After three special stages, Lucio Da Zanche and Daniele De Luis are leading the Sanremo Historic Rally

SANREMO (IM), 7 ottobre – Having completed the first round of special stages of the 38th Sanremo Historic Rally, leading the overall standings are Lucio Da Zanche and Daniele De Luis who, in a Porsche Carrera RS, won all three special stages in the race program and led with an overall time of 4’54″6, first in Second Grouping. Second place, tied first in Fourth Regrouping with the same gap from the leaders of 22″9, for Luigi “Lucky” Battistolli, co-driven by Fabrizia Pons in a Delta HF Integrale 16V and Gianfranco Cunico in a Porsche 911 SC, co-driven by Gigi Pirollo. In the classification valid for the Italian Rally Historic Championship, fourth overall time for Valter Pierangioli-Arianna Ravano in a Ford Sierra Cosworth ahead of Enrico Volpato and Samuele Sordelli, first after three special stages in Third Group in a Ford Escort RS, who preceded Mannino-Giannone, Porsche 911 SC.

OVERALL CLASSIFICATION AFTER SS3 – COLLE D’OGGIA (7,90 KM) – CIRAS

OVERALL: 1. DA ZANCHE-DE LUIS (Porsche 911 RS) in 17’12.7; 2. CUNICO-PIROLLO (Porsche 911 Sc) at 22.9; 3. ‘LUCKY’-PONS (Lancia Delta Int.16V) at 22.9; 4. PIERANGIOLI-RAVANO (Ford Sierra Rs Cosworth) at 29.5; 5. VOLPATO-SORDELLI (Ford Escort Rs) at 36.3; 6. MANNINO-GIANNONE (Porsche 911 Sc) at 45.6; 7. NUCERA-GABRIELLI (Porsche Carrera Rsr) at 56.1; 8. PAGELLA-BREA (Porsche 911 Sc) at 1’10.2; 9. MARIOTTI-SANESI (Ford Sierra Rs Cosworth) at 1’17.5; 10. MEKLER-MEKLER (Lancia Rally 037) at 1’20.0

OVERALL CLASSIFICATION AFTER SS3 – COLLE D’OGGIA (7,90 KM) – EHARC

OVERALL: 1. DA ZANCHE-DE LUIS (Porsche Carrera Rs) in 17’12.7; 2. CUNICO-PIROLLO (Porsche 911 Sc) at 22.9; 3. ‘LUCKY’-PONS (Lancia Delta Int.16V) at 22.9; 4. MAEYAERT-DEWULF (Bmw M3 E30) at 28.6; 5. PIERANGIOLI-RAVANO (Ford Sierra Rs Cosworth) at 29.5; 6. ÉRDI-KERÉK (Ford Sierra Rs Cosworth) at 35.8; 7. MCCORMACK-MITCHELL (Bmw M3 E30) at 44.1; 8. MANNINO-GIANNONE (Porsche 911 Sc) at 45.6; 9. SCHUMANN-HARLOFF (Bmw M3 E30) at 1’03.9; 10. MARIOTTI-SANESI (Ford Sierra Rs Cosworth) at 1’17.5

Quotes at the Regrouping in Piazza Colombo – Sanremo

“LUCKY” (1): ” The stages went well even though, compared to two years ago, especially at the beginning of the specials we pay an average of four seconds. Now we try to understand why others have improved and we have not “.

Martin MCCORMACK (4): ” I’m having a hard time getting into a race rhythm on very different roads than I’m used to. We started badly but now things are slightly improving ”

Ernie GRAHAM (5): “Two rallies ago we’ve change Regroup and we are really having fun. This was our aim.”

Paolo PASUTTI (10): “Let’s see if we can fix the car properly, then we’ll try to shorten the gap from the crew preceding in order to be able to do better in our Regroup in the European Championship”

Valter Christian JENSEN (11): “We’ve participated in Sanremo 15 times.. I’m leading the Regroup but the second is very close, so for the moment I cannot say anything”.

Nello PARISI (16): “I’m concentrated on the classification of the Italian Championship where so far I’m second behind Palmieri. I’ve lost time in the first two stages and then regain time in the last one. Let’s see how the race proceed it is still long”.

Gianfranco CUNICO (23): “I am second and it is a great performance. First because the opponents are so fast; second because I have quite an age and to do a rally like this is not really taken for granted. The purpose of my presence here is to remember the 30th anniversary of the world victory at Sanremo and then to train because next year I would like to race in the championship and I wanted to see where I am at”.

Peter FENNER, co-driver of Franz-Xaver NAGER (22): ” This is the first time we are racing, here, in the rally with a Morgan even though on this car we took part, on these roads, in the regularity race. So we knew it would be difficult but we try, in any case, to do our best.”

Lucio DA ZANCHE (25): ” After winning the last two editions of the Sanremo and setting the best time in all three stages run so far, I think Da Zanche should have honorary citizenship of Sanremo. Joking aside, the car is going very well, we have made improvements to the set up that are paying off after an uphill start to the season.”

Valter PIERANGIOLI (26): “The main ai mis to having fun. If we can do good times it’ll be very good”.

Natale MANNINO (28): ” We will try to finish this rally in the best possible way and if it goes the way it is going we will win the grouping title in the Italian championship “.