Giandomenico Basso and Mitia Dotta need just two points from the final round of the FIA European Rally Championship to collect the title for a second time, after a commanding performance throughout the Rally Antibes Cote d’Azur.

Giandomenico Basso and Mitia Dotta need just two points from the final round of the FIA European Rally Championship to collect the title for a second time, after a commanding performance throughout the 44th Rally Antibes Cote d’Azur saw the Abarth factory driver romp to an easy win this afternoon.  Basso went into the event on the back of second place on the ELPA Rally in Greece, which had propelled him into a nine-point advantage in the title race after his closest rival Michal Solowow (Peugeot 207 S2000) had retired, and Basso’s advantage increased again over the last two days to 14 points with just 16 on offer from the final round, the Rally International du Valais.

Demonstrating his intent to take no prisoners on the 44th Rally Antibes Cote d’Azur, Basso went fastest on the 1.8 km superspecial stage that kicked off the rally on Friday evening, before cementing his lead with three straight fastest times on the opening three stages of the first loop on Saturday morning, a program that kicked off with 33 kilometres of the mythical, Col de Bleine test with a passage at high altitude that saw very cold conditions endured by the first crews through. It was a difficult drive on the cold and slippery roads, especially in the shaded areas, but Basso established a convincing lead and immediately imposed his domination over other two competitors still in with a shout of the ERC title, his compatriot Corrado Fontana (Peugeot 207 S2000) as well as Solowow, the title-chasing trio locking out the top positions from the start, along with Luca Betti (Peugeot 207 S2000).

 “All is going well for the moment but we need to change the set-up of the car,” reported Basso as the cars came in for the first service after the opening thee stages. “This morning, I have drive very fast in the first stage to create an important gap with the other competitors. The roads were slippery. With the sun, the second lap must be easier,” he added. Basso then proceeded to go through the second loop of the three stages quickest to end the opening leg's seven stages with seven fastest times and a two-minute lead over Solowow. Key rival for outright honours on the rally, Betti, retired after SS3 with a fuel pump problem, while the Fiat Grande Punto JTD of Marco Cavigioli retired on the same stage with gearbox problems.

Today's final leg of six stages, two sets of three tests run twice which included the famous Col du Turini and Lantosque stages, saw Basso able to control his advantage at the front. With Betti back in the running, the Peugeot driver was able to post four fastest times, with Solowow claiming one quickest time (SS9) and Basso taking fastest time on the final stage (SS13), ending the rally having extended his time advantage over second-placed Solowow to just over 3 minutes.

Fontana’s title hopes meanwhile ended when he retired on SS10, the same stage that saw the demise of the only other Italian car in the rally besides Basso and Cavigioli, the Cambridge University-entered Fiat Stilo Trofeo of Christopher Guichot De Fortis.

Basso picks up 15 points out of a possible 16 (he dropped one point as Betti was the fastest ERC registered runner on today's second leg under Superally regulations), and with just one round of the FIA ERC remaining the Italian has a 13-point cushion over Solowow. It all means the Abarth star needs just two points on the 50th Rally du Valais in a fortnight's time (if they end up on equal points Basso will win on countback) if he is to double his title tally, having first won the prestigious European crown with the Punto Abarth S2000 in 2006.

FIA European Rally Championship, Rd 10, 44th Rally Antibes Cote d‘Azur - Final Results:

1. Giandomenico Basso/Mitia Dotta (I) Abarth Grande Punto S2000 2:45:35.7
2. Michał Sołowow/Maciek Baran (PL) Peugeot 207 S2000 +3:00.1
3. Julien Maurin/Gilles Thimonier (F) Škoda Fabia S2000 +6:55.8
4. Thierry Neuville/Nicolas Gilsoul (B) Citroën C2 R2 Max +10:47.2
5. Benjamin Perrin/Quentin Perrin (F) Citroën C2 R2 Max +13:43.8
6. Franck Lions/Benjamin Veillas (F) Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX +13:47.6
7. Luc Escharavil/Thierry Salva (F) Renault Clio S1600 +14:30.3
8. Florentin Bosch/Romain Tempier (F) Citroën C2 R2 Max +16:10.5
9. Massimo Canella/Silvio Gria (I) Renault Clio R3 +16:29.8
10. Mathieu Biasion/Jean-Charles Descamps (F) Citroën C2 R2 Max +17:53.1