 1 hr 53’33”4; 2. Andreucci-Andreussi (Mitsubishi Lancer) at 29.3”; 3. Navarra–D’Amore (Grande Punto Abarth S2000) at 31.9”; 4. Travaglia–Granai (Grande Punto Abarth S2000) at 34.3”; 5. Riolo–Marin (Grande Punto Abarth S2000) at 57.0”; 6. Runfola–Cimino (Grande Punto Abarth S2000) at 2’19.3”; 7. Cavallini–Zanella (Peugeot 207 Super 2000) at 2’41.3”; 8. Stagno–Palatolo (Mitsubishi Lancer) at 3’25.3”; 9. Cantamessa–Capolongo (Mitsubishi Lancer) at 3’59.2”; 10. Di Benedetto-Merendino (Renault Clio S1600) at 6’18.9”.
Italian Drivers Championship standings:1. Rossetti (Peugeot) 30 points; 2. Longhi (Subaru) 20; 3. Andreucci (Mitsubishi) 19; 4. Navarra (Grande Punto Abarth S2000) 17; 5. Travaglia (Grande Punto Abarth S2000) 14; 6. Cantamessa (Mitsubishi) and Cavallini (Peugeot) 11.5; 8. Perico (Peugeot) 6.5.
Standings at the Croatia Rally: 1. Fontana-Casazza (Grande Punto Abarth S2000) in 2 hours 16’12.6”; 2. Solowow-Baran (Peugeot 207) at 1’14.7”; 3. Isik-Ozsenler (Grande Punto Abarth S2000) at 1’41.7”; 4. Donkev-Valcev (Subaru Impreza) at 5’05.5”; 5. Betti-Barone (Mitsubishi Lancer) at 5’56.0”.
European Championship standings
1. Luca Rossetti ITA (Peugeot) 32 points; 2. Corrado Fontana ITA (Grande Punto Abarth S2000) 21; 3. Renato Travaglia ITA (Grande Punto Abarth S2000) 19; 4. Volkan Isik TUR (Grande Punto Abarth S2000) 15; 5. Anton Alen FIN (Grande Punto Abarth S2000) 11.
Turin, May 25, 2008.
International
