Paolo Andreucci and Anna Andreussi have earned the new Super2000 category Fiat Grande Punto its third championship title in what is its debut rally year, this weekend the pair adding the Italian Rally Championship crown to the FIA European Rally Championship and International Rally Challenge successes already racked up by their team mates Giandomenico Basso and Mitia Dotta. It also comes on the same weekend as Basso gave the new car its full FIA World Rally Championship debut on the Rally of Turkey.

Andreucci came out on top on the 25th Rally Costa Smeralda yesterday after a tough contest that was only decided on the very last stage, and in the process, not only did he seal the outright title for Fiat, he also handed the new car its very first win on a gravel surface, as well as its sixth Italian Championship (CIR) victory in ten events held so far this year. With just one round remaining (the Rally di San Crispino on 29th October) Andreucci has an unassailable fifteen-point lead over his closest rival in the table, Subaru Impreza pilot Piero Longhi.

Paolo Andreucci and Anna Andreussi arrived at the 25th Rally Costa Smeralda on Thursday morning for the traditional pre-event 'shakedown' on the back of winning the weather-truncated Rally Sanremo, the last round of the 2006 CIR, and with a nine-point lead over Piero Longi (Subaru Impreza) - the only other driver with a realistic chance of wresting the title away from the Fiat crew - they were determined to finish the event, and hopefully wrap up the 2006 title. 

Andreucci had five wins to his name this year (Rally dell Ciocco, 1000 Miglia, Targa Florio, Alpi Orientali and Sanremo) while Longhi had two victories (Rally dell'Adriatico and San Marino). The other two wins (Rally del Salento and San Martino di Castrozza) had gone to Renato Travaglia (Mitsubishi Evo IX) who would also be in the thick of the action this weekend. The latter two drivers would be certain to revel in the gravel conditions in their turbocharged GpN machines although Andreucci was very determined to pull out a good loose surface result for the new Fiat, while his team mates, Andrea Navarra and Guido d'Amore, acknowledged Italian gravel specialists, were seeking a top result after enduring a difficult season thus far.

The Rally Costa Smeralda was to be contested over 15 stages: leg one on Friday comprising 9 stages, with the remaining 6 to be fought out during yesterday's leg 2. The rally started with the short 9.65 km-long SS1 "Braniatogghiu 1", and Piero Longhi immediately lodged his intent, posting the fastest time, with Andreucci just 1.2 seconds back in third place. SS2 and SS3 saw the Fiat driver struggling to keep up the hectic pace, a 9th and 11th fastest time respectively on these stages seeing him in 5th overall on the general classification.

However on SS4 (Braniatogghiu 2) and SS5 (Camporotondo 2, 9.27 km) he swung into a rhythm, posting second fastest time on the former stage and taking his first fastest scratch time of the rally on the latter, in the process climbing back up the leaderboard to third overall and a provisional podium position. After a sixth fastest time on SS6, and second fastest on SS7, Andreucci rounded out the day with fastest time on each of the final two stages SS8 (Camporotondo 3) and SS9 (Luogosanto 3, 11.15 km).

This late burst saw Andreucci and Andreussi rolling into overnight parc fermé in second place, just 10.9 seconds behind rally leader Piero Longhi who had led for virtually the whole first day. With the Fiat crew requiring only a sixth place finish, irrespective of how other results went, to clinch the title, their rally was firmly on course. Team mates Andrea Navarra and Guido d'Amore had struggled with suspension problems, the duo setting two fifth, one eighth, three tenth and one eleventh fastest time on their way to an overnight seventh place overall, 53.3 seconds adrift of the rally leader.
 

The early action of the final day saw Andrea Aghini (Subaru Impreza) on a real charge. Having started the second leg 4th overall, he posted fastest time on each of the opening three stages of the day, and with rally leader Longhi losing more than 20 seconds on the third test (SS12 San Giacomo 2, 24.76 km), roles were reversed: by the end of SS12 Aghini had a 9.4 second lead over Andreucci (who had set 4th, 6th and 2nd quickest times on the opening three stages) while Longhi was now down to third, 12.2 seconds off the pace at the front. After two sixth fastest times on the first two stages of the day, which had moved him up into 6th place overall, Navarra, in the second Fiat Grande Punto, retired with brake failure on SS12. Travaglia won his first test of the rally on the next stage (SS13 Olbia 2, 11.08 km) but second fastest time for Andreucci moved him to just 0.1 of a second behind the rally leader, Aghini. With two stages only now remaining, the race for the rally victory was wide open. However, the tide turned back in Aghini's favour on the next test, the third lap of San Giancomo, as the Subaru driver responded brilliantly, going fastest; and with Andreucci losing 27.8 seconds (6th fastest), the gap was a seemingly insurmountable 27.9 seconds with just one timed stage remaining.

However once again this rally see-sawed, and this time it was Aghini who suffered, brake problems losing him 59.6 seconds on the last stage, dropping him down to third place on the final classification and allowing Andreucci (fifth fastest) to scoop the honours with a narrow 6.1 second win over Travaglia who had come on very strong during the final day and wrapped his event up with fastest time on the final stage, his second top scratch time of the day. With Piero Longhi having faded to 5th place after a puncture and then mechanical problems, Andreucci ran out as the rally winner and comfortable new Italian Rally Champion; but he also gave the Fiat Grande Punto its first win on gravel, after the five asphalt victories in the series he had claimed thus far.

"We have had a superb season in which we have had at our disposal a perfect and reliable car," said Andreucci at the finish. "I have to thank Fiat and all their mechanics for this victory. I had to confront many adversaries and therefore this victory is beautiful," he added. The win yesterday also put Fiat's name firmly back in the winner's circle on the Rally Costa Smeralda after a huge 25 year absence: the last win for the Turinese carmaker was claimed by Finnish star Markku Alen, at the wheel of the immortal 131 Abarth in 1981. The was actually the third win for Fiat on the event following victories for Verini (1978) during the first ever edition of the event and then Bettaga a year later, both these two wins also being claimed by the highly successful 131 Abarth.

25th Rally Costa Smeralda, Final Results: 1 Andreucci/Andreussi (Fiat Grande Punto) in 2h 20’27”5 ; 2 Travaglia/Granai (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9) + 6”1; 3 Aghini/Cerrai (Subaru Impreza Spec C) + 19”4; 4 Dallavilla/Vernuccio (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX) + 22”0; 5 Longhi/Imerito (Subaru Impreza STi) + 55”1; 6 Medici/Cicognini + 1’33”7; 7 Colombini/Guglielmini (Subaru Impreza) 2’02”8; 8 Liceri/Diomedi (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9) + 5’59”6; 9 Chentre/Canton ( Citroen C2 S1600) + 6’59”6; 10 Zanchi/D’Esposito ( Subaru Impreza STi) + 8’09”8

CSAI Italian Rally Championship - Drivers' standings (after 10 rounds): 1. Andreucci (Fiat Grande Punto) 74 points (74); 2. Longhi (Subaru) 59 (56); 3. Navarra (Fiat Grande Punto) 45 (45); 4. Travaglia (Mitsubishi) 44 (44); 5. Aghini (Subaru) 38 (38).