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After the last
two rounds of the 2005 CSAI Italian Rally Championship, the
Rally of Adratico and the San Marino Rally, were disputed on gravel
surfaces, round five of the series, the 39th Rally del Salento, held last weekend, was scheduled to take place
entirely on tarmac.
Run over the fast, sealed roads of the
Puglia region in Southern Italy from 16th-18th June, it
would thus provide the perfect opportunity for Paolo Andreucci and Anna Andreussi in the official, Procar-run,
Super 1600 Fiat Punto to close up the championship points
gap to the Group N four wheel drive Subaru Impreza and
Mitsubishi Evo mounted drivers who were already opening out
a commanding series advantage after four rounds.
Andreucci, the
overall Italian Rally Champion in 2003, and the Super 1600
title winner last year, went into the event heading the
Super 1600 points standings, chased by his usual front wheel
drive rivals, the officially backed Renato Travaglia
(Renault Clio S1600) and Andrea Dallavilla (Citroen C2
S1600). organised by the Automobile Club Lecce, the 39th
Rally del Salento would see the crews cover 770.10km, with
220.10km of these being timed, split into 17 special stages.
However the
event was to prove fruitless for the Fiat Punto driver. And,
despite storming straight into the lead of the event in the
agile little front wheel Fiat and fending off the attentions
of Aghini (Subaru Impreza STi) and Navarra (Mitsubishi Evo
VIII), he hit a wall on stage six, Santa Cesarea, as racing
through the Porto Badisco area, while holding the race
advantage. Unfortunately the damage was to severe for him to
continue and he was forced to withdraw as the opening day
headed to a close. Travaglia also retired his Renault Clio
in the Super 1600 category, while leading, leaving
Dallavilla to take over the class leadership in his Citroen
C2 and to claim the victory.
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