Travaglia-Zanella Win 25th Ally 1000 Miglia Rally, Andreucci, Aghini Third
Travaglia-Zanella (Peugeot 206 WRC) triumphs in the 25th Ally 1000 Miglia – Andreucci (Ford) and Aghini (Subaru) finish second and third on the podium.
Renato Travaglia and Flavio Zanella, driving a Peugeot 206 WRC, won the 25th International Rally 1000 Miglia, an event organized by A.C. Brescia that counts towards the European Championship and serves as the second round of the Italian Rally Championship.
The decisive moment came three-quarters into the race, after a continual back-and-forth for first place between the Livorno-born Andrea Aghini (Subaru Impreza WRC 2000), who led after the first stage, and the Lucca native Paolo Andreucci (Ford Focus WRC), who was the provisional leader until the twelfth special stage.
Then the sun fully dried the roads alongside Lake Garda, and the lion Travaglia aggressively showed his claws, opening a significant gap by winning the last six consecutive special stages.
This evoked memories of a not-too-distant past when the Trentino driver and the Peugeot 306 Maxi dominated two-wheel drive races (claiming six Italian titles).
Results and Classifications
In overall fourth place, the Brescia-born Diego Oldrati (Subaru Impreza WRC) finished, hindered by a broken axle.
The debut of the Toyota Corolla WRC driven by the German Armin Kremer was positive, finishing fifth overall and as the best among foreign drivers.
In Group N, Alex Fiorio on a Mitsubishi Carisma GT doubled his success at Ciocco, finishing ahead of his teammate Fabrizio Ratiglia.
Unlucky was Marco Gatti, who was forced to retire before the final special stage due to a driveshaft failure.
Among two-wheel drive cars, Bulgarian Dimitar Iliev (Peugeot 306 Maxi) staged a strong comeback, finishing among the top ten overall.
Also commendable was the Pistoian Bizzarri (Renault Clio RS), who placed eighteenth overall and first in N3.
Finally, praise goes to the Race Directorate for the punctuality of the event and to the sponsoring entities: Lombardy Region, Province of Brescia, Municipality of Desenzano del Garda, Mountain Communities of Valle Sabbia, Valle Trompia, and the Alto Garda Besciano Park.
A special thanks to the Brescia Province Civil Protection Volunteers, the 118 Service, and the AG1116 Service.