Foto: FLAT-OUT media agency
With two free practice runs and qualifying, the Rome ERČ Rally started on Friday morning.
Andrea Krugnola (two-time Italian asphalt rally champion) showed the fastest time in free practice, who lost 0.3 seconds to the main favorite of the competition, Giandomenico Basso (two-time ERC champion, two-time Rome rally winner, four-time Italian rally champion). Another Italian athlete, Fabio Andolfi, was third, while Mārtiņš Sesks and Renārs Francis, who in 2019 won eighth place in this rally with Škoda Fabia R5, finished in the fourth place. Let us remind you that Cesks is starting the second rally in a row with the Škoda Fabia Rally2 evo car.
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Photo: Giandomenico Basso
This was followed by the qualifying race, where Cesc unfortunately broke his wheel and lost 23 seconds to the winner of the qualification, teammate Efren Lahren. It should be noted that one second separated the Top 5 drivers in the four-kilometer stage. Likewise, failure befell Basso, who finished in 20th place, just behind Seska.
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Photo: Mārtiņš Sesks
Therefore, on the first day, Mārtiņš will not have the best starting position, because in this rally it is important to start as high as possible, because with each car the track will become dirtier and more slippery.
Let us remind you that a total of 75 crews will go to the start, of which 23 will start in the ERČ competition with R5 cars. Athletes will have to complete 13 speed stages (187 km) in three days. The start of the first speed stage already on Friday at 21:08 Latvian time.
Qualification results:
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