Giandomenico Basso firmly put his stamp on the opening day in Madeira yesterday, as he seeks his third win in four years on the island, notching up eight fastest stage times to finish the marathon leg with 16 seconds in hand over his closest challenger. Hugely popular with the big crowds in Madeira is Andorran sportsman Albert Llovera. Once the youngest person to ever compete in skiing at the Olympic Games, Llovera was injured during a skiing competition that left him confined to a wheelchair.

Giandomenico Basso firmly put his stamp on the opening day of the 50 Rali Vinho Madeira yesterday, as he seeks his third win in four years on the island, notching up eight fastest stage times to finish the marathon leg with 16 seconds in hand over his closest challenger. The rally is the seventh round of the 2009 Intercontinental Rally Challenge (IRC) and it is also the first time that a Scorpion car has led an event in the series this year. The factory Abarth driver’s pace was tempered somewhat in the final four stages of the day after he lost reverse gear from the Grande Punto’s gearbox. Fearing that a spin could leave him stranded on the challenging Madeiran roads, he erred on the side of caution and eased up after SS10 to retain the overnight lead.

Basso had started the first stage of the first leg proper yesterday morning (SS2) in a provisional sixth place after a cautious run through the superspecial of the streets of the island's capital, Funchal, on Thursday evening. He immediately signalled his intent with fastest time, and the Italian also won the next five stages to record six consecutive fastest times and move into a solid lead. “I will keep this way or maybe faster.  Always very strong.  This morning’s round was rewarding,” the Italian said at service. “It was very important to start the rally this way, with these performances. I did good times, better than all the others, and this helps us to face the northern area. I will keep attacking, now even more. The car is perfect.” Basso also collected three useful points towards his European Rally Championship challenge as the island rally counts towards that series and points are awarded at the end of each leg as well as at the finish.

Also happy with his car yesterday was Basso’s Abarth factory team-mate Luca Rossetti. “The car is very good,” said the Italian, who is contesting the Italian Rally Championship for the Abarth team this year. “I did a good round this morning. The rally is now heading north, so the turns are longer and better. I will keep this pace. I am here to help Basso win this rally.” Helping the team’s performance this weekend is a new engine evolution.

Basso was third-quickest on SS8 before adding two more back-to-back fastest scratch times. Easing off ever-so-slightly due to the lack of reverse gear, he was second fastest on SS11, third on SS12 and wrapped up a commanding first day with second-fastest on the final stage of the leg (SS13). Basso, who finished second on the island last year, commented: “There can be a small problem with the car, but nothing serious. I don’t know what happened. I think we made an excellent race day. We will try to keep the pace tomorrow.” Rossetti is in fifth place overall overnight, albeit just over a minute adrift, after a solid opening day’s work.

Basso’s lead had extended as far as 19.4 seconds, but in the closing stages of the day it was chipped down to 16 seconds by Bruno Magalhães (who took three stage wins yesterday) as the surviving crews returned to Funchal with just one day remaining in Madeira. “This is my first event on the new BF Goodrich tyres, and I took it a bit easier in the first stages today,” Magalhães said. “As the day has gone on I’ve got a better feel for the car and I think that shows.” Magalhães showed considerable skill to outpace the field through the final stage of the day, Referta 2, at the wheel of his Peugeot 207 S2000. However, Basso only dropped only 1.1 seconds to ensure that his lead was maintained, and further back Kris Meeke continued to pull away from seventh-placed Freddy Loix with the third-fastest time through the last stage.

Of the other Grande Punto Abarth S2000 runners, Marco Cavigioli was the best-placed at the end of the first leg in eleventh place.  Like Basso he also changed his gearbox at the final service. The Italian is the reigning IRC 2WD Cup Champion and is making his return to the series on this event with a Super 2000 Abarth.

Hugely popular with the big crowds in Madeira is Andorran sportsman Albert Llovera. Once the youngest person to ever compete in skiing at the Olympic Games, Llovera was injured during a skiing competition that left him confined to a wheelchair. However, noted for his grit and determination, Llovera turned to his passion in rallying and has won several titles since turning to cars. He has a close association with Fiat, having previously rallied a Stilo, and is now a regular at the wheel of his specially-adapted Grande Punto Abarth. “It was very pleasant doing this first day of the race,” Llovera said at parc ferme last night. “Some stages were hard to me. The car is okay, and me too. Tomorrow we will be here.” An early retirement yesterday was the Grande Punto Abarth of local youngster Bernardo Sousa, who suffered an electrical glitch on his car’s engine. He will return under Superally regulations today.

A total of 45 cars remain in the event, from 69 starters.  In the 2WD Cup, regular front-runners Manuel Villa (Fiat Punto S1600) and Denis Millet (Peugeot 207 RC) hold the top two positions after Jose Camacho dropped out prior to SS12 with technical problems.

50th Rali Vinho Madeira - provisional standings at the end of Leg 1:

1 Basso (Abarth) 1hr 55m 28.3s
2 Magalhães (Peugeot) +16.0s
3 Camacho (Peugeot) +29.4s
4 Vouilloz (Peugeot) +49.7s
5 Rossetti (Abarth) + 1m 3.6s
6 Meeke (Peugeot) +1m 7.7s
7 Loix (Peugeot) +1m 11.8s
8 Nunes (Peugeot) - +3m 13.5s