Paolo Andreucci and Anna Andreussi, Peugeot 208 T16 R5 leading the Italian Rally Championship right away

Thanks to the new regulations awarding points after each day of the rally, the Tuscan driver is leading the classification ahead of Giandomenico Basso, Ford Fiesta R5 LDI and Alessandro Perico, Peugeot 208 T16 R5 that ended behind them today.

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19/03/2016 – This edition of the Italian Championship that kicked off in the high Garfagnana is quite different and in some sense all to be discovered. It is different mainly for the points scoring system, as points will be awarded in each of the two legs, and all to be discovered as it is still uncertain yet to what extent this change will affect spectacle.

So far, all is following tradition as Paolo Andreucci and Anna Andreussi, Peugeot 208 T16 R5 with Pirelli tyres, ended day one of the 39th Rally of Ciocco and Valle del Serchio, the opener of the Italian 2016 Rally Championship, with full haul. The driver from Tuscany led a strong Giandomenico Basso, on Ford Fiesta R5 Ldi with Pirelli tyres by 14.5s. The third place went to the driver from Bergamo Alessandro Perico and co-driver Mauro Turati, who lead the Italian Rally Tarmac Trophy on the Peugeot 208 T16 R5 with Pirelli tyres. The fourth absolute place went to Umberto Scandola and Guido D'Amore on Skoda Fabia R5.
Skoda Italia Motorsport's driver had some problems. The setup was not completely right, a puncture and a delay at a stop check pushed the Veronese driver away from the front runners.

The fifth absolute time was set by Simone Tempestini on Ford Fiesta R5 with Hankook tyres, who was followed by the Italo-Swiss Stefano Baccega also on Ford Fiesta R5 with Hankook tyres and by Ciava on Citroen Ds3 R5. Among the unlucky retirements, Rudy Michelini on Citroen DS3 R5 and, in the second part of the day, Michele Tassone at stage eight on Peugeot 208 T16 R5 after some good times.

In the Italian Rally Championship 2WD, the driver from Lucca Luca Panzani and Sara Baldacci ended on top and lead also the Renault Clio R3T Top Trophy, after fighting with Ivan Ferrarotti, who is second in the charts also on Clio R3C. The third place of the Italian 2WD Championship went to Gianandrea Pisani on Fiat 500 Abarth.

In the Italian Junior Championship. Giorgio Bernardi and Enrico Ghietti, on Peugeot 208 R2, put in a great result ending ahead of Pollara and Casella, also on 208 R2.
Regarding the drivers partaking in the first round of the Rally R1 Championship, the Tuscan driver Stefano Martinelli and co-driver Natasha Botzari put in a great run leading also the Suzuki Rally Trophy.
Leg two is scheduled for tomorrow, Sunday 20 March. The last racing day will see crews challenging each others on the stages of "Coreglia" and "San Rocco" to be repeated twice with start at local 8:00 and finish line, in the splendid scenery of Ciocco, at 15:30.

FINAL CLASSIFICATION OF 39th RALLY IL CIOCCO E VALLE DEL SERCHIO – DAY 1: 1.Andreucci-Andreussi (Peugeot 208 T16 R5) in 52'41.1 ; 2. Basso-Granai (Ford Fiesta R5 LDI) at 14.2; 3.Perico-Turati (Peugeot 208 T16 R5) at 55.6 ; 4.Scandola-D'Amore (Skoda Fabia R5) at 1'04.8 ; 5. Tempestini-Banca (Ford Fiesta R5) at 1'48.6;6. .Baccega-Menchini (Ford Fiesta R5) at 2'24.6;7. Ciava-Michi (Citroen DS3 R5) at 2'31.7; 8.Cogni (Peugeot 207 S2000) at 2'47.6 ;9.Rusce-Farnocchia (Ford Fiesta R5) at 2'48.3 ;10.Panzani-Baldacci (Renault Clio R3T) at 3'52.7.
CIR Absolute: 1.Andreucci 7,5; 2.Basso 6; 3.Perico 5; 4. Scandola 4; 5.Tempestini 3; 6.Baccega 2,5; 7.Ciava 2; 8.Rusce 1.
CIR Constructors: 1.Peugeot 7,5; 2.Ford 5,5; 3.Skoda 4.
CIR 2WD: 1.Panzani 7,5;2. Ferrarotti 6; 3.Pisani 5 ;4.Bernardi 4 ;5.Lugano 3 ;6.Gilardoni2,5; 7.Marchetti 2.
CIR Junior: 1.Bernardi 7,5; 2.Pollara 6; 3.Casella 5; 4.Manfredi4; 5.Vita 3; 6.Gheno 2,5; 7.Mazzocchi 2; 8.Calvi 1,5.
Italian Championship R1: Martinelli 7,5; Lucarelli 6; Rao 5;
Italian Tarmac Rally: 1.Perico 7,5; 2.Tempestini 6; 3.Baccega 5; 4.Rusce 4; 5.Ciava 3; 6.Vineis 2,5;7.Prodan 2.