Having amassed enough points by the end of the second leg in Valais to secure the European crown, Giandomenico Basso went on to finish the rally second overall to take a final a 19 point advantage in the championship standings.

Having amassed enough points by the end of the second leg of the Rally International du Valais to secure the European crown, Giandomenico Basso and Mitia Dotta, went on to finish the Swiss rally on Saturday afternoon second overall and it means the pair end the year with a 19 point advantage over closest challenger Michal Solowow (Peugeot 207 S2000) at the top of the championship standings.

Basso and Dotta, driving a factory-run Grande Punto Abarth S2000, thus claim their second FIA European Rally Championship (ERC) title, having already been crowned victors in 2006, again at the wheel of a Abarth Grande Punto S2000 (although it was at that point badged as a Fiat prior to the rebirth of the Scorpion marque).

Aged 36, Basso, from Cavaso del Tomba (TV), has spent all of his career with Fiat and then Abarth. He first showcased his talent by winning the 1998 Trofeo Cinquecento. He also took the 2007 Italian championship and the 2006 Intercontinental Rally Challenge driver’s title. This season, he was the top placed ERC registered runner on seven rallies: 1000 Miglia Rally, Ypres, Bulgaria, Madeira, ELPA, Antibes and Valais. He also skipped two rallies this year due to clashing commitments, while Solowow and the third ERC title challenger, Corrado Fontana took part in all the events (Fontana missed appearing in Valais at the weekend as he was mathematically out of the title race following the penultimate round). The Abarth Grande Punto S2000 has proved to be competitive on the various surfaces featured all season long: from the winding asphalt roads of the 1000 Miglia Rally, Madeira Rally and Rallye du Valais, to the fast roads of Bulgaria and Antibes, not to mention the very rough gravel of the ELPA Rally in Greece.

During the last event, held in Switzerland from Thursday to Saturday, Basso drove with the aim of scoring enough points to clinch the ERC title which he had wrapped up by the end of the second leg thanks to the 3-2-1 points that are awarded to the top-three ERC registered runners at the end of each leg. On the final day, Saturday, he was free to challenge rally leader Gregoire Hotz (Peugeot 207 S2000) but with the gap between the two at around a minute at that point, despite several fastest stage times, the Abarth driver had to settle for second place and Basso romped home with a final 22 point cushion at the top of the ERC standings.

FIA European Rally Championship, final standings (after 10 rounds): 1. Giandomenico Basso (I, Abarth) 122 points; 2. Michal Solowow (PL, Peugeot) 103; 3. Corrado Fontana (I, Peugeot and Mitsubishi) 78; 4. Krum Donkev (BG, Subaru) 43; 5. Luca Betti (I, Peugeot) 34.

FIA European Rally Championship, Rd 10, 50th Rallye du Valais, final classification: 1. Hotz-Ravasi (Peugeot 207 S2000), 2hr 53min29.8s; 2. Basso-Dotta (Abarth Grande Punto S2000) + 53.7s; 3. Solowow-Baran (Peugeot 207 S2000) + 5min27.7s; 4. Gonon-Arlettaz (Subaru Impreza) + 6min34.5s; 5. Bouffier-Gilsoul (Citroën C2) + 11min20.8s.