Dream French Tarmac Championship debut: Anthony Puppo wins at the Rallye d'Antibes
The Rallye d'Antibes - Côte d'Azur (13th to 14th May) was the third round of the French Tarmac Rally Championship (CFR) and saw a victory on his championship debut for Anthony Puppo, who along with co-driver Jérémy Cenci, was driving in a FABIA R5 for his own SARL SJ-3P team and has been enjoying a rich vein of form in French Cup events so far this year, with six victories and three more podium places under his belt already.
After a cautious start here, which saw him in tenth place after the opening special stage, his fast and consistent driving, which included two stage wins, saw him leading the field at the end of the first leg. And Anthony managed to keep that going through the second leg too before finishing with a flourish by winning the final stage to wrap up an overall victory by a margin of 28.3 seconds.
Anthony Puppo / Jérémy Cenci
Quentin Giordano / Valentin Sarreaud
Thibault Durbec / Jacques-Julien Renucci
Umberto Scandola secures the win and crucial points at the Rally Adriatico
The Rally Adriatico (12th to 14th May) was the fourth round of the Italian Rally Championship (CIR) and the second round of the Italian Gravel Rally Championship (CIRT). And it proved to be a fantastic event for the ŠKODA Italia Motorsport crew of Umberto Scandola / Guido D’Amore who claimed overall victory in their FABIA R5 by a margin of 26.5 seconds. It was Scandola’s first win of the season to add to two podium places achieved so far.
Scandola is a big fan of this rally, with this victory being his fifth successive win here. In the Italian championship, points are also scored for results in each leg of an event, and Scandola’s victory in Leg 1 and second place in Leg 2 meant he put plenty of points on the board.
His performance in the opening leg was almost perfect as he won the opening eight stages, before finishing third on the final super special stage of the day. The second leg also saw him setting fastest times on four out of the six stages, meaning his dominant drive saw him win a twelve of the fifteen stages.
The result means Scandola climbs up to the second position in the Italian Rally Championship standings.
Umberto Scandola / Guido D'Amore
Further down the field, Andrea Nucita and co-driver Marco Vozzo put in an impressive drive in their FABIA S2000 for the Phoenix team. They finished in seventh place overall, and but for a lapse in the super special stage 9, which saw them drop from ninth to the fourteenth position at the end of Leg 1, it could have been even better.
And there was also another FABIA R5 inside the top 10 as Alfredo De Dominicis, better known as Dedo, and his co-driver Emanuele Inglesi brought their Motorsport Italia FABIA R5 home in tenth place overall. That result also meant they finished sixth in the Italian Gravel Rally Championship (CIRT) standings.
The next round of the Italian Rally Championship will be the Rally del Salento (2nd to 4th June).
Marty McCormack claims dominant win at the Donegal Forestry Rally in Ireland
Marty McCormack and his co-driver David Moynihan claimed an emphatic victory at the Donegal Forestry Rally (13th May), the third round of the Irish Forest Rally Championship (IFRC), following up on their impressive performance at the recent Pirelli Rally in the British Rally Championship (MSA BRC), where they finished in third place overall, which meant they currently sit fifth in the British championship.
This event was seen as preparation for the next round of the British championship, the Scottish Rally, which takes place this weekend (19th to 20th May), and they made the most of a few notable withdrawals to take the rally by the scruff of its neck.
Their TigerRisk ŠKODA FABIA R5 won six of the eight stages (with one stage being cancelled) as they cruised home by a margin of 1 minute 11 seconds from their closest rivals. Their performance in the final stage was particularly impressive as they finished 25 seconds ahead of all the other competitors over its 16 km.
Whilst Marty McCormack will be back next weekend at the Scottish Rally, the Irish Forestry Championship will resume with the Cork Forest Rally on 30th July.
2017 Rally Villa de Adeje
Dream French Tarmac Championship debut: Anthony Puppo wins at the Rallye d'Antibes
The Rallye d'Antibes - Côte d'Azur (13th to 14th May) was the third round of the French Tarmac Rally Championship (CFR) and saw a victory on his championship debut for Anthony Puppo, who along with co-driver Jérémy Cenci, was driving in a FABIA R5 for his own SARL SJ-3P team and has been enjoying a rich vein of form in French Cup events so far this year, with six victories and three more podium places under his belt already.
After a cautious start here, which saw him in tenth place after the opening special stage, his fast and consistent driving, which included two stage wins, saw him leading the field at the end of the first leg. And Anthony managed to keep that going through the second leg too before finishing with a flourish by winning the final stage to wrap up an overall victory by a margin of 28.3 seconds.
Anthony Puppo / Jérémy Cenci
Quentin Giordano / Valentin Sarreaud
Thibault Durbec / Jacques-Julien Renucci
Umberto Scandola secures the win and crucial points at the Rally Adriatico
The Rally Adriatico (12th to 14th May) was the fourth round of the Italian Rally Championship (CIR) and the second round of the Italian Gravel Rally Championship (CIRT). And it proved to be a fantastic event for the ŠKODA Italia Motorsport crew of Umberto Scandola / Guido D’Amore who claimed overall victory in their FABIA R5 by a margin of 26.5 seconds. It was Scandola’s first win of the season to add to two podium places achieved so far.
Scandola is a big fan of this rally, with this victory being his fifth successive win here. In the Italian championship, points are also scored for results in each leg of an event, and Scandola’s victory in Leg 1 and second place in Leg 2 meant he put plenty of points on the board.
His performance in the opening leg was almost perfect as he won the opening eight stages, before finishing third on the final super special stage of the day. The second leg also saw him setting fastest times on four out of the six stages, meaning his dominant drive saw him win a twelve of the fifteen stages.
The result means Scandola climbs up to the second position in the Italian Rally Championship standings.
Umberto Scandola / Guido D'Amore
Further down the field, Andrea Nucita and co-driver Marco Vozzo put in an impressive drive in their FABIA S2000 for the Phoenix team. They finished in seventh place overall, and but for a lapse in the super special stage 9, which saw them drop from ninth to the fourteenth position at the end of Leg 1, it could have been even better.
And there was also another FABIA R5 inside the top 10 as Alfredo De Dominicis, better known as Dedo, and his co-driver Emanuele Inglesi brought their Motorsport Italia FABIA R5 home in tenth place overall. That result also meant they finished sixth in the Italian Gravel Rally Championship (CIRT) standings.
The next round of the Italian Rally Championship will be the Rally del Salento (2nd to 4th June).
Marty McCormack claims dominant win at the Donegal Forestry Rally in Ireland
Marty McCormack and his co-driver David Moynihan claimed an emphatic victory at the Donegal Forestry Rally (13th May), the third round of the Irish Forest Rally Championship (IFRC), following up on their impressive performance at the recent Pirelli Rally in the British Rally Championship (MSA BRC), where they finished in third place overall, which meant they currently sit fifth in the British championship.
This event was seen as preparation for the next round of the British championship, the Scottish Rally, which takes place this weekend (19th to 20th May), and they made the most of a few notable withdrawals to take the rally by the scruff of its neck.
Their TigerRisk ŠKODA FABIA R5 won six of the eight stages (with one stage being cancelled) as they cruised home by a margin of 1 minute 11 seconds from their closest rivals. Their performance in the final stage was particularly impressive as they finished 25 seconds ahead of all the other competitors over its 16 km.
Whilst Marty McCormack will be back next weekend at the Scottish Rally, the Irish Forestry Championship will resume with the Cork Forest Rally on 30th July.
