Zoom Basso strong at the Sanremo

It was not by much, but Nicolas Vouilloz was able to break Giandomenico Basso's string of consecutive stage wins on the day's final run at the Sanremo Rally.

The Frenchman brought his Peugeot Belgium-Luxemburg 207 S2000 from one end to the other of the San Romolo 2 route with a best time of 8:22.2, thereby breaking Giandomenico Basso's hegemony over today's stages.

The rally leader did not concede much however, since Basso was second-quickest on this run at the wheel of his works Abarth Grande Punto, a single second adrift of Vouilloz's pace.

The battle for third place was very close indeed, with Freddy Loix bringing his 207 across the finish line only a tenth of a second faster than Luca Rossetti's.

Renato Travaglia claimed the fifth spot a few seconds behind. In sixth and seventh positions, Alessandro Perico's Proservice Peugeot was just 0:00.6 ahead of Paolo Andreucci's Ralliart Mitsubishi.

Andrea Torlasco and Pieri Longhi appeared next, with Anton Alen's Abarth Grande Punto making its way into the top ten for the first time so far on this event.

With 14 drivers having completed their runs, the stage was again suspended when another accident occurred. Fortunately no one was injured but the organisers had to stop the rally from proceeding.

In the overall rankings, Giandomenico Basso continues to enjoy his advantage on his closest pursuer: with four stages to come tomorrow before reaching the conclusion of the Sanremo Rally, the Italian holds a 52.8-second lead on second-placed Luca Rossetti.

The battle for second place is still on however, as Freddy Loix stands a dozen seconds behind Rossetti. In fourth position, Nicolas Vouilloz holds a 51.7-second gap ahead of Renato Travaglia.

The rest of the current standings are unclear at present, as notional times must still be attributed to the drivers who could not complete their runs.

After the short period of time which followed last evening's late-night stages, the Sanremo Rally contenders may now enjoy a good rest before taking on Saturday's final four runs, the result of which will name the winner of this classic event's 50th edition.

The event will resume tomorrow morning at 09:11 local time with the San Bartolomeo 1 stage.

Daniel BASTIEN
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