28.02.2004 POOR CONDITIONS SEE THE FIAT PUNTO PILOTS STRUGGLE ON THE OPENING DAY OF THE TTT RALLY

The new Italian Rally Championship 2004 started with the Tutta Terra Toscana at Volterra, in the province of Pisa yesterday. This year's series will see Fiat aiming to defend the titles won last year when it surprisingly swept up the Manufacturers title as well as, after an astonishing performance from the Fiat Punto Abarth, drivers Paolo Andreucci and Giandomenico Basso took to the top of the final classification.

This year the Punto runners switch to the new version of the Super1600 rally car, first unveiled at last September's Frankfurt Motor Show. After its homologation was recently completed, it is making its debut on the TTT.

At the startline of the Tuscan event yesterday there were seven of the new Fiat Punto Abarth Rally models driven by the Andreucci, Basso, Stefano Bizzarri, in his first drive in the little Fiat, the youngsters Alessandro Bettega and Matteo Gamba, both already new talents in 2003, the Welsh rising star Leon Pesticcio, and making his first start in the Italian series, Luca Hoelbling. All the Punto Abarth drivers, apart from Andreucci and Basso, winners of the last two editions of the Fiat Trophy, will take part in the Trofeo Fiat Abarth 2004.

The Punto was not the only Fiat to leave the start ramp yesterday to tackle this event and the upcoming Italian Championship. This year sees the third edition of the Trofeo Fiat Stilo Abarth, real school for young drivers who aim to emerge into the rallying world. Fifteen crews driving a Stilo Abarth left the start of the Rally Tutta Terra Toscana on Friday afternoon. The Stilo Abarth Trophy will take in the Italian Rally Championship, like the Trofeo Punto, but with a shorter program of eight rounds.

The Rally Tutta Terra Toscana is formatted around two legs with 14 special stages, all run on gravel, with a total distance of 161 timed kilometres. The first leg started at 15.30 yesterday, with the crews arriving back at Volterra at 20.10, after taking in four stages.

After much concern about the weather, and with snow looking imminent, the ninety seven crews left from the industrial area "la Fila" in Peccioli and on to the timed tracks of the first leg, two stages repeated twice, the world famous Riparbella and the new Scornello.

After the four stages leadership of the rally was firmly in the hands of the Novara based Subaru works driver Piero Longhi, who correctly guessed the tyre choice, while second position has been claimed another Subaru STi, driven by Rimini's Giuseppe "Pucci" Grossi, who set a strong pace on the tough tracks.  Third position is currently to Andrea Navarra, Longhi's team mate in the second works Subaru car, who pushed Paolo Andreucci off the final podium of the provisional leaderboard at the end of the first leg.

Paolo Andreucci, at the wheel of the Fiat Punto Abarth, however impressed as expected, with the Tuscan driver's talent and his experience from  two years dominating in the Super1600 class shining through despite the two wheel drive 1600cc Punto's huge inferiority to the four wheel drive WRC cars in the poor conditions.

The top ten positions were crowded with the Veneto's Eugeni and Versilian driver Dati, both driving the Subaru Impreza STi, fractionally stronger than Fiorio (Subaru Impreza), Cantamessa (Mitsubishi Lancer), Travaglia (Peugeot 206), and Basso (Fiat Punto), all of them struggling to find the correct setup for the conditions.

The TTT ends this evening there after a further ten special stages. The crews, who started from Piazza dei Priori at 7.30 this morning and are scheduled to arrive at Volterre around 18.50, the first winner of the new championship edition 2004 will be declared.

After the Tutta Terra Toscana, the Italian Championship goes on with Rally of Ciocco (March 18-20th), Mille Miglia (April 1-3rd), Costa Smeralda (May 6-8th), San Marino (May 27-29th), Salento (June 17-19th), San Martino di Castrozza (July 8-10th), Alpi Orientali (August 27-29th), Adriatic (September 10-12th), Sanremo (October 8-9th), and Targa Florio (November 18-20th).

by Marco Tenuti ( www.puntopower.com )