LECCE – The curtain falls on the fifty-sixth Salento Rally won in the photo finish by Luca Pedersoli and Corrado Bonato, in a Citroen DS3 Wrc. The Lombard driver, at the end of a very hard-fought race, managed to prevail against the leaders of the Tricolore series, Giuseppe Testa and Gino Abatecola, by just one second and three tenths. The podium of the race organized by the Automobile Club Lecce was completed by Luca Rossetti and Nicolò Gonella.
It was Luca Pedersoli at the start, paired with Corrado Bonato, in a Citroen Ds3 Wrc, who crowned his head with the laurel wreath, after seven hard-fought special tests out of the eight originally scheduled. The Lombard driver’s race was an exciting one, fought on the edge of tenths of a second with Giuseppe Testa and Gino Abatecola, second at the end of the competition.
The driver from Molise and the Frosinone, representative of the Ro racing team, have always responded admirably to the attacks of their opponents, but, after handing over to the winners in the second round of testing today, they were unable to return to the top for a single second. and five tenths, despite two consecutive scratches in the final two sections.
The strong driver from Cercemaggiore, thanks to the second place, increased his lead in the championship standings and pulled away from the competition. The podium was completed by Luca Rossetti and Nicolò Gonella.
The two standard bearers of Bluthunder Racing, who began their experience in the new series created by Acisport, right on the roads of the Heel of Italy, had to shake off some rust due to several months of inactivity and then preferred to lead their Skoda Fabia R5 Evo upon arrival, without taking unnecessary risks.
The Salento event, which can boast a coefficient of 1.5 for the purposes of assigning championship points, provided twists and turns as usual. Those who found out were Corrado Pinzano and Mauro Turati who, while fighting for the top positions, suffered a puncture and fell to the rear. The Piedmontese of the New Driver’s Team then started a splendid comeback that led him to the final fourth place.
Fifth place for the first local crew, formed by Francesco Rizzello and Fernando Sorano, competing with a Skoda Fabia R5. Sixth at the end Simone Miele. The Lombard, a regular visitor to the series, shared the cockpit with Giulia Paganoni and, thanks to a regular pace, did not run into any surprises.
Paolo Menegatti and Nicola Rutigliano finished in seventh place aboard a Skoda Fabia Evo RS. Victory among the Over 55s and eighth overall position for Marco Silva and Giovanni Pina from Como. The Top Ten was completed by Paolo and Giulio Nodari, who finished in ninth position and by Maurizio Di Gesù and Cristian Quarta from Salento.
The sixth edition of the Historic Salento Rally, valid for the Area Rally Trophy, combined since 2018 with the event reserved for modern cars, instead saw the victory of the standard bearers of the RO racing team, Toti Mannino and Giacomo Giannone, competing with a BMW 2002 of the Second Grouping. The two Sicilians took command of the operations on the first timed section and then resisted the attacks of the Ford Escort Rs MK of Alessandro Oliveri and Marianna Ambrogi. The podium was completed by the winners of the Third Group, Pippo Savoca and Francesco La Franca, competing with a Fiat Ritmo 75.
The Salento Historic Regularity Rally medium speed competition which this year has become part of the events of the Salento event, signed Ac Lecce, saw the success, among the medium speed 60 competitors, of Ermanno Keller and Nicola Manzini, on Audi Quattro and among those of the medium speed 50, Vittorio Catanzaro and Anna Maria Beneduce, on Mazda 323.
The same crowd that accompanied the crews during the two days of competition came to celebrate the champions of the wheel in Piazza Mazzini, in Lecce.
Italian Rally Trophy – 56th Salento Rally, Overall Final Ranking (top ten)
1. Pedersoli-Bonato (Citroen Ds3 Wrc) in 49’55”,5
2. Testa-Abatecola (Skoda Fabia Evo RS) at 1.5
3. Rossetti-Gonella (Skoda Fabia R5 Evo) at 51”,9
4. Pinzano-Turati (Volkswagen Polo R5 GTI) at 1′,10”,5
5. Rizzello-Sorano (Skoda Fabia R5) at 1’10”,8
6. Miele-Paganoni (Skoda Fabia Evo RS) at 1’25”,3
7.Menegatti-Rutigliano (Skoda Fabia Evo RS) at 1’56”
8. Silva-Pina (Skoda Fabia Evo RS) at 2’05”,7
9. Nodari-Nodari (Skoda Fabia Evo RS5) at 3’24”,9
10. Di Gesù-Fourth (Skoda Fabia R5) at 4’05”,6
Italian Asphalt Rally Trophy – Overall ranking
1.Head pt 52.5; 2. Pinzano point 45; 3.Pedersoli point 37.5; 4. 5Honey pt 29.5.
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