Andrea Crugnola is one day away from ending his long wait for Rally di Roma Capitale glory following a drama-filled FIA European Rally Championship Saturday in Italy.
After charging to the fastest time through Friday evening’s Rome super special stage, which started and finished in front of the Colosseum, the 34-year-old continued his winning run with a stage-best triple on Saturday morning.
ERC points leader Hayden Paddon was a relatively comfortable fourth when he ran wide on a high-speed left-hander on SS6. The impact damaged the right-rear of his BRC Racing Team Hyundai, forcing the New Zealander and his co-driver to make rapid repairs prior to SS7.
“We couldn’t quite get the adjustment right on the tow arm, so it made it interesting,” said Paddon. “I tried to limit the damage but we want to maximise the points now.”
Paddon was making a reference to his championship rival Mārtiṇš Sesks. A two-time winner in 2023 and second in the standings after five rounds, the Team MRF Tyres driver was 10th when he crashed out at high speed 1.7km from the start of SS4. Sesks and co-driver Renars Francis were uninjured but their Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 was badly damaged after it rolled onto its roof following contact with a roadside kerb and signpost.
Paddon, meanwhile, slipped to sixth after his moment on SS6 with Filip Mareš snatching fourth from Andrea Mabellini on the day-closing test after the Qualifying Stage winner lost time sliding wide into a barrier. Mabellini fell to seventh following his moment but he’s a mere 0.5sec behind Paddon, such is the close-nature of competition in the ERC.
Sunday’s route consists of three stages each run twice over a competitive distance of 85.52 kilometres. The 6.72km Fiuggi test opens the action from 08:05 CET with the all-asphalt run also forming the rally-deciding Power Stage from 17:05 when bonus points will be up for grabs for the fastest five drivers.
Leading positions after Saturday:
1/ A Crugnola / P Ometto ITA Citroën C3 Rally2 1hr 1min 31.8sec
2/ G Basso / L Granai ITA Škoda Fabia RS +20.2sec
3/ Yoann Bonato / B Boulloud FRA Citroën C3 Rally2 +23.7s
4/ F Mares / R Bucha CZE Škoda Fabia EVO +54.4s
5/ S Campedelli / T Canton ITA Škoda Fabia EVO +55.7s
6/ H Paddon / J Kennard NZL Hyundai i20 N +56.1sec
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