Rally, Giandomenico Basso triumphs in Sanremo
Rally, Giandomenico Basso triumphs in Sanremo
He always had the podium step, the highest, in his sights, even though the difficult conditions, especially in the first stage on Friday, advised cautious statements. Giandomenico Basso, flanked by Lorenzo Granai, gets his fifth victory at the Sanremo: his second win of the season (after the Piedmont Region at the beginning of the season) and a result that also earns him the second place in the Italian Absolute Rally-Sparco Championship, overtaking right on the wire Simone Campedelli third in the race and championship.
After the first day had closed with Andrea Campedelli-Tania Canton at the top of the standings thanks to a hat-trick of successes in the day’s stages, the second stage began with Crugnola’s success in the short Montalto stage, followed by the Carpasio special, which was interrupted prematurely due to the’accident of Federico Gangi-Fabrizia Pons, second to start in the special with their Škoda stopped in the middle of the ’asphalt, a situation that forced Paolo Andreucci and Rudi Briani to scrap off the road so as not to hit the Savonese’s car. The second stage came into full swing with the next Calderara when it was Basso who imposed himself, moving into the lead of the race by overtaking Campedelli in the overall standings by just 5/10.
The second passage over the stages saw Crugnola confirm himself king of the Montalto special, with new overtaking of Campedelli against Basso by just 3/10. Then the long Carpasio-Rezzo of 21.02 km that recorded the great attack of Basso at the top of the standings, leaving at 1”6 Crugnola and a good 10” net Campedelli. The ranking for the podium of the’absolute began to take shape, with Basso taking the lead of the situation with a 9”6 advantage over Campedelli, approached by Crugnola, on whom he boasted, by now only 6/10. In the final stage, it was Crugnola who prevailed with 8/10 over Campedelli and 2”4 over Basso, who controlled the situation and went on to win his fifth Sanremo victory. Crugnola’s performance in Calderara allowed the Varese driver to overtake Campedelli in the overall standings, a result that gave Basso second place overall in the CIAR.
Behind the trio on the podium is the very young Roberto Daprà with Luca Guglielmetti taking his second win in the Promotion championship, followed by Marco Signor and Daniele Michi then Bostjan Avbelj-Damian Andrejka. Elwis Chentre-Federico Boglietti, ninth overall, take the victory among the Zone Rally Cup competitors.
A total of 87 competitors finished the race.
