72nd Rallye Sanremo, all the challenges for the title beyond the overall title
All eyes are on the Basso-Crugnola battle for the overall title, but the CIAR-Junior title, two rankings in the Lancia Ypsilon Trophy, and the Toyota, Suzuki and Michelin Trophies are also up for grabs.
SANREMO (IM), 18 ottobre – Whoever wins, wins the title. It seems like a self-evident statement, but this is not always the case. However, it is true for almost all the rankings still open in the 72nd Rallye Sanremo, which will come to an end this weekend. This is true, but only up to a point, for the overall standings of the Italian Rally Championship-Sparco, as Andrea Crugnola’s overall victory and first place in the Power Stage will not be enough if Giandomenico Basso finishes second in the Power Stage and in the overall.
Five drivers are battling it out for the Junior title. They are our hopes for the future. These are the Junior category drivers who compete on equal terms in their identical Renault New Clio RS Rally5 cars. Mathematically, there are five drivers who can still win the Italian title, but we know that fate often shuffles the cards. Three points separate Giacomo Marchioro and Sebastian Dallapiccola, who, already in their first season behind the wheel, have shown what they are made of. Marchioro has won three of the six races, while Dallapiccola has never managed to climb onto the top step of the podium but has definitely been the most consistent of the bunch. These two drivers need to keep a close eye on each other, but they have such an advantage over the competition that they can control the situation of the other competitors, at least in the Power Stage. Matia Ricciu and Matteo Greco, tied at eight points from the top, will be chasing them, while the maths still gives Alberto Siccardi some hope, and as long as the maths keeps him alive, the dream remains.
Gianandrea Pisani honours the Lancia Ypsilon Trophy. Already winner of the Lancia Ypsilon Trophy (and the Two-Wheel Drive Championship), the Tuscan driver will not be missing Sanremo, where he is competing for the fifth time, a race that has brought him considerable satisfaction ( crowning him Italian Two-Wheel Drive champion in 2023 and 2024) and he will certainly want to add another golden cherry to his list of achievements. The situation is quite different in the various rankings of the flying elephant trophy. In the Junior category, Gabriel Di Pietro, Nicolò Ardizzone and Davide Pesavento will compete for success, while in the Expert category, Polish driver Dariusz Polonski, Emanuele Fiore and Denis Vigliaturo will give it their all.
GR Yaris Rally Cup: everyone chasing Frenchman Boulenc. The stages of the 72nd Rallye Sanremo will crown the overall winner of the Japanese manufacturer’s series. Four drivers are competing for the overall title. At the top is Frenchman Benjamin Boulenc, who has already won the GR Yaris Rally Cup Promotion, and will mainly have to contend with Tommaso Paleari, who is six points behind him, Fabrizio Andolfi, who is thirteen points behind, and Salvatore Lo Cascio, who has to make up fifteen points. Also at stake is the Under 25 title between Giovanni Dello Russo and Maira Zanotti from Modena, separated by 31.5 points.
Suzuki Rally Cup, winner takes it all. The Hamamatsu-based manufacturer has a long tradition of closing the series at Sanremo. As has happened several times before (last year, the title was decided in the final special stage), the crown will be awarded to the best Suzuki at the finish line, contested between Lorenzo Varesco, Giorgio Fichera and Under 25 Jean Claude Vallino. Mathematical hopes still remain for the other Under 25, Stefano Vitali, but in this case, a series of statistically unlikely but not impossible combinations would have to occur. There is a change of category for the already mathematically confirmed winner of the Racing Start 1.0 Booster Jet, the under-25 Andrea La Cola, who, with a view to next season, is leaving the Swift 1000 to move to the Sport Hybrid version to get to know his weapon for next season.
Michelin Trophy Italy, yet another challenge between Pisani and Pesavento. Throughout the season, they have competed in every possible and conceivable classification. Once again, Gianandrea Pisani and Davide Pesavento find themselves facing each other in the Michelin Trophy Italy Élite, separated by just 1.22 points after six races. Once again, the winner takes it all. In the senior group, the solitary Roberto Gobbin has his triumphant march in the Sanremo stages.
