In conditions of torrential mud and rain, Fiat came away with victory for Luís Tedesco and Raphael Furtado (above) driving the Palio 1.8 R on the 11th International Rally of Erechin, the second round of 2008 Brazilian Rally Championship.

In conditions of torrential mud and rain, Fiat came away with victory in the 11th International Rally of Erechin, the second round of 2008 Brazilian Rally Championship. The official Fiat crew of Luís Tedesco and Raphael Furtado driving the 2008-specification Fiat Palio 1.8R climbed to the top of the podium in the N3 category, reserved for car up to 2000cc, 4x2 traction, and with limited preparation, to make it two wins out of two events.

With that impressive result, the Fiat Rally team's longstanding leading driver Tedesco keeps the leadership of the championship, now with 20 points, followed closely by the crew Eduardo Cunha and Eduardo Soneca, who are turning out to be the biggest surprise of the championship. They have collected 16 points but their performance is all the more impressive as they are at the wheel of a Palio 1600cc, and competing against cars with 1800cc or 2000cc engines.

The rally was held over two days and dispute under rainy conditions, which meant that treacherous, muddy tracks were the biggest obstacles to the crews., The rally comprised of 160 competitive timed kilometres, divided in 10 stages. “We were able to get a good advantage on Saturday over the second placed car, so on Sunday our strategy was just keeping the position," said a delighted Tedesco at the end of the rally; he finished with perfect proof of that strategy as he had a 10 minute advantage over Cunha and Soneca.

In the N2 category, reserved for rally cars up to  1600cc, 4x2 traction and limited preparation, the Fiat Rally team, this time with the crew of Fábio Dall'Agnol and Marcelo Dalmut, had a problem caused by a flat tyre, and as a consequence the pair had to battle hard to recover, and they did well to finish in third place.

The next round of the 2008 Brazilian Rally Championship will be held in the city of Divinópolis in the state of Minas Gerais on 31 May.

by Claudio Perlini

Brazilian Rally Championship Rd 2, Rally of Erechin - Results:

N3 category: 1st Luís Tedesco/Raphael Furtado (Fiat Palio 1.8); 2nd Eduardo Cunha/Eduardo Soneca (Fiat Palio 1.6)

N2 category: 1st Bernardo Koller/Sidnei Broering (Chevrolet Celta 1.4); 2 Ulysses Bertholdo/Armando Miranda (Chevrolet Celta 1.4); 3rd Fábio Dall’Agnol/Marcelo Dalmut (Fiat Palio 1.6)