An exciting finale spectacularly shortened the standings at the Rallye du Valais, although it did not change the final result. Nicolas Vouilloz won, having led from the start – apart from a short spell in second place – ahead of Enrique Garcia Ojeda and Umberto Scandola, who took an excellent third place in the Abarth Grande Punto, followed by Freddy Loix’s identical car.
For the twenty-two-year-old from Veneto, his first podium in an international rally was certainly the high point of his career, a success that he fought for and built up in the three legs. And he achieved it with great spirit, after the breakage of a drive axle had forced him to leave third place to the Belgian driver for a couple of speed trials.
The Swiss event was a great disappointment for Andrea Navarra; he was gaining ground and had set the best time in the fourth speed trial from the end, when he was forced to retire with a broken engine gasket.
“Yet another bad day in what has been a very unfortunate season for me,” commented Navarra, whose disappointment contrasted with Scandola’s joy. “This podium makes me really happy,” said the driver from Verona. “I did not win, but for me this third place is as good as a victory.”
Claudio Berro, head of racing activities at Abarth, comments: “Unfortunately our hopes of winning the Manufacturers’ title in the Intercontinental Rally Challenge vanished when Navarra retired. But we still had the satisfaction of seeing Scandola on the podium at the end of a race that was anything but easy, and of having put Freddy Loix, one of our customers, in a position to compete among the leaders on a par with the official drivers.”
Success in the Abarth Oro Diesel Trophy went to Umberto Consigli from Tuscany, who took an excellent 19th place overall in a very long, difficult race. In the third leg he overtook young Alessio Pisi from Liguria, who finished in second place in front of Tiziano Nerobutto from Trento. Thanks to this result, Pisi now leads the standings with two points over Nerobutto. The final event in the Oro Diesel Trophy will be the Como Rally, from November 15 to 17.
Abarth Oro Diesel Trophy standings: 1. Alessio Pisi, 32 points; 2. Tiziano Nerobutto, 30; 3. Gianni Martellucci, 25; 4. Umberto Consigli, 20; 5. Dimitri Brunello, 16; 6. Davide Di Benedetto and Diego Fornaciari, 10.
Turin, October 27, 2007
International
