27.08.2004 After a SIX WEEK break, the Italian Rally Championship roared back into life this morning AND it is the hard-charging Giandomenico Basso who leads the Rally Alpi Orientali after the opening stages

After a six week break since the Rally San Martino di Castrozza, the Italian Rally Championship has burst back into life today as a record 138 entrants tackle round eight of the series, the 40th Rally delle Alpi Orientali, which also includes the Mitropa Cup and Rally Alpi Historic.

After a day of scruitineering, public presentations and parades yesterday in the historical centre of Udine, the event proper kicked off at 9am this morning as the competitors left the starting ramp on the Piazza Libertà and headed for the first of six timed stages that make up today's first leg.

Masarolis, Taipana and Subit, are all being tackled twice before the cars make their way back to Udine this evening.

Tomorrow, the second leg will see the competitors race over a further six stages, Trivio, Drenchia and Matajur, all being run twice in a similar format to today's programme.

Once the survivors reach the finish line they will have completed twelve timed stages totalling 209.20km, while having covered a distance of 532.46km.

By virtue of the FIA priority list, first down the starting ramp this morning was Renato Travaglia from Trento, in his Peugeot 206 S1600, who currently holds a distant seventh place in the Italian classification with 40 points.

Following him was the provisional leader of the championship, Subaru Impeza pilot Andrea Navarra, who has 89 points, just ahead of his team mate Piero Longhi, who is on 77 points.

Five cars behind was reigning Italian champion Paolo Andreucci, from Tuscany, who is first among the Super 1600 drivers, and started just ahead of his fierce rival Giandomenico Basso, victor on the last round of the series, the Rally San Martino di Castrozza.

The Venetian driver, at the wheel of an identical Fiat Punto S1600, is an outside bet for the title having amassed 54 points. This morning he started one place ahead of another S1600 hot shot, Renault pilot Andrea Dallavilla from Brescia, who is another five points further back.

Also expected to also be challenging at the top end of the classification over the two day event are Luca Cantamessa, in his Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VII, Luca Rossetti, who finished third last year, and is determined to fully exploit the potential of the new Citroen C2, Sandro Sottile in a Subaru Impreza Sti and Stefano Bizzarri in his Fiat Punto S1600.

However, this all tarmac event is expected to see a Fiat Punto walkover, and by lunchtime today, it was the hard charging Giandomenico Basso and Mitia Dotta who were setting the pace. Winner last time out of the Rally San Martino di Castrozza, Basso started the day by setting fastest time on the 20.1km Masarolis special stage, 1.9 seconds ahead of Renato Travalgia and 2.7 in front of Paolo Andreucci.

Stage two, saw the same story with Basso posting fastest time on the 13.6km Taipana track, to build his lead up to 6.2 seconds over Travaglia, with Andreucci slipping back into to fourth place. The final run before lunchtime, over the 15.2km Subit, saw the hard-charging Basso once again fastest, the Punto pilot cementing his grip on the event as the cars completed their first loop of today's six timed stages.

However, second fastest over Subit was the other front-running Punto S1600 of Andreucci and Andreussi, allowing them to move up to second place overall as the title race, which still has three events left after this one, starts to intensify.

Andreucci is now 9.4 seconds adrift of Basso, and has a four second cushion over Travaglia, who finished Subit 7.1 seconds down on the rally leader. As they head into the afternoon's final three stages, the first of the four wheel drive brigade is Piero Longhi in fourth, 15.7 seconds off the rally leader, while championship leader Andrea Navarro is back in sixth, having dropped a whopping 34.2 seconds to Basso over the opening three stages.

If Giandomenico Basso and Paolo Andreucci can keep their Fiat Punto Abarths safely on the road, and fend off the attentions of Super1600 rival Renato Travalgia who has nothing to lose, the Rally Alpi Orientali is theirs for the taking when the finish ramp rears its head tomorrow afternoon.

by Marco Tenuti in Udine