|
Giandomenico
Basso and Mitia Dotta comfortably fended off all their
challengers as they sped to a safe victory on the 27th Rally San
Martino di Castrozza at the weekend. The event was the sixth round of the
2007 Italian Rally Championship (CIR).
This was Basso's
second win of the Italian season and allows the Abarth & Co. factory
driver to open up a decent 5 point cushion in the championship
standings over his closest rival, fellow countryman Luca Rossetti
(Peugeot 207 S2000), who
finished a distant second, and a 6 point advantage over
reigning Italian champion and former Fiat driver Paolo
Andreucci (Mitsubishi Evo IX), who claimed the final podium position,
although he was more than a minute adrift.
After 13 stages
spread over two legs (5-7 July) Basso finished the Rally San
Martino di Castrozza with a 44.2 second advantage over
second placed Rossetti, as the Super2000 class Abarth and
Peugeot drivers' were the class of the field on the fast, twisting asphalt stages in the
Dolomites. In fact the two pilots won every stage of the
rally, bar the opening 'superspecial, emphasising the
dominance of the new Super2000 category over the GpN
machines. In the end though it was simply no contest as Basso,
who previously won this rally at the wheel of a Super1600
Fiat Punto in 2004, took the
overall lead on just the second stage (Compet, 9.65 km) after setting
the fastest time, to open up a 7.6 second advantage over Andrea Dallavilla
(Mitsubishi Evo IX) who had been the fastest driver on the 1.9 km long rally-opening
spectator-orientated superspecial stage.
On the third stage of the first leg (Val dei
Mòcheni - Bersntol, 27.9 km) Basso simply put the rally out
of the reach of all his rivals, going a massive 20.7 seconds
faster than the next quickest driver, Luca Cantamessa
(Mitsubishi Evo IX), to open up an impressive 33.3 second
rally lead. The Abarth driver then went fastest on three of
the last four remaining stages of the day to go into
overnight parc ferme with a 49.1 second lead over Andreucci,
with Rossetti a further 0.6 seconds further back in third.
Basso posted his
intent immediately the next morning as he won the first
stage of leg two (SS8 Col Perér,
14.32 km),
taking his comfortable advantage at the front up to 50.7
seconds.
|
