Stobart sparkle on Sardinia’s emerald coast as Galli finishes fourth
Italians Gigi Galli/Giovanni Bernacchini have impressed this weekend finishing fourth on their home event of Rally d’Italia Sardegna; round six of the FIA World Rally Championship. The fantastic achievement also helps the Stobart VK M-Sport Ford rally team edge closer to third in the Manufacturers’ Championship as they narrow the gap to just eight points.

Stobart team-mates Matthew Wilson/Scott Martin dusted off some early cobwebs to finish the event a well earned 12th position. The pair struggled with small setup issues on Friday morning losing a large chunk of time but were able to battle their way back to a solid position by the end of the event.

Galli’s form was on-song from beginning until end and even though he picked up a puncture on stage 2 due to a hard impact with a bank, his Pirelli tyres held up well until the end of the stage. He lost just 70 seconds and finished less than two minutes off the rally winner by the end of today’s leg. Among his multitude of top-three fastest stage times, nine of which he set, stage 4 was his greatest effort which he won by 1.5 seconds over BP Ford Abu Dhabi driver Jari-Matti Latvala. The achievement made it his 15th WRC career stage win.

Unfortunately the event was not the most desirable for Wilson whose setup woes on Friday swayed the balance of his plans for this event. Saturday’s morning loop of stages also saw trouble for the Brit as he lost feeling in his brakes and consequently his confidence over the three opening tests until the problem could be rectified in service.

Galli too was not without incident as he also had a spin on the first run over the 29.31 kilometre Monte Lerno stage. Putting it down to driver error, the spin lost the Italian around 20 seconds and a possible second stage win on his home event.

The event began Thursday evening in the highly-exclusive Porto Cervo holiday resort as 57 crews crossed the ramp for the latest round of the WRC. After a cloudless recce, light drizzle met crews for their departure to the first special stage on Friday. A thunder-storm also hit Service Park on Saturday but, despite two days of bad weather, the stages remained predominately dry throughout the event.

The opening 16 stages of Rally Sardinia took place to the south of Rally HQ which was again based in the industrial town of Olbia in the island’s north east. The final 2.69 kilometre stage which ran to the north of Olbia was unfortunately cancelled after Wilson passed through it due to the large spectator numbers who flocked to see WRC action up close and personal.

The loose gravel stages again proved to be one of the toughest tests on the WRC circuit as crews tackled narrow roads which were lined with large trees and rally-ending rocks. Jumps again were a big showman factor here in Sardinia with two gravity defying leaps amazing crowds on Saturday’s stages – many crews stating it was the highest they had ever travelled in a world rally car.

The Stobart VK M-Sport Ford rally team will now head to Athens for the BP Ultimate Acropolis Rally of Greece in two weeks time where Henning Solberg/Cato Menkerud will re-join the team after serving duties with the Munchi’s Ford World Rally Team this weekend in Sardinia.

Stobart VK M-Sport Ford Team Driver Gigi Galli said:
“It’s been a good finish to my home event. I was a bit disappointed on the first day after the puncture but Malcolm Wilson told me that I could still be fourth and the Chief was right. For the rest of the rally we set a good pace with consistent times and I just wanted to put in a good performance for all the Italian fans on the stages. We have now found a level that I am happy with and I am much more comfortable with the car. It was important for me to finish well here and do a good job in front of my fans and my sponsors.”

Stobart VK M-Sport Ford Team Driver Matthew Wilson said:
“We’ve had a few different problems on this rally and it’s definitely one we need to but behind us and move on. We just weren’t able to get a good feeling with the car and in this sport once you lose time it is very difficult to get it back again. When we had no problems the times I set were pretty good and this is important for me to be able to take these positives to Greece and improve on our performance.”

Stobart VK M-Sport Ford Team Principal Malcolm Wilson said:
“It has been a very positive end result for the Stobart team especially now they have closed the gap to Subaru in the Manufacturers’ Championship. It’s also been a great personal performance by Gigi and he has found a really comfortable, fast pace and has much more confidence with the car now. Matthew didn’t have the best of events but I know he is able to put this behind him and focus on the next rally in Greece.”

stobart Group CEO Andrew Tinkler said:
“We have seen another great drive from Gigi and a really concerted effort after dropping time on the first day. His energy and passion for the sport shone through and to climb back up to fourth topped off a fantastic performance. Matthew and Scott had a steady drive and I know they struggled with the set-up. But it’s a great result for the Stobart team especially now we have closed the gap to Subaru.”
Final positions
1. S Loeb/D Elena 3hr 57min 17.2sec
2. M Hirvonen/J Lehtinen 3hr 57min 27.8sec
3. J-M Latvala/M Anttila 3hr 57min 32.5sec
4. G Galli/G Bernacchini 3hr 58min 59.7sec
5. D Sordo/M Marti 3hr 59min 22.8sec
6. C Atkinson/S Prevot 4hr 02min 25.8sec
7. H Solberg/C Menkerud 4hr 03min 18.2sec
8. U Aava/K Sikk 4hr 03min 38.5sec
9. P-G Andersson/J Andersson 4hr 05min 05.9sec
10 P Solberg/P Mills 4hr 06min 58.2sec

Back To News
Images
Ypres 2008 Finland 2008 Finland 2008 Finland 2008