Andrea Crugnola became the fifth different winner in as many European Rally Championship events with victory on Rally di Roma Capitale, as Mads Østberg and co-driver Patrik Barth survived a scary accident.
The one-time WRC winner had been sitting ninth overall on his first visit to Rally di Roma prior to an accident on SS9, where his Citroën ran wide on a left-hander and hit a tree side-on.
The impact was on Barth’s side, but both members of the crew are OK and have been taken to hospital for more checks.
“We left the road on a fast left corner and hit a tree directly to Patrik Barth’s door,” Østberg said in a social media statement.
“Patrik lost his consciousness and was bleeding from his face, I was afraid the worst had happened.
“Luckily medical staff were there quickly to cut Patrik out of the car. We are both in hospital in Rome, but luckily no serious injuries.
“Thanks to Citroën Racing for building this strong car, Stile for our helmets and also the medical staff and FIA for the safety they bring to us.”
Østberg later confirmed that both he and Barth would remain in hospital overnight, with Østberg suffering from a broken rib and Barth requiring surgery with a broken jaw and broken hip.
Østberg is thankful he and Barth were able to walk away from their accident
At the head of the field, reigning Italian champion Crugnola was expected to set the pace on the roads around Fiuggi aboard his Citroën C3 Rally2 and duly delivered, but was made to work hard for it by Rally Hungary winner Simone Tempestini.
Since that opening-round victory, Tempestini – who remains the only season regular to have won a round so far in 2024 – hasn’t been much of a feature, but he returned to form with a bang in his Škoda Fabia RS Rally2, briefly wrestling the lead away from Crugnola after SS6.
Crugnola’s speed ultimately proved too strong for the rest, however, as he turned up the wick on the second day to record a 22.3-second victory over Simone Campedelli, who repaired a broken intercom on Sunday afternoon, as Tempestini fell to fourth behind 2022 ERC champion Efrén Llarena.
“Amazing feeling,” Crugnola said.
“It was very tough to control the race because I was thinking a lot about the Italian championship, as this race could be crucial for the future of our championship.”
Llarena’s weekend was a huge boost after a difficult run of late. The Spaniard, having skipped the previous round in Estonia, has switched from MRF to Michelin rubber and scored his first podium finish since last year’s Rally Islas Canarias.
“Very emotional for sure,” said Llarena. “It’s been a long, long, long [time since we were on the podium]. Thanks to everyone who supports us in the not so good times.”
Hayden Paddon still leads the championship but Mathieu Franceschi is closing in
Mathieu Franceschi narrowed Hayden Paddon’s championship lead by finishing fifth, tying with Tempestini on overall time but missing out on countback.
Paddon started the weekend 10 points clear of Franceschi in what’s increasingly looking like a two-horse race for the title, but had to give best to his Škoda-driving rival after feeling he’d maximized everything from his i20 N Rally2.
Franceschi beat sixth-placed Paddon by just 6.1s overall, and importantly, Franceschi also shaded Paddon by a mere 0.2s on the powerstage to slim his series lead to seven points with three rounds remaining, before dropped points are considered.
“Frustrating weekend,” Paddon said. “We can be proud, we gave it all we’ve got. But I do want to thank everyone at BRC, they’ve been very patient and I absolutely love working with absolutely everyone in that team.
“We’ll hope to come back stronger.”
Italian legend Giandomenico Basso didn't have the best of weekends
Boštjan Avbelj (Škoda) scored a fine seventh overall ahead of a trio of Italians – Roberto Daprà (Škoda), two-time Rally di Roma winner Giandomenico Basso (Toyota) whose weekend was somewhat spoiled by a puncture, and Andrea Mabellini (Škoda) who completed the top 10.
M-Sport driver Jon Armstrong stated before the event that he wanted to finish third in this year’s championship, but he “struggled for ultimate performance” and couldn’t crack the top 20.
Armstrong’s weekend was completely ruined by a three-minute penalty for an early check-in to a time control, but he had already been outside the points in 16th overall anyway.
Man of the moment in the WRC, Mārtiņš Sesks was a non-starter in his Sports Racing Technologies Toyota.
Elsewhere, Stéphane Lefebvre was excluded from the event, and fined €10,000, as his Hyundai i20 N Rally2, run by BMA, was found to not be registered correctly for road use after purchase from Hyundai Motorsport in Germany.
The Frenchman had struggled to make an impression before then anyway, running 17th overall on what he described as “one of the trickiest rallies I’ve ever done”.
The ERC resumes in three weeks’ time at Barum Rally Zlín on August 16-18.
