EUROPEAN RALLY CHAMPIONSHIP BASSO’S FIAT PUNTO ABARTH FIGHTS FOR THE EUROPEAN TITLE

The 40th Antibes Cote d'Azur Rally, the ninth and final event in the European Rally Championship will be run in France from Friday 28 to Sunday 30 October. There will be two official Fiat Punto Abarths at the start, driven by Giandomenico Basso-Mitia Dotta, competing for the European title, and Paolo Andreucci-Anna Andreussi, protagonists of the Italian Rally Championship. Basso and Dotta are runners-up in the European title race and could bring the prestigious title home for Fiat; Fiat last won the title in 1981, with the Fiat 131 Abarth of Vudafieri.

In the eight races disputed so far, Basso’s Punto Abarth has recorded two wins (the Bulgarian and Greek rallies) and two second places (Czech Republic and Turkey), in an extremely competitive season, which Basso is competing in for the first time. The results achieved are extremely positive, given the quality of the direct adversaries (Travaglia leads the title race, with Jean Joseph in third place, both in Renault) and of their experience in the selective European events.

A second official Fiat Abarth car will be entrusted to Andreucci-Andreussi, following in the footsteps of Baldacci-Bernacchini who competed in the Turkish and Greek rallies as part of the Junior World Rally Championship, taking a third and a fourth place.

The Antibes Rally envisages 3 legs with 18 special speed trials on paved roads, for a total of 1,059 km (300 timed). The first leg starts at 12.40 pm on Friday October 28 (concluding at 9.50 pm); the second leg will be run from 8.30 am to 8.34 pm on Saturday 29, and the third leg on Sunday October 30, from 7.00 am to 4.10 pm.

Turin, Octobre 27, 2005

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