Andrea Navarra (above) claimed the final podium spot in Sicily by just 2.4 seconds, and he was himself a mere 2.6 seconds away from taking the second spot from Paolo Andreucci. Rounding out the top six on the Targa Florio Rally were two privately entered Grande Punto Abarth S2000s driven by Salvatore Riolo (above) and Marco Runfola.

The 92nd Targa Florio Rally, the fourth round of the 2008 Italian Rally Championship (CIR), took place in Sicily last weekend, with the two factory supported Abarths of Andrea Navarra and Renato Travaglia heading home a string of four Grande Puntos in the top six places.

The competitive stages got underway on the Saturday morning, with the 21.3km ‘Montemaggiore’ test, later repeated as SS4. The Peugeot 207 of Luca Rossetti took an immediate lead, blasting through the stage 3.6 seconds quicker than the Ralliart Italia Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX of Paolo Andreucci, who in turn was 5.5 seconds quicker than the impressive Davide Medici in a Movisport Peugeot 207. The two factory Abarths of Travaglia and Navarra were fourth and fifth quickest, some 11.6 and 16.2 seconds off the leader’s pace respectively.

The opening test confirmed a pattern for the rally.  Rossetti followed up his quick start with fastest times on the next four stages, building  a lead of nearly half a minute over Medici by the end of SS5, ‘Targa 2’. Travaglia had set a string of second-fastest times and was just 3.4 seconds behind the privateer Peugeot, with Andreucci hard on his tail and Navarra a further 10 seconds or so back in fifth.

However, Rossetti was to strike gearbox gremlins on SS6, ‘Scillato 2’, the final of the repeated batch of three opening stages. However the Italian managed to minimise the time loss through this and the following two stages, a further rerun of the opening two stages, to end the leg with a 17-second advantage over Medici. Travaglia lay a 5.4 seconds down in third place, with a tight scrap for fourth between Andreucci and Navarra, separated by just 1.4 seconds. Completing the points positions was a trio of S2000 cars, a pair of Grande Puntos piloted by Salvatore Riolo and Marco Runolfa trailed by the Peugeot 207 of Tobia Cavallini.

The second and final leg consisted of a repeated loop of two stages, totaling just under 60km in length. With his gearbox problems fixed overnight, Rossetti set out to regain the initiative on the first stage of the day, claiming fastest time from Andreucci and Riolo. The stage spelt disaster for Medici though, who was forced to retire from an impressive second place. A quick time for Andreucci had pushed him from fourth up to second, with Travaglia still in hot pursuit and team-mate Navarra close behind, now in fourth place.

Fastest time for Navarra on SS10, the 15.8km ‘Santa Lucia 1’, was enough for him to snatch third place from Travaglia before the field headed for the final service halt, the gap between the two Abarth drivers now 4.1 seconds. Although Travaglia closed the gap over the repeated loop, it was not quite enough – Navarra would claim the final podium spot by just 2.4 seconds, and was a mere 2.6 seconds away from claiming second spot from Andreucci. Travaglia completed the rally fourth, 34.3 seconds behind winner Rossetti, who beat Andreucci by nearly half a minute. Rounding out the top six were the two privateer Grande Puntos of Salvatore Riolo and Marco Runfola.

The result means that the two Abarth pilots now sit fourth and fifth in the Driver’s Championship. In the Manufacturer’s Championship, meanwhile, the six points picked up by Fiat take them to within a point of third-placed Subaru on 20 points, behind Peugeot and Mitsubishi on 30 and 26.5 points respectively.

by Shant Fabricatorian

Italian Rally Championship (CIR) Rd 4, 92nd Targa Florio - Result

1. Rossetti-Chiarcossi (Peugeot 207 S2000) in 1.53’33”4; 2. Andreucci-Andreussi (Mitsubishi Lancer) + 29”3; 3. Navarra-D’Amore (Abarth Grande Punto) + 31”9; 4. Travaglia-Granai (Abarth) + 34”3; 5. Riolo-Marin (Abarth) + 57”0; 6. Runfola-Cimino (Abarth) + 2’19”3; 7. Cavallini-Zanella (Peugeot 207 S2000) + 2’41”3; 8. Stagno-Palazzolo ((Mitsubishi Lancer) + 3’25”3; 9. Cantamessa-Capolongo (Mitsubishi Lancer) + 3’59”2; 10. Di Benedetto-Merendino (Renault Clio S1600) + 6’18”9.

Driver’s Championship (after 4 rounds)

1) Luca Rossetti (Peugeot): 30 points; 2) Piero Longhi (Subaru): 20 points; 3) Paolo Andreucci (Mitsubishi): 19 points; 4) Andrea Navarra (Abarth): 17 points; 5) Renato Travaglia (Abarth): 14 points; 6) Luca Cantamessa (Mitsubishi): 11.5 points; 7) Tobia Cavallini (Peugeot): 11.5 points; 8) Alessandro Perico (Peugeot): 6.5 points; 9) Elwis Chentre (Citroën): 3 points; 10) Matteo Gamba (Renault): 2 points.

Manufacturer’s Championship (after 4 rounds)

1) Peugeot: 30 points; 2) Mitsubishi: 26.5 points; 3) Subaru: 20 points; 4) Abarth: 19 points.