Rally Alpi Orientali 2002

The Rally of Alpi Orientali, valid as the ninth rally of the Italian rally championship, has been diserted by the most part of the Italian actors, because they already got the title at the previous race, the San Martino di Castrozza at the end of July.
The new Italian rally champion, Renato Travaglia with Racing Lions' Peugeot 206 WRC, abandoned the event in favour of the Elpa Rally in Greece, in order to get more points for the European championship and the Trentin driver succeeded in the attempt to score precious points.
The Super1600 crew also diserted the Friulian rally, because the Vieffecorse's drivers, Andrea Dallavilla and Mirko Baldacci, did not enrole for the race, because Paolo Andreucci has already got the title in the category. Even Piero Longhi with the promising Autorel's Renault Clio Super1600 did not partecipate the event.
That was not the aim of the Opel team, with Perego and Broccoli crews present at Udine. They were however not very lucky, because retired during the first leg.
The whole crew of Fiat Punto drivers took part the rally and the big actor, Paolo Andreucci, started the rally without the usual pressure of Dallavilla and Andreucci administered this situation getting early the second standing in the general classification, staying above also at some WRC crews.
In SS5 Andreucci had however a small failure at the power steering system and in the SS6 he went off and retired. The fastest Punto drivers, after Andreucci, Pedersoli and Gigi Galli fighted for the first place in the Super1600 category, but the Grifone's driver incurred in a puncture and sloped down in the general classification. This issue left Gigi Galli and his Trico Motorsport's Fiat Punto in the first standing before the night of the first leg.
The Livignese driver got an important time gap between the remaining containders and this let him to administer the whole race for the first time in the whole Italian season.

Super 1600 Starting list

NUM     Driver - Codriver                    Car                         Class
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 7 ANDREUCCI Paolo - ANDREUSSI Anna          Fiat Punto Super1600         A6
 8 PEDERSOLI Luca - CANTON Tania             Fiat Punto Super1600         A6 
 9 GALLI Gianluigi - D'AMORE Guido           Fiat Punto Super1600         A6 
10 VAGNINI Jader - VALLE Tania               Fiat Punto Super1600         A6
11 PEREGO Andrea - DE LUIS Daniele           Opel Corsa Super1600         A6 
12 VENICA Giorgio - CIANI Cristian           Renault Clio Super1600       A6
14 PERINI Alberto - LIZZI Paolo              Citroen Saxo Super1600       A6
15 CECCATO Massimo - DOTTA Mitia             Fiat Punto Super1600         A6
16 CECCHETTINI Luca - TACCINI Piero          Fiat Punto Super1600         A6
18 BETTI Luca - VISCHIONI Claudio            Fiat Punto Super1600         A6
19 HIRVONEN Mikko - LEHTINEN Jarmo           Citroen Saxo Super1600       A6
20 BROCCOLI Alessandro - BROCCOLI Elisa      Opel Corsa Super1600         A6 
21 MARSIC Cristian - FLOREAN Emanuela        Renault Clio Super1600       A6
22 STEFANI Nicola - CRACCO Christian         Fiat Punto Super1600         A6
74 RIGHETTI Roberto - BENDAZZOLI Francesco   Peugeot 106 Maxi             A6
75 MACALUSO Massimo - BERNACCHINI Giovanni   Fiat Punto Super1600         A6

Final classification

POS NUM   Driver - Codriver                  Car              Total time  Diff
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 1   5    GALLI Gianluigi - D'AMORE Guido    Fiat Punto        2:36:21.8 
 2   8    PEDERSOLI Luca - CANTON Tania      Fiat Punto        2:37:24.0  1:02.8
 3  10    VAGNINI Jader - VALLE Tania        Fiat Punto        2:38:26.1  2:04.3
 4  15    CECCATO Massimo - DOTTA Mitia      Fiat Punto        2:38:33.8  2:12.0
 5  14    PERINI Alberto - LIZZI Paolo       Citroen Saxo      2:38:35.9  2:14.1
 6  12    VENICA Giorgio - CIANI Cristian    Renault Clio      2:38:38.1  2:16.3
 7  21    MARSIC Cristian - FLOREAN Emanuela Renault Clio      2:45:27.5  9:05.7
 8  16    CECCHETTINI Luca - TACCINI Piero   Fiat Punto        2:45:36.9  9:15.1
 9  75    MACALUSO Massimo - BERNACCHINI Gio Fiat Punto Kit    2:45:57.0  9:35.2

NUM   Driver - Codriver         Car              When/Why
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 7 ANDREUCCI Paolo - ANDREUSSI  Fiat Punto       SS6 - offroad
11 PEREGO Andrea - DE LUIS Dani Opel Corsa       SS3 - did not start
18 BETTI Luca - VISCHIONI Claud Fiat Punto       SS1 - offroad
19 HIRVONEN Mikko - LEHTINEN Ja Citroen Saxo     SS7 - mechanical
20 BROCCOLI Alessandro - BROCCO Opel Corsa       SS7 - gearbox
22 STEFANI Nicola - CRACCO Chri Fiat Punto       SS2 - offroad
74 RIGHETTI Roberto - BENDAZZOL Peugeot 106 Maxi SS1

1. Travaglia (Peugeot 206 WRC, 2002 Italian rally champion) pt.49
2. Andreucci (Fiat Punto, 2002 Super1600 Italian rally champion) pt.25
3. Navarra (Subaru Impreza WRC) pt.21
4. Dallavilla (Citroen Saxo) pt.20
5. Cantamessa (Subaru Impreza WRC) pt.19
6. Aghini (Peugeot 206 WRC) pt.16

The CIR Super 1600 category:

1. Andreucci (Fiat Punto Super 1600) pt.66
2. Dallavilla (Citroen Saxo Super 1600) pt.42
3. Galli (Fiat Punto Super 1600) pt.30
4. Pedersoli (Fiat Punto S.1600) pt.29
5. Longhi (Renault Clio S1600) pt.15
6. Baldacci (Citroen S1600) pt.14
7. Vagnini (Fiat Punto Super 1600) pt.13
8. Ceccato (Fiat Punto Super 1600) pt.10

Thanks to Massimo Bettis e Cris for the fabulous pictures of the Super1600 drivers!

Pedersoli

Galli

Macaluso