" /> CAMPIONATO ITALIANO ASSOLUTO RALLY SPARCO - <p>Basso-Granai end the CIAR Sparco winning the Rallye Sanremo</p>

Basso-Granai end the CIAR Sparco winning the Rallye Sanremo

The Treviso-based driver delivers a final blow in his Toyota GR Yaris Rally 2, securing his fifth win in the history of the race and finishing the season as vice-champion. It was a bitter end for Campedelli-Canton (Skoda Fabia RS) who lost both their second place in the championship and the race in a photo finish, after being overtaken by Crugnola-Ometto by 0.2". With their third-place finish, Doretto-Frigo are crowned Junior Champions. Pisani and Moriconi secure a second consecutive title. Dallapiccola takes the R1 championship.

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Sanremo (IM), Saturday, October 19th, 2024 – Rain, sun, headlights in the fog, smoking brakes, and photo-finish overtakes – the 71st Rallye Sanremo lived up to its reputation and tradition, offering a thrilling finale to the Italian Absolute Rally Championship Sparco. The final round of the season saw a well-deserved victory for Giandomenico Basso, who, alongside Lorenzo Granai in a Toyota GR Yaris Rally2, claimed his fifth personal victory in the City of Flowers and his second championship win. This achievement was secured with tenacity thanks to two stage wins out of the nine faced on the Ligurian Riviera's asphalt roads, achieved at crucial moments. The scratch on the penultimate "Carpasio-Rezzo" stage, a demanding 21km, was particularly decisive, allowing him to overtake and gain a 10-second lead over Simone Campedelli and Tania Canton in their Skoda Fabia RS. The two had been rivals all season long and engaged in a tight battle with Basso-Granai until the final kilometre. With the title already awarded to Crugnola-Ometto, the two crews were vying for second place in the championship. In a surprising turn of events, the champions in their Citroen C3 managed to overtake Campedelli-Canton on the final stage, securing second place by just 0.2 seconds. This was a bitter end for the Cesena-based driver, who had been the absolute protagonist in the early stages of the rally with three consecutive scratches, including one at night that had initially launched him into the lead.

Behind them, there was a significant gap before the other competitors. Among them, the ACI Team Italia duo of Roberto Daprà and Luca Guglielmetti put a stamp on their national championship season with their second consecutive victory in the Italian Rally Promotion Championship after their win at the previous Rally 1000 Miglia. The Trentino driver, in a Skoda Fabia RS, managed to stay close to the top three despite brake issues, especially during the Friday night stages. He then improved on the second day to finish in fourth place. Marco Signor and Daniele Michi secured fifth place in the race and fourth place overall in the CIAR Sparco, with an effective debut in the Italian championship in their Toyota GR Yaris Rally 2. They managed to outperform the Slovenian duo Bostjan Avbelj and Damijan Andrejka in their Skoda, finishing 5.7 seconds behind. Andrea Mabellini and Virginia Lenzi had a tough race from the start. Despite arriving in Liguria after a European victory in Poland, they seemed to struggle in their Skoda, losing 1'30" on the night stage due to a rear right puncture. Nicola Sartor and Lorenzo Mattucci finished in eighth position, completing a positive debut season in the Italian championship with their first appearance in a Skoda Fabia RS.

Completing the top ten were the best crews competing for the Zone Rally Cup; the Aosta-based driver Elwis Chentre, paired with Federico Boglietti, won the race for the 2nd Zone (Liguria and Piedmont), followed by Federico Santini and Marco Barsotti, both in Skodas and qualified for the upcoming National Final of the Italian Rally Cup, which will take place at the Rally della Lanterna on November 9th and 10th.

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The final act of the Italian championship crowned Matteo Doretto as one of the rising talents on the national scene, as the winner of the Italian Absolute Rally Junior Championship. The 21-year-old from Pordenone, navigated by Marco Frigo, delivered a consistent performance and after collecting three wins and two second places, arrived in Sanremo to secure a third-place finish that was enough to earn him the championship title among the ACI Team Italia crews, all driving Renault Clio Rally5s prepared by Motorsport Italia and shod with Pirelli tyres. His rival, Francesco Dei Ceci, came close to achieving the feat, but despite a dominant race, victory, and power stage points, he finished the season in second place in the championship. Between the two crews, the Sardinian duo of Mattia Ricciu and Marco Corda finished in second place, 44 seconds behind the leaders.

