37th Sanremo Historic Rally. Entries closed, 92 crews ready for the start of the race
SANREMO (IM), 10 ottobre – “Rien ne va plus, le jeux sont faits”. In the city that is home to one of Italy’s most prestigious casinos, one could use this formula to say that entries for the 37th Sanremo Historic Rally and the 36th Coppa dei Fiori regularity race are closed, and those who have not sent in their entry request in time will be out of the running. In reality, the games will open on Friday, Oct. 14, when the race cars will parade for the start on the platform of Corso Imperatrice in San Remo to take then on the first stage of the rally and, to follow will start the regularity race.
There are 69 entrants for the 37th Sanremo Historic Rally, with the major protagonists of the Italian Historic Cars Rally Championship and participants in the European Championship, a series of which the Sanremo is the last round. The Italian race will see at the start all the major protagonists of the national series, starting with the leader of the standings Angelo Lombardo (who is also leading the Second Grouping), with Roberto Consiglio at his side, the dawner of the season with the Porsche 911 RS and protagonist in the past of great performances at the Sanremo, being the winner of the Third Grouping in 2019. Behind him will start Lucio Da Zanche and Daniele De Luis. The Valtellina driver was the protagonist of an unlucky 2022 season, but four times winner of the race (the last one last year). Then “modern” world championship frequenter Enrico Brazzoli, with Manuel Fenoli at the pace notes, in a Porsche 911 SC RS, recent winner of the Valli Cuneesi historic and atop the podium at the 2010 Sanremo. On a Porsche 911 SC, Beniamino Lo Presti-Nicolò Gonella (commanding the Third Grouping), currently second in the Italian championship, will be in the match, preceding Tiziano and Francesca Nerobutto, very fast in their Opel Ascona 400, by one minute; then Matteo Luise, who with his wife Melissa Ferro has steadily installed himself in the top positions of the Italian race standings with the small Ritmo 130 Abarth, followed by the leader of the Fourth Grouping Emanuele Farris in a Porsche 911 with Giuseppe Pirisinu at the pace notes, who will have to guard against the assaults of the twin car of Ermanno Sordi co-driven by the Ligurian Maurizio Barone. Then again the Porsches of Ermanno Sordi-Maurizio Barone and Lorenzo Delladio-Claudia Musti, the interesting and historic Opel GT 1900 of Francesco Mannino and Giuseppe Amato, the much admired Lancia Stratos of Olindo Deserti-Paola Ferrari.
Italy versus rest of Europe. Agonistically speaking, the protagonists of the Italian Championship will have to contend with the European participants who have not conquered the West Ligura Coast rally since the 2000 edition (Trajbold-Trajboldova) at the conclusion of a triptych of foreign victories with Stoschek-Hubner in 1999 and Röhrl-Gobbel the previous year. With the number 1 will come down from the platform the Finns Ville Silvasti-Risto Pietiläinen, Lancia Rally 037, who currently lead the European Rally Championship Fourth Grouping standings who will precede on the starting platform the Swedes Matts Myrsell-Esko Juntilla, Ford Sierra Cosworth, who are also chasing them in the European standings. Third to start on the special stages will be Austrians Karl Wagner-Zerda Zauner, Porsche 911 SC, who currently are in third place in the Third Grouping of the European Series. Italian tricolor flag in the Second Grouping of the European Rally Championship with Pietro Corredig and Sonia Borghese in the lead with their BMW 2002 Tii that will start with the number 10, while in the First Grouping Nello Parisi and Giussy d’Angelo, Porsche 911, will try to collect those points that will allow the driver from Turin to overtake in the continental ranking, the Englishman Ernie Graham, absent in Sanremo.
Europe meets in Sanremo. The flags of fourteen nations will fly on the Corso Imperatrice platform, in addition to Italy, which is fielding 48 crews at the start, with the Principality of Monaco (three crews) Belgium, the Czech Republic, Austria and France (two), then Finland, Norway, Holland, Ireland, Sweden, Great Britain, Spain and Hungary in the spotlight
Twenty-three crews to compete for the Coppa dei Fiori. Twenty-three crews will take part in the 36th Coppa dei Fiori, a race valid for the Italian Regularity Championship, which will take place on Friday, October 14 and Saturday, October 15 on the same roads as the Sanremo Historic Rally. At the start will be the winners of the last edition, Paolo Mercattilj and Francesco Giammarino on Porsche 911S who will have to contend with the best regularity races not only from Italy, such as Enrico and Carlo Merenda, A112 Abarth, also the former European rally champion Maurizio Verini (four times second in the World Championship Rallye Sanremo) who will share his Sierra Cosworth with Laura Martines. There will be no shortage of foreign participation in which stands out the presence of the Czechs Michal Pavlik-Monica di Lenardo with their 1962 Saab 96 Sport, the event’s most dated car, now a traditional presence in Italian regularity races.
