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It all went
horribly wrong for Abarth on the opening day of the
Monte Carlo Rally today; after three stages in the snow
and ice the Italian factory team's challenge lay in
tatters, leaving its surviving drivers with a mammoth
task if they are to salvage victory on Saturday. And
once again the team was let down by making incorrect
tyre choices.
The rally
got off in the worst possible way when Abarth’s new
signing, reigning Italian Rally Champion, Luca Rossetti,
running on slicks, slid out on an slippery bend towards
the beginning of the icy opening stage. Rossetti was out
on the spot, and within metres of the Abarth driver out
went the 1994 World Rally Champion Didier
Auriol (Peugeot 207 S2000) who was also on slicks.
Abarth team
leader Giandomenico Basso felt that his tyre choice over
the course of the day was not ideal, with a couple of
spins on stage one, while his Finnish team mate Anton
Alén got off to an excellent start by setting
fourth-fastest time on stage one with studded tyres.
However, all this good work was undone by an unfortunate
puncture on SS2, which cost him the chance of a top
result on the opening day. Basso ends a dreadful first
day as the quickest Abarth runner in seventh place, 1
minute and 29.8 seconds adrift of the rally leader. Alén
finishes the opening day outside the top-10 having lost
5 minutes and 17 seconds and with any chance of victory
having evaporated.
The privately-entered Astra Racing Grande Punto Abarth
of World Rally Championship star Toni Gardemeister also
showed much promise by running third after the opening
stage, but he later dropped time due to transmission
problems and is eighth, 6.8 seconds behind Basso.
There was
better news for the Italian manufactures in the
two-wheel-drive category as the IRC 2WD Cup is currently
led comfortably by Italian driver Manuel Villa, driving
a Fiat Punto S1600 in 39th overall. He has more than a
two-minute advantage over local man Guy Mottard, driving
a Peugeot 206 RC.
At the front it
was flying Finn Juho Hanninen who has given the brand new
Skoda Fabia S2000 the rally lead on the Czech machine’s
debut. The 26-year-old, who finished runner-up in last
year’s Production Car World Rally Championship, confirmed
the excellent reliability of the Fabia seen in pre-season
testing. Hanninen made the correct tyre choices all day in
mixed conditions to end the opening three stages 11.9
seconds ahead of Stephane Sarrazin in the factory Peugeot
207 S2000. Even more impressively, Hanninen is the only one
of the top three not to have contested the legendary rally
previously.
Sarrazin, who is usually a star of Peugeot’s Le Mans
programme, enjoyed a different type of challenge throughout
the day, winning the second stage of the rally (La Motte
Chalancon-St Nazaire le Desert) by an impressive 13 seconds.
This enabled him to climb up to second place: a position he
maintained until the end of the day. In third after the
first three stages is reigning IRC champion Nicolas Vouilloz,
who won the opening stage near Monaco (Tourette du
Chateau-St Antonin). The Peugeot Belgium driver also steered
clear of problems to end up firmly in touch with the battle
for the lead.
The first day of the 77th Monte Carlo Rally contained
everything the epic event is famous for: mixed conditions
that ranged from heavy snow to dry asphalt, and plenty of
surprises. The first stage included a number of icy corners
while stage two was drier and the final test of the day was
run in heavy snow. This meant that drivers were forced to
constantly look for the right compromise in terms of tyre
choice.
Hanninen decided not to take studded tyres for any of the
stages, and although this slowed him in some areas, meaning
that he did not win a stage today, it was generally the best
overall decision. Sarrazin opted differently; taking studs
only for the last stage, while Vouilloz chose them only for
stage one. As always in these marginal conditions, plenty of
drivers were caught out by a sudden lack of grip. Meanwhile,
the second factory Skoda of Jan Kopecky struggled with a
power steering problem but rounds off the top 10 in Valence
tonight.
With Vouilloz winning the first stage and Sarrazin claiming
stage two, the final stage win went to another Peugeot: this
time driven by Kris Meeke. The Irishman, making his IRC
debut, quickly got to grips with his Peugeot UK-entered car
and ends the day in the top six. Also worthy of note was a
solid performance from Mitsubishi driver Franz Wittmann,
another IRC debutant, who ends the day a creditable ninth.
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