72nd Rallye Sanremo. Giandomenico Basso Italian Championship king

His first career victory at Sanremo was not enough for Andrea Crugnola to win the Italian championship title that the Varese driver had held for the last three years (2022, 2023, 2024). A difficult race, not so much technically as mentally, handed Giandomenico Basso his fifth overall Italian title, equalling one of the greats of Italian rallying: Dario Cerrato.

SANREMO (IM), 19 ottobre – Before the green light marked the start of the 72nd Rallye Sanremo yesterday afternoon, Giandomenico Basso and Andrea Crugnola’s teams were once again busy crunching numbers and making mathematical projections to examine the endless possible options for the Italian Rally Championship-Sparco title standings. In the end, however, it was the twelve special stages of the Western Liguria race that counted, rewarding Andrea Crugnola with his first overall victory (in this rally), co-driven by Pietro Elia Ometto, and crowning Giandomenico Basso, second in the standings, with his fifth Italian title.

The person who probably had the most difficult weekend was Giandomenico Basso, with Lorenzo Granai, in a Škoda Fabia RS, who had to finish at least second behind his direct rival in Saturday afternoon’s Power Stage and on the final stage at Pian di Nave this afternoon. Basso immediately showed that he was not content to play a defensive role, winning yesterday’s Power Stage, the Carpasio-Ville San Pietro (after a spectacular Crugnola had won the Porto Sole show stage, broadcast live on television). After taking the lead in the standings, he left it to the Varese driver two stages later, ending the first day 6.1 seconds behind Crugnola but, above all, boasting a 16.2-second lead over Fabio Andolfi-Marco Menchini, Škoda Fabia RS, who at that point became his serious rival.

After the first stages in the morning, Basso said: “It’s difficult to drive in these conditions because you have to maintain a fast pace so as not to lose concentration, but at the same time you can’t risk making a mistake. I have to watch out for Crugnola ahead of me but, above all, keep an eye on those behind me, such as Fabio Andolfi who, having nothing to lose, can race aggressively to get the best result possible.”

The victory of Andrea Crugnola-Pietro Ometto has a bittersweet taste (three times second in Sanremo): ‘We do our job by leading the standings,’ commented the Varese driver halfway through the day, who won three special stages, consistently setting podium times, except for a single fourth place finish throughout the race, “but we have no other choice. Giandomenico was better in Carpasio,” Crugnola concluded laconically.

Third place went to a resolute Fabio Andolfi with Marco Menchini as his co-driver, in his first race of the season with the Škoda Fabia. ‘We spent the first leg getting back into the swing of things with the Fabia, then we improved,’ becoming the star of the second day with victories in five of the eight stages, finishing 16.5 seconds behind Crugnola and just 5.7 seconds behind Basso

Simone Campedelli and Tania Canton finished off the podium, driving the Toyota GR Yaris for the first time and securing an excellent fourth place after the first leg, which they spent getting to get the feeling with a car they only knew from testing and achieving double success in the two passes on the San Romolo-Perinaldo special stage. The Cesena driver finished ahead of Ivan Ferrarotti-Fabio Grimaldi, Škoda Fabia RS, who inherited their position after Marco Signor-Daniele Michi, Toyota GR Yaris, were forced to retire due to a technical problem in the Service Park halfway through the second leg. Antonio Rusce-Gabriele Zanni, Skoda Fabia RS, rounded off the magnificent top six.

Of the 85 crews that took part in yesterday’s special stage, 66 successfully climbed the final podium at Pian di Nave.