06.10.2003 MIRCO BALDACCI GIVES FIAT ITS FIRST JUNIOR WORLD RALLY CHAMPIONSHIP WIN TWO YEAR'S ON THE SAN REMO RALLY

After two year gap a driver at the wheel of a Fiat Punto Rally has win a round of the Junior World Rally Championship: it was Andrea Dallavilla driving an R&D Motorsport Fiat Punto who won the 2001 Rallye San Remo, whilst this year Mirco Baldacci has won at the wheel of the Hi-Tec car.

The last leg of the Italian event was characterized by an heavy rain on the last two stages, but the Junior competitors left the parc ferme, after installing intermediate rain tyres and benefited from it being the right choice for the two stages, while the WRC drivers didn't opt for such tyres, apart Gilles Panizzi, and struggled on the stages. In fact some Super1600 drivers, like Bernardi and Jean Joseph were able to run as fast as the best WRC drivers, closing the gap on on the all wheel traction runners.

The first stage wasn't run by the Junior crews after a spectator fell from a five metre high wall and was left in a coma, while the ambulance cars on the stage prevented some competitors from running the stage. Fixed times were awarded for all categories.

The conservative approach to the third leg let almost all the Junior drivers to reach the finish line: only Kris Meeke in an Opel Corsa, second before starting the Sunday's stages, had a crash on the second stage which blocked the road for the rest of the crews, whose stage times were registered as fixed. The Irishman, who was shining on the Italian tarmac, lost eight points for the championship, after setting fast times all weekend. The quicked time on the last stage, Colle d'Oggia 2, is was set by Abdo Feghali, who was assured third position at the finish line.

The final classification of the Junior troops listed Baldacci first, with Canellas second at +5'21", third place went Feghali at +6'18" and fourth to Iliev. Teuronen, Cecchettini, and Wilks completed the list of the Junior crews. Other Super1600 drivers, not involved in the Junior championship, set fast times on the stages with especially good times from the Renault drivers, Bernardi and Simon Jean-Joseph and the unexpected return of Piero Liatti in a Peugeot 206 Super1600. All of them finished ahead of Baldacci, although they hadn't the pressure of the Junior Championship and the limitations of a reduced set of tyres.

by Marco Tenuti

Report provided courtesy of PuntoPower ( www.puntopower.com ). Photo courtesy Photocris. ©2003 text: PuntoPower, image: Photocris.