The final podium under the Casino provided the stage and awarded the titles for the other national series included in the CIAR Sparco. Among these, Gianandrea Pisani confirmed his title, winning his second consecutive Italian Two-Wheel Drive Championship alongside Massimo Moriconi. A third-place finish in the category was enough for the Versilia-based driver to confirm himself as the leader among the many Peugeot 208 Rally4s, after a carefully calculated race that avoided mistakes even in the most complicated phases of a challenging rally like Sanremo. The race victory went to Gabriel Di Pietro and Andrea Dresti, the second consecutive championship win for the Ossola-based driver who has confirmed himself as one of the most promising drivers, on the rise, on par with his rivals who made this junior series exciting until the end. Among them, Giorgio Cogni and Simone Brachi believed until the end that they could win the title, having managed to reopen the championship race with a series of victories in the central phase of the season, but despite finishing second in this final round, 27 seconds behind Di Pietro and 1 minute ahead of Pisani, he had to settle for finishing the season as runner-up.

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The year's final round turned into a triumphant ride for Sebastian Dallapiccola, another young Italian rally promise. The 20-year-old from Trentino, navigated by Fabio Andrian, managed to win the Italian R1 Championship, for which he was the clear favourite. Still, more importantly, he won the Suzuki Rally Cup with a victory achieved on the final special stage among the Swift Hybrids. Dallapiccola's overtake in the final kilometres against Alessandro Forneris, navigated by Mattia Rodighero, was decisive for winning the cup. With this victory, the Dallapiccola-Andrian duo managed to overtake Giorgio Fichera and Enzo Colombaro in the Japanese brand's classification, who finished only fifth.

Rachele Somaschini, with Giulia Zanchetta on the notes in a Citroen C3, also received applause on Corso Imperatrice, winning the ACI Sport Women's Cup. It was a tough but satisfying performance for the Milanese driver, who finished second in the category, managing to beat Arianna Doriguzzi and Elena Sica, who finished third, while the race victory went to local driver Patrizia Sciascia with Roberto Longo.

To complete the picture of successes at the Rallye Sanremo, Fabrizio Andolfi and Riccardo Imerito won the race valid as the final round of the GR Yaris Rally Cup, reserved for Japanese R1T4x4 class cars. The Savona-based driver this time stayed ahead of Thomas Paperini and Andrea Gabelloni, who had already won the trophy with one race to spare. At the same time, Mattia Vita and Emanuele Dinelli completed the Toyota podium.

FINAL classification RALLYE SANREMO: 1. Basso-Granai (Toyota Gr Yaris Rally2) In 1:18'22.4; 2. Crugnola-Ometto (Citroen C3) +7.8; 3. Campedelli-Canton (Skoda Fabia Rs) +8.0; 4. Dapra'-Guglielmetti (Skoda Fabia Rs) +1'08.4; 5. Signor-Michi (Toyota Gr Yaris Rally2) +1'43.5; 6. Avbelj-Andrejka (Skoda Fabia RS) +1'49.3; 7. Mabellini-Lenzi (Skoda Fabia RS) +2'48.7; 8. Sartor-Mattucci (Skoda Fabia RS) +3'14.0; 9. Chentre-Boglietti (Skoda Fabia Evo) +3'15.9; 10. Santini-Barsotti (Skoda Fabia) +4'14.6

OVERALL CIAR SPARCO CLASSIFICATION: 1. Crugnola-Ometto 121,5pt; 2. Basso-Granai 87,5pt; 3. Campedelli-Canton 86; 4. Signor-Michi 42pt; 5. Avbelj 47,5pt; 6. Scattolon-Zanni 30,5pt; 7. Mabellini-Lenzi 34,5 pt; 8. Daprà 24,5pt; 9. Nucita-Pollet 22,5pt; 10. Sartor 11,5pt

CIAR JUNIOR CLASSIFICATION: 1. Doretto 84pt; 2. Dei Ceci 82pt; 3. Ricciu 57pt; 4. Zanin 60,5pt; 5. Lorallini 35,5pt.

CIAR 2WD CLASSIFICATION: 1. Pisani-Moriconi 82,5pt; Cogni-Brachi 76,5 pt; 3. Lucchesi 61 pt; 4. Di Pietro 47,5pt; 5. Vigliaturo 44,5 pt

CIAR SPARCO 2024 CALENDAR: March 15-16 | Rally il Ciocco e Valle del Serchio; April 12-13 | Rally Regione Piemonte; May 10-11 | Rally Targa Florio (coeff. 1,5); May 26-29 | Rally Due Valli; July 26-28 | Rally di Roma Capitale (coeff. 1,5); September 13-14 | Rally 1000 Miglia; October 18-19 | Rally Sanremo (coeff. 1,5)

- Press release without regulatory value –

 

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