News July 18 2006

A Grande Punto wins Belgian leg of the International Rally Challenge European Championship

Another outright win for the Fiat Grande Punto at the Ypres Rally in Belgium which will count towards the International Rally Challenge and the European Championship.

Giandomenico Basso and Mitia Dotta romped off with the Belgian race, seeing off strong competition from local drivers and the many contenders in the Junior World Championship. In the rankings, Basso’s Grande Punto was ahead of the Renault Clio driven by Princen and the Mitsubishi Lancer driven by Cols, both Belgians.

This win means that the Fiat Grande Punto goes into the lead of the International Rally Challenge – with Basso stealing the lead from the Briton Alister McRae (Mitsubishi) winner of the Zulu Rally in South Africa – and also the European Championship, in which Basso has pulled away from his rivals considerably.

His score is now 25 points as a result of two wins in Turkey and Belgium and a fourth place in the Polish Rally, well ahead of the 10 points scored by the second ranked driver - his team mate Paolo Andreucci, who came first in the Mille Miglia and is not taking part in the European rally.

Basso drove a tactically perfect race in Ypres. He sped to the lead in the second special trial, winning 5 special trials out of 6 in the first stage. In the second part of the race, including more tricky special trials, he failed to take the lead over his rivals despite maintaining a high speed.

“I am very happy with this win”, said Basso at the winning post, “because in the past only Miki Biasion has managed to get the better of the local specialists. The credit must also go to the Grande Punto, which is ideal on these roads and very reliable in a rally that is almost as long as a world rally”.

The Fiat Grande Punto proved highly competitive, even in the hands of the youngster Umberto Scandola with the veteran Luigi Pirollo as navigator. Scandola, who contended the International Rally Challenge with the support of the AciCsai “Youth Project” took the lead in the race at the beginning after winning the first special trial.

He then completed the first stage in second place behind Basso, with a respectable lead over the third ranked. In the second special trial during the second stage, however, he went off the road and his Grande Punto ended up in a swamp and sank completely. He will, nevertheless, have the chance to prove himself again in the next event of the International Rally Challenge, the Madeira Rally, scheduled for the Portuguese island in the Atlantic from 5 to 7 August.

Look out for a report on the next event in the European Championship - the Bulgarian Rally (7-9 July).

---

Turin, 25 June 2006

Ypres Rally Ranking

1. 1. Basso-Dotta (Fiat Grande Punto) in 2 hours 49’23.6”;
   2. Princen-Chevailler (Renault Clio) at 50.6”;
   3. Cols-Godde (Mitsubishi Lancer) at 55.5”;
   4. Loix- Declerx (Citroen C2) at 1’54.5”;
   5. Casier-Miclotte (Renault Clio) at 2’20.4”;
   6. Aava-Sikk (Suzuki Swift) at 5’12.0”;
   7. Garcia Ojeda-Barrabes (Peugeot 206) at 5’22.0”;
   8. Colsoul-Colsoul (Mitsubishi Lancer) at 5’42.2”;
   9. Lefevere-Messelis (Subaru Impreza) at 5’54.1”;
   10. Bruyneel-Droeven (Subaru Impreza) at 5’57.3”.

International Rally Challenge Ranking

1. 1. Basso (Fiat) and A. McRae (Mitsubishi) 10 points;
   3. Princen (Renault) and Kuun (Volkswagen) 8;
   5. Cols (Mitsubishi) and Lourens (Toyota) 6;
   7. Loix (Citroen) and Head (Mitsubishi) 5;
   9. Casier (Renault) and Fekken (Volkswagen) 4.

European Championship Ranking

1. 1. Basso (Fiat) 25 points;
   2. Andreucci (Fiat) and Kuzaj (Subaru) 10;
   4. Cantamessa (Subaru), Isik (Fiat), Svedlund (Mitsubishi) and Princen (Renault) 8.