Giandomenico Basso goes into the French rally today holding the advantage in the FIA ERC title race after he won the last round of the series, the gravel-surface 33rd ELPA Rally, at the end of last month (above). Alfa Romeo won the first ever Rally Antibes Côte d'Azur in 1972, and the famous Italian name continues to appear on the rally tracks. During the last round of the ERC, the 33rd ELPA Rally last month this Alfa 75 Turbo (above) was in the thick of the action while this weekend in France no less than three Alfa Romeo Giulias will be contesting the historic category.

Giandomenico Basso will be aiming to extend his title advantage in the FIA European Rally Championship (ERC) when the penultimate round of this year's series, the 44th Rally Antibes Côte d'Azur, kicks off at 8:00 PM this evening with a short 1.88 km long superspecial stage. The hugely experienced factory Abarth driver last month switched his full focus from the Intercontinental Rally Challenge (IRC) to the FIA ERC after his hopes of securing that title evaporated, and he skipped his home event, the Rallye Sanremo, in order to further his ambitions to clinch a second European crown.

Basso goes into the rally tonight holding the advantage in the FIA ERC title race after he won the last round of the series, the 33rd ELPA Rally, at the end of last month. His win in Greece plus the retirement of his closest rival and points leader going into that round, Michal Solowow, meant that the championship tables were firmly turned around again, and with a maximum score of 16 points compared to just two that weekend for Solowow, Basso elbowed his way past his rival and back to the top of the championship leaderboard. With 88 points chalked up now compared to Solowow's 79, it means the Abarth driver has a 9 point cushion with just two rounds remaining, as he takes to the start ramp later this evening for the first of them. Second place for the only other driver in with a shout at the title, Corrado Fontana, on the ELPA Rally gave the Italian 11 points for his efforts in Greece and he closed up to with 3 points of the Pole and still remains in contention for the crown as the ERC offers a maximum of 16 points per round and has for this year abandoned the drop score rule. All three drivers have now switched focus from the gravel in Greece to be in action later today on the asphalt of the 44th Rally Antibes Côte d'Azur.

The 44th Rally Antibes Côte d'Azur will comprise of 13 stages, the superspecial tonight will be followed by six more tomorrow (two loops of three) to comprise leg one, and then a final six (again three stages run twice) on Sunday will make up the second leg. 238.08 km will be timed and there will be 566.32 km of transfer, adding up to a total of 804.40 km.

The Rally Antibes Côte d'Azur is an all-asphalt event and has been on the European calendar since 1972. Italian marques have won the event 10 times, with the Lancia Delta Integrale weighing in with three victories, while there are two each for the its predecessors the Stratos and 037 Rally, and one each for the Abarth Grande Punto and Fiat 131 Abarth. Alfa Romeo has also stamped its name on the roll call of honour by winning the first ever event in 1972 courtesy of Buzzari at the wheel of an GTZ. The most recent victory for an Italian car was two years ago when Renato Travaglia raced to victory in the Abarth Grande Punto as he unsuccessfully chased the FIA ERC title.

The rally is located in Antibes Juan les Pins, a Mediterranean town, situated between Nice and Cannes and 13 km from The Nice Cote d'Azur International Airport. This city, second largest town in the Alpes Maritimes has one of the most beautiful coastlines on the French Riviera. It is a popular tourist and economic destination with rich history and traditions, many festivals, sailing and night life. As was the case last year, 200,000 spectators are still expected along the stages which are attractive and some of which are very famous because they follow the same roads as Monte-Carlo Rally, including the legendary Col du Turini.