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Having narrowly lost the
lead of the FIA European Rally Championship points
standings after skipping the last round of the
prestigious series, Abarth pilot Luca Rossetti (above,
on his way to victory in Croatia last month) will be
in the thick of the action on the next event, the Ypres
Rally, as he looks to wrest back his advantage. |
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Having narrowly lost the
lead of the FIA European Rally Championship (ERC) points
standings after skipping the last round of the
prestigious series, Abarth pilot Luca Rossetti will be
in the thick of the action on the next event, the Ypres
Rally, as he looks to wrest back his advantage.
Rossetti, the defending European champion, skipped the
third round of the ERC, the Bosphorus Rally in Turkey a
week and a half ago, to focus instead on his fading
Italian Rally Championship hopes with a drive on the
Targa Florio, the scheduling enforcing a date clash.
After the first two rounds of the ERC, ‘Rox’, who is
chasing his third European crown and his second
consecutive title for Abarth, has collected maximum
points, 39 and 46 points on round 1 and 2 respectively,
giving him 85 points.
However, his closest title rival, fellow Italian Luca
Betti (Peugeot 207 S2000), who had collected 47 points
after the opening two rounds (16 points on round 1 and
and 31 points on round 2), was handed a free run in
Turkey in Rossetti’s absence, while another strong title
pretender, Renato Travaglia (Skoda Fabia S2000), dropped
out of the running. Betti took home 40 points from the
Bosphorus Rally to jump up to 87 points and edge just
ahead of the Scorpion driver by two points.
Also closing the gap in Turkey was Polish driver Maciej
Oleksowicz, who added 35 points to his tally of 30
points from the first two rounds to take his total to 65
points. Behind the top three there is a big gap to
former ERC champion Travaglia; the experienced Italian –
also a former factory Abarth driver – kicked off the
2011 season with 28 points on round 1, but it all
quickly went downhill from there for the Skoda driver.
Engine failure on the first stage in Croatia meant a
zero points score on round 2, while in Turkey, following
another retirement, he took away just seven points from
day one, leaving him on 35 points after three events.
Fifth is another Pole, Szymon Ruta, who has scored on
the last two events (12+23 points) to sit equal to
Travaglia with 35 points.
The Ypres Rally is considered one of the most
prestigious and demanding non-World Championship events
on the international calendar, and as well as its usual
ERC slot, it also counts for the fifth round of the 2011
Intercontinental Rally Challenge. The event, based in
the Belgian town of Ypres, will this year take place
from Thursday June 23 to Saturday June 25.
With his usual co-driver Matteo Chiarcossi alongside,
Rossetti, with two wins out of the two ERC rounds he has
contested this year so far, will be take part for the
third time in his career in Ypres, a race that he won on
his debut in 2007 and finished third in 2008.
Rossetti, determined as usual, said this week: “After
the success of last year, I chose to take part in the
European Championship together with United Business, the
company that takes care of my management for several
years. The results last year proved us right, and we are
confident for 2011 as well. However, I am aware that
winning the title this year will be much more difficult
than in previous years, and my experience has taught me
that to win a championship we must never lose an
opportunity to score points.
“The Geko Ypres Rally is a tough race, but it also was
one of the most important and unforgettable of my
career, the victory of 2007 will always be in my heart.
The location of this rally is beautiful, the race is
followed by many fans, I will be at the start to honour
a rally that is one of the most beautiful and important
in the world, I am aware that it will not be easy to get
a positive result, but this race is an opportunity to
defend the European title and if possible to try to
regain my leadership in the Championship. Racing abroad
with the ambition to do well is always very difficult.
In Ypres, moreover, the opponents are strong, and for me
it is an exciting challenge which I hope to honour with
a good performance. It will not be easy to repeat the
result of 2007, but I trust in the qualities of my
Abarth Grande Punto and in the professionalism of my
team.”
After the demanding Belgian rally next weekend, the ERC
calendar will continue with the Rally Bulgaria, Rally
Vinho de Madeira, Barum Czech Rally Zlin, Rally Principe
de Asturias, Rally Poland and Rallye Antibes Côte
d'Azur, before ending in October with the Rallye
International du Valais.
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