Giandomenico Basso goes
into the today's final leg of the 52nd Rallye Sanremo with a lead of 5.2 seconds in his Abarth Grande Punto S2000 after the battle for victory was
sensationally turned on its head on the final 44-kilometre Ronde
stage.
Basso, who won the rally two years ago but missed last year's edition due to a
clashing European round, started the monster test from fourth overall, 11.1s off the lead. But after
going 15.5s faster than any of his rivals through the stage, which was held in
drying conditions following earlier rain, the 37-year-old will hold the
advantage heading into today’s final five stages.
While Basso’s performance behind the wheel of the latest-specification Punto,
which features a wider track suspension, was sensational, his decision to use a
slick tyre, albeit with ‘cuts’ to provide added grip, clearly gave him the edge
over erstwhile overall leader, and Italian Rally Championship (CIR) points
leader, Paolo Andreucci (Peugeot 2007 S2000).
The double CIR champion moved ahead of Kris Meeke on stage four but
had no answer to Basso’s pace through Ronde thanks to his decision to opt for an
intermediate tyre, which was less suited to the drying mountain roads
overlooking the Mediterranean Sea. Nevertheless, Andreucci’s earlier speed
enabled him to complete day one in second overall, 12.3s ahead of Luca Rossetti,
in the second factory Abarth Grande Punto. Rossetti is battling head-to-head
with Andreucci for the Italian title and if Basso can
maintain his cushion at the top he will take vital
points away from Andreucci.
Italian rally veteran
Renato Travaglia, who has returned to the Abarth brand
this weekend after more than a year campaigning a
Peugeot 207 S2000 in the CIR, is in one of the new
wide-bodied cars and is in fifteenth overall, while
Manuel Villa, noted for his heroics in the IRC 2WD Cup
at the wheel of the two-wheel-drive Fiat Punto S1600 in
recent years, is at the wheel of a Grande Punto S2000
and is in thirty-third place overall going into the
final day. Another familiar name, Marco Cavigioli, is
back in his trusty Fiat Punto JTD and is in thirtieth
overall overnight, although he had been complaining of
gearbox problems from the second stage.
Meeke, driving a Peugeot UK 207, had moved to the top of the leaderboard by
going quickest on the day’s first stage. As well as counting for the CIR, the
rally is also part of the Intercontinental Rally
Challenge (IRC). He was still leading after stage three
but fell behind Andreucci after deciding to replace his front soft compound
tyres with two hard compound versions, which the Northern Irishman said had
dramatically affected the balance of his 207 and resulted in several lurid
slides exiting tight corners.
Starting yesterday’s final stage 7.8s off the lead, Meeke appeared to be on course
to achieve his pre-rally aim of being within 20 seconds of the overall lead
heading into day two of the rally, only to spin on Ronde and lose approximately
25 seconds. He completed the test with his car sporting damage to the rear-left
corner, after it swiped a low wall, and with his hopes of a second consecutive
Sanremo win seemingly in tatters. “It’s not over but to win these rallies you
can’t afford to make mistakes like that,” he said at the stage finish.
IRC title leader Juho Hänninen started yesterday’s final stage in third place
following an impressive showing in his Škoda Motorsport Fabia S2000. Although he
couldn’t hold on through Ronde after reporting his choice of intermediate tyres
was too conservative for drying surface, he will begin day two with a sizeable
margin over team-mate and title rival Jan Kopecký, who is a distant eighth
overall. The Czech admitted to being too cautious through the early stages and
has yet to show the level of pace that has made him such a force on asphalt
rallies this season.
Bryan Bouffier was sixth overnight in his 207 and was relieved to have completed
the Ronde stage after admitting to his dislike of driving in the dark. Freddy
Loix, who spent the first two loops of stages bemoaning his lowly start position
of 13th in his factory Škoda, is seventh. The Belgian has won on all three of
his IRC appearances so far this season but faces a tall order to climb the
leaderboard after he was saddled with a 10-second penalty for entering the day’s
penultimate service halt 60 seconds late. The top seven drivers from Basso to
Loix are covered by one minute, thereby underlining the close competition in the
IRC.
Bruno Magalhăes, who is returning to IRC action after skipping last month’s
Barum Czech Rally Zlín, is 11th overall in his Peugeot Sport Portugal 207. Guy
Wilks, at the wheel of his Škoda UK Motorsport Fabia, is 12th, with rising star
Thierry Neuville 14th in his Team Peugeot Belgium-Luxembourg 207.
It was a disappointing start to the event for Niall McShea, whose Proton Satria
Neo S2000 ground to a halt on the road section heading to stage one with engine
failure. However, team-mate Gilles Panizzi, a three-time winner in Sanremo, is
23rd on his first appearance for the Malaysian manufacturer.
Andreas Mikkelsen was another early casualty after he slid off the road seven
kilometres into the first stage, where his M-Sport Ford Fiesta became stuck on a
slope. Umberto Scandola crashed his similar car on stage five while running 10th
overall.
Local hero Sandro Sottile tops the IRC 2WD Cup standings in his Honda Civic
Type-R after making the most of his knowledge of the challenging roads.
Today’s final leg features 111.42 competitive kilometres and
will get underway at
07:50hrs local time. The first car is due to reach the finish line in Sanremo at
15:00hrs.