Numbers and dates of the October 14/15 races in Sanremo
37th Sanremo Historic Rally
Days: 2
Special Stages: 11
Total distance; 371.20 km
Special stages route; 142.93
Validity
FIA European European Historic Rally Championship for Drivers and Co-Drivers.
FIA Trophy for EHRC Teams
Italian Historic Car Rally Championship (CIRAS)
Michelin Historic Rally Cup
Program
Thursday, October 13 (10 a.m.-5 p.m.). Scrutineering, Piazzale Adolfo Rava Sanremo
Thursday, October 13 (3 p.m.-6 p.m.). Shakedown San Romolo
Thursday, October 13 (8 a.m.-8 p.m.). Publication of first day start list
Friday, October 14 (8:30 a.m.). First lday start. Corso Imperatrice – Sanremo
The Special stages of day 1
1) Colle d’Oggia (10, 74 km – 9.33 a.m.); 2) Passo Teglia (9, 17 km – 9.58 a.m.); Remote Service Zone – Molini di Triora (10.16/10.31 a.m.); 3) Langan (19, 15 km – 10.40 a.m.); Regrouping and Service Park – Old Railway Station, Sanremo (12.00/13.30 p.m.). 4) Colle d’Oggia (10, 74 km – 2:33 p.m.); 2) Passo Teglia (9.17 km – 2:58 p.m.); Remote Service Zone – Molini di Triora (3:16/15:31 p.m.); 3) Langan (19.15 km – 3:40 p.m.); Service Park – Old Railway Station, Sanremo (5:00/17:45 p.m.). Friday, Oct. 14 (5:45 p.m.). End of first day. Park Fermé Piazzale Adolfo Rava Sanremo.
The first day measures 228.21 km including 78.12 km divided into six special stages
Friday, October 14 (7:30 p.m.). Publication starting order second day
Saturday, October 15 (8:15 a.m.). Start of the second day. Piazzale Adolfo Rava Sanremo
The special stages of day 2
7) Vignai (14.23 km, 9.11 a.m.); Remote Service Zone – Bajardo; 8) Bignone (10.51 km – 9.46 a.m.); 9) Coldirodi (7.03 km – 10.07 a.m.); Regrouping and Service Park – Old Railway Station, Sanremo (10.37/11.57 a.m.). 10) Vignai (14.23 km, 12.38 pm); Remote Service Zone – Bajardo; 11) Passo Ghimbegna – Orlando Dall’Ava (18.41 km – 1.13 pm); Service Park – Old Railway Station, Sanremo (2.03/14.13 pm). End of the second day. Piazzale Adolfo Rava
The second day measures 144.89 km including 80.48 km divided into five special stages .
Saturday, Oct. 15 (2:30 p.m.). Arrival and awards ceremony stage Corso Imperatrice – Sanremo
The 37th Sanremo Historic Rally measures 373.10 km including 142.53 km divided into two days and eleven special stages .
The 2021 edition of the Sanremo Historic Rally was won by Lucio Da Zanche-Daniele De Luis, Porsche 911 SC RS, in 1.29’52″1 ahead of Matteo Musti-Claudio Biglieri (Porsche 911 Carrera RS 3.0, at 20″7) and Matteo Luise-Fabrizio Handel (Subaru Legacy 4WD, at 1’57″3).
36th Flower Cup (Coppa dei Fiori)
Validity
Italian Regularity Championship
Days: 2
Trials of Precision: 11
Total route; 298.51
Special Stages Route: 110.21
Program
Thursday, October 13 (3 p.m. – 6 p.m.). Scrutineering Piazzale Adolfo Rava – Sanremo
Friday, October 14 10:05 a.m.. Departure Corso Imperatrice – Sanremo
Friday, October 14 6:45 p.m. Arrival first day Old Railway Station – Sanremo
Saturday, October 15 9:55 a.m. Departure second day Old Railway Station – Sanremo
Saturday, October 15 3:33 p.m. Arrival second day Old Railway Station – Sanremo
Saturday, October 15, 3:43 p.m. Final Arrival platform Corso Imperatrice – Sanremo
Last year the most accurate on the roads of the Coppa dei Fiori were Paolo Marcattilij -Francesco Giammarino who charged with their Porsche 911 2.0 SWB, 267 penalties, overtaking Maurizio Gandolfo-Ornella Pietropaolo on Innocenti Mini Cooper who paid 309, then Maurizio Vellano – Giovanni Molina Audi 80 quattro stopped at 359, who preceded by just twenty penalties the female crew Alexia Giugni-Caterina Silvana Leva Renault Alpine A110 1300.
