63rd Polish Rally The Fiat Grande Punto defends its record in the European Championship with Giandomenico Basso and Mitia Dotta

After wins in the two European rallies it has entered so far, the Fiat Grande Punto will be favourite to win in the 63rd Polish Rally due to take place tomorrow (Saturday 10 June) and sunday.

Two Fiat Grande Puntos are sharing first place in the European Championship ranking: the car driven by Paolo Andreucci and Anna Andreussi, winners of the 1000 Miglia rally, and the car driven by Giandomenico Basso and Mitia Dotta, placed first in the Fiat Rally in Turkey.

In Poland, we will see the Fiat Grande Punto driven by Basso-Dotta chasing the continental title while Andreucci will be absent as he concentrates on winning the Italian Championship, in which he currently leads.

The Polish Rally is raced over dirt tracks and divided into two stages. The first will take place tomorrow (Saturday 10 June), setting off at 8 am from Mikolajki – a beauty spot in the Mazurca lake region in the north of Poland – to be completed at 6.30 pm on the same day after 6 special speed trials covering a total of 120 km. The second part of the race is on Sunday 11 June, setting off at 8 am and finishing at 4.40 pm, with an additional 6 special speed trials (146 km).

The timed sections are very fast and some sections of the route are reminiscent of the Finnish Rally, with humpback hills and some sandy parts.

This race marks the first time Basso will tackle a dirt track at the wheel of a Fiat Grande Punto with four wheel drive: “We proved very competitive over asphalt – said the official Fiat driver – and I think I have acquired a high level of confidence with the Grande Punto. Dirt tracks are an unknown quantity for me, but the performances of Andreucci and Navarra in the San Marino Rally inspire great confidence. There are certainly some hot contenders in this race”.

These include the Swede Svedlund (Subaru), the Bulgarian Iliev (Mitsubishi), the Briton Meeke (Citroen) and above all the local champions Kuzaj and Holowczyc, both driving Subaru.

Thirteen countries are represented in a rally with a great history: the first edition dates back to 1921. A Fiat Punto Abarth (Super 1600) driven by the young local driver Sebastian Frycz will also take part in the race.

Turin, 09.06.06

European Rally Championship Driver Ranking (after two trials)

1. Andreucci and Basso (Fiat Grande Punto), 10 points

3. Isik (Fiat Punto S1600) and Cantamessa (Subaru), 8