The 41st Rally San Marino at the starting blocks

Technical and sportive scrutineering, shakedown and starting ceremony to open the race tomorrow.

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San Marino 11 July 2013 – The 41st Rally San Marino is about to get to its heart as the race organized by FAMS, the Automobile Federation of San Marino's Republic, valid for the Italian Rally Championship, Italian Gravel Trophy, Italian Production Championship, Italian Junior Championship and FIA Europe Cup will begin tomorrow.

The small independent state will house all the preliminary phases ahead of the race from tomorrow, starting with technical scrutineering that will take place in the morning. Two particularly interesting moments of the day will be the shakedown (i.e. car testing) that will start for priority drivers at 11 (GMT+1) while for all the others at 14.00, and the starting ceremony that will start in the evening at 21.00 as the prologue to the two racing days that will see drivers challenging each other in ten gravel stages summing up to a total of 146.50 timed kilometers inserted in a 600km global run.

Several interesting points will enliven the race – the fifth round of the eighth in the calendar – of the Italian Rally Championship that is also the fourth round (out of six) of the Italian Production and Junior Championships and fourth (out of five) of the Italian Gravel Trophy.
The race will be particularly important for the classification of all the series, starting from the Italian Rally where – despite the four different winners in the initial four races – Umberto Scandola as the current leader together with his navigator Guido d'Amore on Skoda Fabia Super 2000 of Skoda Team Italia is the most likely contender to the final win of the round. The Veronese will have to fight against Giandomenico Basso and Mitia Dotta, Peugeot 207 Super 2000 of team Pascoli, while classification-wise he will have to fend off Alessandro Perico , and navigator Fabrizio Carrara , on Peugeot of PA Racing.
Mauro Trentin and Emanuele Dati – the latter back after a long stop – both on Peugeot 207 Super 2000 will also try to have a go for the rally victory. After the win at Costa Smeralda on the 207 Super2000, Paolo Andreucci will be back on the smaller 208 R2 that the driver from Garfagnana will try to place as high as possible in the standings.

In the Italian Production Championship the fight on top will involve Andrea Nucita on Citroen Ds3 R3, and Alessandro Bosca on Renault Clio R3t. Simone Campedelli, also on Citroen Ds3R3 , will also aim to the win to open the classification. In the Italian Rally Junior Championship three are the drivers to keep an eye on: Andrea Crugnola, Fabrizio Andolfi and Andrea Carella, Peugeot 208 R2, will certainly be the protagonists of the battle on the gravel roads.

In the Gravel Trophy, decisive clash for Lugi Ricci, Subaru Impreza, and Giacomo Costenaro, Peugeot 207 Super 2000, that are split by just one point. Among the underdogs, the driver from Naples Fabio Gianfico and the Tuscan Walter Pierangioli, both on Mitsubishi.

The protagonists of the Citroën Racing Trophy will face the fourth round of the calendar. The provisional leaders Andrea Nucita and Giuseppe Princiotto will try to keep at bay the young Alessandro Re as well as Alex Vittalini and the expert Simone Campedelli.

The challenge will be made even more interesting by the drivers of the ClioR3 Production and Twingo R2 Top Trophies.

Classifications follow:

Absolute CIR: 1. U.Scandola (Skoda Fabia S2000) 49;2.A.Perico (Peugeot 207 S2000) 37;3.P.Andreucci(Peugeot 208 S2000)35;4.A.Bosca(Renault Clio R3)18; 5. G.Basso

Junior Italian Championship: 1.A.Crugnola(New Twingo R2) 74; 2.F.J.Andolfi(New Twingo R2) 64;3.A.Carella(Peugeot 208 R2)60.

Production Italian Championship: 1. A.Nucita (Citroen DS3 R3)32; 2. 20A.Bosca(Renault Clio R3)30; 3.I.Ferrarotti (Renault Clio R3) 18

Italian Gravel Trophy:1.L.Ricci (Subaru Impreza)27;2.G.Costenaro (Peugeot 207 S2000)26.F.Gianfico (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX)20.

Citroen Racing Trophy: 1.A.Nucita 78;2.A. Re 67;3. A.Vittalini 55; 4. S. Chardonnet 33; 5. S. Campedelli 29.

Information, commentary, pictures, videos and updated classifications are available at www.acisportitalia.it