The penultimate round of the Suzuki Rally Cup promises sparks, the single-brand event dedicated to Japanese cars in rally mode that accompanies the Italian Championships around the country. After five events, all dominated by Matteo Giordano and Manuela Siragusa, at the 70th Rallye Sanremo scheduled for 29-30 September, the crew that already won last season could mathematically close the accounts prematurely.
In fact, the rider from Cuneo has achieved five victories out of five, always showing himself to be in top form in every condition and in every region of Italy, and now with even just a 5th place he could raise the Trophy created and organized by Suzuki Italia to the skies in collaboration with Emmetre Racing. For the crew that already won the Italian R1 Championship last year, a possible class victory could mean an encore in both the Suzuki Rally Cup and the Tricolore.
On the over 102km of special stages, unfolding on the legendary asphalt of the Sanremo Rally, the fight for the top will certainly be heated, with various crews who over the course of the year have demonstrated, growing appointment after appointment, that they can put Giordano in difficulty. Above all, Roberto Pellè and Luca Franceschini will attack, one of the protagonist crews of this 16th edition of the Japanese single-brand championship, always on top in all their appearances.
On equal points in the drivers’ classification with Pellè sits a talented under25, Sebastian Dallapiccola navigated by Fabio Andrian, also still on board and in great form after the excellent second place in the 1000 Miglia. Mathematically out of contention for the title but in full battle for the under25 Alessandro Forneris, at the start of the Rallye Sanremo with the notes of the usual Luigi Cavagnetto, another young driver who has demonstrated excellent qualities as a sprinter over the course of the year. The Suzuki Rally Cup, with two events to go, sees two under-25s fighting for the podium, further confirmation of the quality of the trophy, which gives young talents the opportunity to compete in rallies of a high competitive, sporting and historical level.
On board the Suzuki Swift Sport Hybrid, the protagonists of this penultimate round will also be Davide Bertini paired with Luca Vignolo, looking for continuity after the satisfactory results of the last appearances, and Filippo Gelsomino navigated by Herve Navillod, another under25 of the trophy.
In the Racing Start classification, reserved for the Boosterjets, the duel between the top crews will reopen. Lorenzo Olivieri with the notes of Lucrezia Viotti will have to defend himself once again from the assaults of the Milivinti brothers, Massimiliano and Marco, who are clearly improving in the last rounds of the trophy. Marco Longo, navigated by Roberto Riva, will also try to have his say aboard a Boosterjet, while the only woman at the start of the Suzuki Rally Cup, the young Alice Poggio, will as always get behind the wheel of a Suzuki Baleno shared with Andre Perrin. Finally, two other under25 crews registered in the Sanremo Rally are ready to face the Ligurian asphalts, the one made up of Jean Claude Vallino and Sandro Sanesi, looking for points and redemption after the 1000 Miglia, and that of the Vitali family, Stefano and Maurizio, looking continuity of results.
The program in brief
The 70th Rallye Sanremo will open for participants in the Suzuki Rally Cup on Friday 29th with the shakedown in “San Romolo”, from 10.01am to 12.30pm. The departure from Corso Imperatrice, in Sanremo, is scheduled for the same afternoon at 2.51pm, a moment of ceremony before the “Vigne di Bajardo” television show rehearsal, with start at 4.00pm. Finally, on Saturday the remaining 100km of the race will unfold, with a triple passage on the challenging and iconic “Langan”, “Bignone” and “Coldirodi”, with a passage on the “Apricale” in the first lap and two on the “Semoigo” in the remaining ones. These will develop in the hinterland of the province of Imperia, from the banks of the Impero river to the foothills of the Cottian Alps, on roads that have made the history of rallying, not only nationally. Arrival in Sanremo on Saturday evening, again in Corso Imperatrice, at 7.11pm.
The models in detail
– Suzuki Swift Sport Hybrid set up with the specifications of the National Hybrid Rally5 Technical Regulations, with epicyclic differential (Quaife), standard electronic control unit (ECU) and original six-speed gearbox.
– Suzuki Swift BoosterJet 1.0 Fiche n° 0042 set up with the specifications of the Rally5/R1 Class.
– Suzuki Swift Sport 1600 set up with the specifications of the Ra5N National Class.
– Suzuki BoosterJet 1.0 (Swift/Baleno) with Racing Start specifications.
All models are light and robust, very sensitive to setup and have characteristics that enhance the driving skills and sensitivity of the pilots and reward the most skilled crews from time to time. To further standardize the level of performance, all Suzuki Rally Cup cars will have to fit the same Toyo tires in asphalt races.
Overall SUZUKI RALLY CUP Drivers Ranking
1. Giordano 140 pts; 2. Pellè 82 pts; 3. Dallapiccola 82 pts; 4. Forneris 77 pts; 5. Olivieri 44 pts; 6. Bertini 42 pts; 7. Jasmine 37 pts; 8. Mantoet 30 pts; 9. Milivinti 32 pts; 10. Santero 28 pts.
RACING START 1.0 BoosterJet Ranking
1. Olivieri 62 pts; 2. Milivinti 47 pts; 3. Poggio 22 pts; 4. Martinelli 21 pts; 5. Mantoet 20 pts; 6. Whites 17 pts; 7.Vitali 21 pts; 8. Vallino 8 pts.
#Suzuki #Rally #Cup #GiordanoSiragusa #chasing #trophy #title