The reigning champions continue their flawless performance in the Citroen C3, winning all the stages on Saturday in the round of the Sparco CIAR and the European Championship. With six stages remaining, they have a 20.2s lead over the Skoda Fabia RS of Basso-Granai. The French duo Bonato-Boulloud, also in a C3, is in third place, trailing by 23.7s. The ACI Team Italia pairing, Daprà-Guglielmetti, is doing exceptionally well as the leaders in the Junior category of the European Championship. Pederzani-Brovelli are leading the Junior category in the Italian Rally Championship. Pisani-Brachi are still at the top in the 2WD category.
Rome, Saturday, July 29th, 2023 – The second day of the XI Rally di Roma Capitale was extremely intense, propelling Andrea Crugnola and Pietro Ometto to the top, as undisputed leaders in this fifth round of the Sparco Italian Rally Championship and the sixth round of the FIA European Rally Championship. Six more special stages and 102.6 kilometres of timed sections did not change the momentum from the thrilling opening at the Colosseum. On the contrary, it further solidified the position of the Italian pairing at the forefront of the competition with their Citroen C3 Rally2, winning every stage. They secured seven stage victories in total, extending Crugnola's advantage to over 20s ahead of all pursuers, with six special stages remaining for the final day on Sunday.
Despite being the most substantial and challenging session of the race, considering the double pass on the "Rocca di Cave-Subiaco," the longest stage of the rally and the entire Italian Rally Championship with its 32 km of asphalt, it became the turning point and influenced the standings with some interesting twists. Among the best to keep up with Crugnola-Ometto, Giandomenico Basso and Lorenzo Granai closed the day in second place, having won the challenge in Rome twice in the past. The Treviso driver in the Skoda Fabia Rally2 increased his pace towards the end of the day and completed an overtaking move on the French duo Yoan Bonato and Benjamin Boulloud in the Citroen C3, securing third place at 23.7s behind the leaders. Despite the presence of many foreign specialists, the Italians are confirming their supremacy on home asphalt, with three Italian crews positioned in the top five of the overall standings. Among them, Simone Campedelli with Tania Canton claimed fifth place in a Skoda Fabia Evo Rally2, closing in on the top positions with a gap of only 1.3s from the Czech crew Mares-Bucha, also in a Skoda, who hold fourth place. Returning to Fiuggi in sixth place was the leader of the European Championship, Hayden Paddon, driving the Hyundai i20 shared with John Kennard, who lost about half a minute in SS6 after touching the right rear, slipping a couple of positions. Just 5 tenths behind, another Italian competing in the continental championship is Brescia's Andrea Mabellini, navigated by Virginia Lenzi, in a Skoda Fabia Evo. The outgoing CIAR 2WD champion is part of the group fighting for the significant points of fourth place, where four drivers are separated by just 2 seconds.
The Slovenian driver Bostjan Avbelj, navigated by his compatriot Damijan Andrejka in another Skoda, sought confirmation and is finding it, despite some difficulties with the brakes in the first part of the day. They finished in 15th place overall and 6th among the Italian crews, a result that puts Avbelj in contention for the Italian Rally Promotion Championship, a series within the Sparco CIAR. Following closely, just 8.3s behind, is Giacomo Scattolon from Pavia, paired with the experienced Sauro Farnocchia in a Volkswagen Polo. While Scattolon struggled to find his rhythm, he managed to secure the best time on SS7 in the Promotion category, bringing him closer to the top of the special classification. Fabio Andolfi and Nicolò Gonella lost nearly 2 minutes to Crugnola after touching the left rear in SS3, putting aside their ambitions for success in this Rally di Roma. Luca Bottarelli and Massimiliano Bosi close out the top 10 for the Sparco CIAR, followed by Ivan Ferrarotti and Massimo Bizzocchi, who were slowed down by issues with the pop-off valve during the long morning stage, with gaps of 2 minutes 29 seconds and 3 minutes 4 seconds, respectively, behind the leader.
