Abarth driver Giandomenico Basso has won the Rali Vinho da Madeira for the second consecutive year, after taking the rally lead on the first loop of stages on Friday. Basso had no real problems apart from a faulty gearbox on Friday evening that was changed in just 12 minutes at the service park. The Italian was able to control his pace throughout the second leg to claim a well-deserved victory.

Mitsubishi driver Renato Travaglia took the early lead but was forced to settle for second, despite coming very close to Basso’s pace on the opening day. The former European Champion came under pressure from Peugeot driver Enrique Garcia Ojeda on the final morning, but Ojeda dropped time with some road penalties following a gearbox change. He was passed by local hero Bruno Magalhães in a similar car with just two stages to go.

Abarth driver Jose Fontes, also from Portugal, finished in a clear fifth but there was a big fight behind him for sixth throughout the final day. Peugeot Belgium driver Bernd Casier held the place initially, before being passed by the Abarth of Corrado Fontana. Casier fought back on the final stage to reclaim the position, ahead of Fontana. The final points-scoring place was claimed after an excellent drive from Simon Jean-Joseph in the Citroen C2 Super 1600. Both Honda Civic Type Rs of Dani Sola and Luca Betti hit trouble at the end of the opening day. Betti went off and damaged an water cooler, while Sola lost time with a driveshaft problem. Despite this setback both cars continued to the finish of the rally, in order to rack up more development distance on asphalt.

Peugeot’s Nicolas Vouilloz lost a lot of time on the opening day with a clutch problem and eventually finished 10th, while Abarth driver Andrea Navarra was out before Friday’s first stage with an electrical problem.
 

Nonetheless Navarra continues to lead the drivers’ standings while Abarth now leads Peugeot by three points. Basso said: "I came here to do a job – by helping the Abarth team in the manufacturers’ points – and I’m delighted to have been able to do it. This was far from an easy event: tyre choice in particular was very tricky during the first day. It was a very good fight, but we were able to stay a little bit in front, which in the end allowed us to take the win."

The next round of the IRC is the all-asphalt Barum Rally Zlin, held in the south east of the Czech Republic, from August 24-26. The roads are fast and quite technical, presenting the IRC crews with a big challenge that will be watched by an enthusiastic local crowd.

48th Rali Vinho da Madeira, Final Result: 1 Giandomenico Basso/Mitia Dotta (Grande Punto Abarth) 3h06m13.4s; 2 Renato Travaglia/Lorenzo (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo) 9 +1m31.1s; 3 Bruno Magalhães/Paulo Grave (Peugeot 207 S2000) +2m26.4s; 4 Enrique Ojeda/Jordi Costa (Peugeot 207 S2000) +2m52.8s; 5 Jose Fontes/Fernando Prata (Grande Punto Abarth) +3m39.0s; 6 Bernd Casier/Frederic Miclotte (Grande Punto Abarth) +5m37.3s; 7 Corrado Fontana/Renzo Casazza (Grande Punto Abarth) +5m40.6s; 8 Simon Jean-Joseph/Jack Boyere (Citroen C2 Super 1600) +6m03.5s; 9 Alexandre Camacho/Rui Abreu (Peugeot 206 S1600) +6m59.9s; 10 Nicolas Vouilloz/Nicolas (Peugeot 207 S2000) +7m01.2s.