While Andrea Navarra was getting Abarth's 2007 Intercontinental Rally Challenge assault off to a winning start in East Africa at the weekend, the reigning champion from new international series, Giandomenico Basso, was beginning his challenge for the Italian Rally Championship (CIR) title on the 30th Rally del Ciocco at the same time. Both challenges came just days after Abarth was re-launched by Fiat as a standalone brand in its own right in a blaze of publicity at the 77th Geneva Motor Show.

Giandomenico Basso is coming off the back of a superb 2006 season, the Italian having claimed both the FIA European Rally Championship and Intercontinental Rally Challenge titles at the wheel of the new Super2000 Grande Punto Abarth. With Italian Rally Champion Paolo Andreucci, and his long-time co-driver Anna Andreussi, having recently defected to Mitsubishi Italia, Basso has been switched by Abarth to take up the task defending the all-important domestic rally title.

It is a big task for Basso to step into the shoes of Andreucci, a highly experienced rally driver who led the development programme of the Super2000 Grande Punto Abarth, and who has claimed an excellent haul of six national titles during his five winning years with the Fiat marque, including the outright Italian rally title last year with the new 2.0-litre, normally-aspirated four-wheel-drive machine. All the usual top runners are out in the Italian series this year, and as well as the tough challenge from Andreucci, Basso was set to face the 2007 specification GpN machines of Piero Longhi (Subaru Impreza Spec C), Andrea Aghini (Impreza Spec C), Luca Cantamessa (Mitsubishi Evo IX), Andrea Dallavilla (Evo IX) and Andrea Perego (Evo IX), while the rapid Luca Rossetti would be the unknown quantity in the new Super2000 category Peugeot 207.

Basso's rally immediately turned to disaster as he went out on the first stage, the 6.19 km "super special" held on Friday evening at Ciocco. However Basso was readmitted to the rally by taking advantage of the SupeRally rule which allowed him to take the start after collecting a 3 minute time penalty. This proved fruitless though as engine failure put him out on the first stage of the day (SS2), the 19 km long Vergemoli.
 

Youngster Davide Gatti and his co-driver Maurizio Barone were also out in a factory-entered Grande Punto Abarth, this time though it was the 1.9-litre Multijet-powered R3D model, which will form the basis of an Italian diesel trophy this year, and which has been built with new 2008 FIA regulations in mind. On the opening super special (SS1) he was second in Class A7 (29th overall), the category where the new low-cost machine has been designated to run. The Rally del Ciocco was its rallying debut. On SS2 he went one better, going fastest in A7 (26th overall) but he then hit problems on the next stage. Gatti however recovered quickly to post some very solid scratch times. He went quickest in the A7 class again on SS6, where he posted the 22nd fastest time overall, and then improved even further to set the 17th best time overall on the SS7, a highly impressive performance. However, the next stage (SS8) saw him joining team mate Basso on the sidelines.

The rally saw a strong debut by Luca Rossetti in the new Racing Lion's Peugeot 207 Super2000, backed by Peugeot Italia, at the front of the rally. The youngster was at the top of the standings from the very first stage to the penultimate stage, where he suffered a puncture who cost him 5 minutes, and the overall victory was handed to Tuscan, Andreucci. This debut performance by the Peugeot 207 Super2000 indicates that it will be a strong challenger to Grande Punto Abarth for the rest of the season.

Rossetti's departure gifted victory to Paolo Andreucci, the ex-Fiat driver eventually the rally winning by 58.5 seconds from Luca Cantamessa in second. Third overall went to Alessandro Perico, who turned in a very strong performance in his Renault Clio S1600 to lead the two-wheel-drive runners home. Expected 2007 title challengers, Andrea Aghini, Andrea Perego and Andrea Dallavilla rounded out the top six classified finishers, although Basso can take some comfort by the departure from the rally on SS4 of the rapid Piero Longhi. The next round of the CIR is the San Marino Rally, from 30th March to 1st April.