Rally of Ciocco and Serchio's Valley 2004

Event Summary

As foreseen at the eve of the second round of the Italian Rally Championship, Rally of Ciocco and Serchio's Valley, the twisty Garfagnana's roads brought the victory to the local idol Paolo Andreucci, codriven with Anna Andreussi, on Fiat Punto Abarth, with a gap of 28"1 seconds over the Piero Longhi and Danilo Fappani's Subaru Impreza STi and 33"2 over Power Car Team's Renault Clio Super1600 driven by Andrea Dallavilla. The Tuscan driver's victory, the Italian Rally champion in charge, has been far from being easy. On the stages of the first leg, Emanuele Dati, with Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VII of Ralliart Italy, dominated with a gross margin, though his all wheel drive Lancer was not favoured on the tarmac roads of Lucca's province. After Dati's off road and retire, on the eighth of nine stages on the first half of the event, Andreucci got the topmost position just before the night in order to launch his further assault on the first stages in the following morning. The final second position went to Piero Longhi's Subaru Impreza STi, who balanced well his unlucky debut at Tutta Terra Toscana, where he retired after rolling in a spectacular way. Great revenge also for Andrea Dallavilla, who was able to put his Renault Clio Super1600 of Power Car Team just ahead of all the crews in the longest second leg's stages. Just below the podium, the youngster Luca Rossetti convinced with his Citroen Saxo Super1600, and also Andrea Navarra, clearly in trouble at his first rally on tarmac with Aimont Racing's Subaru Impreza STi gr.N, after being the undiscussed leader of the last years Italian gravel events. With the points of the fifth position, the Cesena based driver preserves the Championship leadership in cohabitation with Paolo Andreucci.
In the second half of the topten standings, there is Giandomenico Basso at the wheel of Trico Motor Sport's Fiat Punto Abarth Super1600, out of luck for a puncture on the second stage in the first leg and for the same reason in the second stage of the second leg, where he had to stop and change the wheel in order to complete the 23 km of the longest Renaio stage. The Treviso's pizza maker fixed seven best scratches of the seventeen stages and several second times, but it was not enough to get the podium. Other drivers of the topten list are Luca Cantamessa, with the second works Mitsubishi Lancer, Daniele Ceccoli with the same Japanese car, and the two Fiat Punto's of Matteo Gamba, and Grifone's Alessandro Bettega.

Final classification

1. Andreucci-Andreussi (Fiat Punto Abarth Super1600) in 2h44'30"9
2. Longhi-Fappani (Subaru Impreza STi) a 28"1
3. Dallavilla-Canton (Renault Clio Super1600) a 33"2
4. Rossetti-De Luis (Citroën Saxo Super1600) a 1'09"2
5. Navarra-Fedeli (Subaru Impreza STi) a 1'51"3
6. Basso-Dotta (Fiat Punto Abarth Super1600) a 2'35"
7. Cantamessa-Capolongo (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VII) a 2'59"9
8. Ceccoli-Cicognini (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VII) a 4'32"9
9. Gamba-Guglielmini (Fiat Punto Abarth Super1600) a 5'46"6
10. Bettega-Scattolin (Fiat Punto Abarth Super1600) a 6'32"

Pictures

All the pictures are here on courtesy of the respective photographers, displayed in the pictures. Thanks to Massimo Bettiol.

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