Victory in the 2009 European Championship by Giandomenico Basso and Mitia Dotta was the crowning moment of a season that saw the two official drivers and their Abarth Grande Punto S2000 triumph in the most difficult and demanding European rallies.
This success is all the more impressive because Giandomenico Basso and his navigator Mitia Dotta did not take part in all the events, because some of them clashed with the Intercontinental Rally Challenge races in which they were engaged in defending the official Abarth team colours.
Their European season began on 16 April, with the success gained by Basso-Dotta in the 1000 Miglia Rally, the prestigious and demanding Italian event that is raced over the winding roads around Lake Garda.
They then skipped the events in Turkey and Croatia, but took part in subsequent races during June, July and August, when they succeeded in gaining the maximum score, enabling them to stand on the top step of the winners' podium and increase their lead in the general ranking.
These successes began firstly with victory in the prestigious Ypres 24 Hour race (contended from 18 to 20 June over the roads of the Belgium plain, with their insidious forks and long straights) and continued with triumph in the Bulgarian Rally, a classic mid-July event in the European schedules.
During the first weekend of August, the Abarth driver tackled the Madeira Rally held on the Portuguese island in the Atlantic Ocean. This winding road race was made even more treacherous by the weather conditions, which change continuously due to the particular type of roads that alternate timed sections on the ocean shore with other legs along the island's mountain sides.
The next two races helped increase their points in their ranking. Firstly the Rally Barum, raced in the Czech Republic from 21 to 23 August, where the team Basso-Dotta obtained the highest score in the leg. Then, at the beginning of September, in the Spanish Principe del Asturias rally, where the Abarth team suffered a setback in the second leg due to coming off the road when they were in the lead.
The last three races were strategically perfect. Beginning with the ultra-tough ELPA Rally, raced over an off-road route in Greece from 25 to 27 September, when the team of Basso-Dotta scored maximum points. The penultimate race of the championship took place in France, over asphalted roads in the Cote D'Azur hinterland in the Antibes Rally – the same roads used during many of the special trials in the Monte Carlo Rally – where the Abarth achieved another indisputable success, despite difficulties imposed by a sudden night-time snowfall on the Col de Turini. The European Championship finished at the end of October in Switzerland, with the Rally du Valais, raced over typically Alpine roads; Basso-Dotta again scored full points, enabling them to celebrate victory in their second European title with their team and fans.
2009 European Rally Championship Ranking
1. Giandomenico Basso ITA (Abarth) 122 points;
2. Michal Solowow POL (Peugeot) 100;
3. Corrado Fontana ITA (Peugeot and Mitsubishi) 78;
4. Krum Donkev BG (Subaru) 43;
5. Luca Betti ITA (Peugeot) 34.
Giandomenico Basso
Giandomenico Basso, aged 36 from Cavaso del Tomba (TV), has built his driving career solely with Abarth. He began by taking part in some Cinquecento Trophy races in 1996 and won the single-make championship two years later. In 1999, he won the Fiat Seicento Kit Trophy and the Italian category title.
Later, he raced with the Fiat Punto Abarth S1600, showcasing his talent both at home and abroad by taking part in the Junior World Championship.
In 2006, he took part as an official driver at the wheel of the Fiat Grande Punto S2000, winning European titles and the International Rally Challenge. In 2007, he won the Italian Championship with the Abarth Grande Punto S2000, while in 2008, he was placed third overall in the Intercontinental Rally Challenge. In 2009, he won his second European Championship with Mitia Dotta, with whom he has raced since 2003.
Italian victories in the European Rally Championship
During the thirty-seven editions of the European Rally Championship, no fewer than 16 Italian drivers have succeeded in entering their names on the roll of honour. Prestigious names, who have made history in the specialist field of rallies, from Raffaele “Lele” Pinto, first in 1972 with the Fiat 124 Sport Spider, followed next year by Sandro Munari (Lancia Fulvia HF), then Maurizio Verini (Fiat 124 Abarth Rally), Tony Carello (Lancia Stratos), Adartico Vudafieri (Fiat 131 Abarth), Miki Biasion (Lancia Rally 037), Carlo Capone (Lancia Rally 037), Dario Carrato (Lancia Rally and Lancia Delta 4WD), Fabrizio Tabaton (Lancia Delta S4 and Lancia Delta 4WD/Integrale), Piero Liatti (Lancia Delta 16V) until we reach Basso (Abarth Grande Punto S2000).
Some great foreign drivers have also driven Italian cars to victory and triumph. Drivers such as the Frenchman Bernard Darniche who won the continental series twice in a Lancia Stratos, the Corsican Yves Loubet (Lancia Delta Integrale), the Belgian Harry Droogmans (Lancia Delta 16V) and the Frenchman Pierre-Cesar Baroni (Lancia Delta HF). Only five drivers have succeeded in taking the title twice in the history of the championship: Bernard Darniche, Dario Cerrato, Fabrizio Tabaton, Renato Travaglia and of course Giandomenico Basso, who repeated their triumph in the prestigious title in another Abarth Grande Punto S2000 in 2006.
Abarth Grande Punto S2000
The Fiat Grande Punto S2000, which became the Abarth Grande Punto S2000 in 2008, was the first car type-approved for the Super 2000. The rules of this category require that cars should have a 2000 cc aspirated engine, four wheel drive without electronic controls and the option of changing ride without altering the configuration. They must also be fitted with a sequential gearbox with aerodynamic add-ons.
The engine delivers a power output of approximately 270 HP and the car offers great road-holding that enhances its competitiveness over all types of surface, with a particular bent for winding asphalt roads, where the Abarth Grande Punto S2000 has often proved unbeatable.
In 2006, the car made its debut by winning the European Championship and the Intercontinental Championship with Basso and the Italian Championship with Paolo Andreucci. In 2007, it won the Italian Championship with Basso.
Its most prestigious achievements included successes in the Sanremo Rally by Andreucci and Basso, Basso's repeated successes in the Madeira Rally and success by the youngster Anton Alen in the 2007 Russia Rally.
This year, the Abarth Grande Punto S2000 notched up another European title with Giandomenico Basso and Mitia Dotta, confirming the tradition of victorious Italian drivers and cars.
Turin, November 23, 2009