Special applause goes to the young talent from ACI Team Italia, Roberto Daprà, paired with Luca Guglielmetti in the Delta Rally's Peugeot 208 Rally4. The young driver from Trentino, representing the National Team, is showcasing his skills in the "home" round of the FIA European Rally Championship, where he aims to confirm his position as leader in the RC4 class and potentially secure valuable points for the FIA Junior ERC.
Even in the CIAR 2WD category, the championship leader is shining. Gianandrea Pisani is leading the way among all the front-wheel-drive cars in the Italian Rally Championship. He has returned to the Peugeot 208 with Simone Brachi and is proving to be a dominant figure in the category, with an 18s advantage over his closest rivals. The Trentino driver, Fabio Farina, navigated by Gabriele Zanni in another 208, follows in second place, trailing by 50.5s. Moreno Cambiaghi and Giulia Paganoni, also driving a Peugeot 208, hold the third position.
Among the young talents in the Italian Rally Junior Championship, Riccardo Pederzani, paired with Edoardo Brovelli, has emerged as the leader among the Renault Clio Rally5 drivers and is now extending his lead over his ACI Team Italia companions. In second place is the leader in the Under category, Davide Pesavento, from Vicenza, along with his co-driver Marco Frigo, with a gap of 12.5s. The Sicilian duo, Salvatore Scannella and Francesco Galipò, secured third place after a series of overtakes and counter-overtakes, with a mere 0.8s of margin.
The fate of the Rally di Roma Capitale and, perhaps, the Sparco Italian Rally Championship will be decided on Sunday with the final 6 stages covering 85 kilometres of timed sections. The day will begin with the short "Fiuggi" stage (6.72 km - SS8 at 7:51 and SS13 at 17:05), which will also serve as the Power Stage for the European Championship. Then, there will be the "Alatri" stage (6.96 km - SS9 at 8:51 and SS11 at 13:01) and the traditional "Santopadre" stage (29.08 km - SS10 at 10:16 and SS12 at 14:26 pm). The final awards ceremony will take place in Fiuggi on Corso Nuova Italia, starting at 18:00.
OVERALL CLASSIFICATION OF THE RALLY DI ROMA CAPITALE AFTER SS7: 1. Crugnola-Ometto (Citroen C3) in 1:01'31.8; 2. Basso-Granai (Skoda Fabia RS) at 20.2; 3. Bonato-Boulloud (Citroen C3) at 23.7; 4. Mares-Bucha (Skoda Fabia EVO) at 54.4; 5. Campedelli-Canton (Skoda Fabia EVO) at 55.7; 6. Paddon-Kennard (Hyundai i20 N) at 56.1; 7. Mabellini-Lenzi (Skoda Fabia EVO) at 56.6; 8. Llarena-Fernandez (Skoda Fabia RS) at 1'07.2; 9. Grzyb-Wrobel (Skoda Fabia EVO) at 1'25.6; 10. Heikkila-Vaaleri (Skoda Fabia RS) at 1'30.4
SPARCO CIAR CLASSIFICATION: 1. Crugnola 111pt; 2. Andolfi 61pt; 3. Basso 39,5pt; 4. De Tommaso 36pt; 5. Bottarelli 21pt
SPARCO ITALIAN RALLY CHAMPIONSHIP 2023 CALENDAR: March 10-11 | Rally Il Ciocco e Valle del Serchio; April 14-15 | #RA Rally Regione Piemonte; May 5-6 | Targa Florio Rally (coeff. 1,5); June 16-17 | San Marino Rally (coeff. 1,5); July 28-30 | Rally di Roma Capitale (coeff. 1,5); September 8-9 | Rally 1000 Miglia; September 29-30 | Rallye Sanremo; December 1-3 | ACI Rally Monza (coeff. 1,5)
#CIRally #tricolorerally #ACISport #RallydiRoma #RomaCapitale
Updates, info, pictures, classifications are available at www.acisport.it/CIAR
FaceboACI Sport TV (available on acisport.it - Sky 228 – Facebook @acisporttv – App ACI Radio)
Facebook, Twitter, Instagram - @CIRally
