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Two official
Fiat Punto Abarth Super 1600's lined-up in the hot, dusty
conditions today in Sardinia for round three of the FIA
Junior World Rally Championship.
The Italy-Sardinia Rally, which is also the fifth round of
the FIA World Rally Championship, runs from today until
Sunday. Mirco Baldacci from San Marino will be at the wheel
of one of the factory backed Fiat Puntos, teamed up with
Giovanni Bernacchini from Milan, while the other car sees an
all-Tuscan team of Luca Cecchettini and Massimiliano
Daddoveri.
This will be Cecchettini's debut at the wheel of an official
Fiat-entered car, coming as it does after his excellent
third place with a Fiat Punto Abarth on the recent Mexico
Rally.
Over the next three days in Sardinia, Baldacci will be
focusing on fighting off a tough challenge from top drivers
in the Suzuki Ignis, Citroen C2 and Renault Clio teams.
During the Monte Carlo Rally, the season's first event, the
San Marino driver chalked up the most fastest times on the
special stages and also won the famous Col de Turini timed
trial.
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Mirco Baldacci lines up
his factory Fiat Punto Abarth Super 1600 for the
start of today's 'shakedown' stage
in Sardinia |
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Earlier today Baldacci and Cecchettini took part in
the rally's shakedown stage, which was held in warm,
dry conditions with temperatures reaching a high of
27 degrees centigrade |
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The Italy-Sardinia Rally will be run over three legs, with
17 special stages, making up a total distance of 1,192 km
(350 of which are timed stages). The opening ceremony at
Porto Cervo took place earlier this evening, while the legs
will get underway from Olbia's Rally Village (the industrial
port) at 8.00am tomorrow morning, on Saturday 30th April,
and at 6.30am on Sunday, May 1. The final arrival will be in
Porto Cervo on Sunday at 2.30pm.
Earlier today Baldacci and Cecchettini took part in the
rally's shakedown stage, which was held in warm, dry
conditions with temperatures reaching a high of 27 degrees
centigrade. The two Fiat drivers reported no problems,
although the conditions were very dusty.
FIA JWRC Drivers' Standings - FIA Junior World Rally
Championship (after two events): 1. Wilks, 12 points; 2.
Andersson, 11; 3. Meeke, 10; 4. Katajamaki, 8; 5.
Cecchettini, Scorcioni and Valousek, 6; 8. Sordo, 5; 9.
Betti, 4; 10. Prokop and Baldacci, 0.
Photos: Marco Tenuti in Porto Cervo
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