- The penultimate FIA European Historic Rally Championship event of 2023 is one of the most exciting and challenging events on the calendar
- Italian pair lead the legendary asphalt of Sanremo in exciting Lancia Delta Integrale
- A mechanical drama that brings out the fighting spirit of top candidates.
A perfect performance from Italian veteran Lucky and co-driver Fabrizia Pons, former World Rally Championship vice-champion, propels the Italian star’s Lancia Delta Integrale to the FIA European Historic Rally Championship on the legendary stage of San Remo. took first place in the match.
Not only are the Italians in contention for the rally win, but they also stand to lead the Category 4 points race for the series’ youngest and fastest historic rally car after Hungarian Tomas Erdi suffered problems on the first day. It is in. .
Consistency has been key to ‘Lucky’ enjoying a season, but Eldy, a three-time winner, has found his Ford Sierra Cosworth 4X4 mechanically weak at times. Such was the case today when Eldie developed a serious steering problem and was forced out of service before repairs could be made. That said, the crowd-pleasing purple Ford is always capable of a thrilling recovery drive.
Another driver who was hampered early on was Northern Irishman Martin McCormack in a BMW E30 M3. On the second stage of the day, a puncture caused him to spin and cost him a full minute. A sensational recovery effort followed, and for the remainder of the day he regained 38 seconds of time on the three stages that pushed him up the standings, taking his second place behind ‘Lucky’ in both the overall and category 4. Ta.
In Category 3, it was a pincer battle between Guy Trollier’s Porsche and top-ranked compatriot Philippe Mermet’s Renault 5 Turbo. Karl Wagner, the category’s regular front runner, suffered a throttle linkage problem, requiring co-driver Gerda Sauner to operate the throttle via cable while the Austrian operated the steering and gearbox. was there.
Despite this setback, the distinctive yellow car finished just 10 seconds behind in the race for the top of its category after the overnight stoppage.
Norway’s Valter Jensen led Category 2 at the wheel of a Ford Escort Mk2 RS1800, leading Czech driver Stanislav Budir’s BMW 2002 by almost 80 seconds after five stages.
In Category 1, which covers the oldest vehicles in the field, Antonio Parisi, one of the founders of the Sparco racewear brand, was riding alone on the Sanremo stage, while category champion Ernie Graham was driving his long-awaited BMW E30 M3. is making a cautious debut. Challenging Alpine asphalt.
The race will resume on Sunday morning with six more stages to be run.