On a big day for “Zippo” and co-driver Nicola Arena.
While Kelly and navigator Gordon Noble maintained their overnight advantage through the closing leg of Sanremo Rally Storico (Sunday) to take victory ahead of fellow BMW M3 crew Maciej Lubiak and Grzegorz Dachowski, “Zippo” and Arena moved a step close to winning the overall FIA EHRC title, which is being awarded for the first time in 2024.
Ahead of next month’s season-deciding Historic Acropolis Rally in Greece, Italians “Zippo” and Arena lead Brits Ernie Graham and his co-driving daughter Anna by an increased margin. But with double points on offer on the gravel-based round, “Zippo” and Arena can’t celebrate just yet as the prospects of a thrilling finale intensify, although they are now out of reach in the FIA HERC Category 3 title battle.
Round eight of the 2024 FIA EHRC, the ultimate celebration of rallying’s glorious past, took place in wet and dry conditions and was another action-packed affair with Kelly becoming the sixth different winner of a standout season.
Leading the FIA EHRC runners on the Italian Tarmac event by 5.9s following the five stages that ran on Saturday, Kelly edged 14.5s ahead by winning Sunday’s opening run, the 14.23-kilometre Vignai test.
Having demoted “Zippo” for third on SS7, Tibor Érdi Jr banked fastest times on SS8 and SS9 to return to Sanremo for the mid-afternoon service halt trailing Kelly, his rival for the overall and Category 4 win, by 6.6s.
But that was as close as it would get for the Ford Sierra Cosworth 4x4-driving Hungarian after Kelly set the pace on SS10 and SS11 to secure victory by 31.0s ahead of Lubiak, who demoted Érdi Jr for the runner-up spot on the final stage.
“Overall, it was a really good race, we were pretty consistent and didn’t make too many mistakes,” said Kelly, whose father Donagh Kelly finished in sixth place. “Saturday was very tricky, we maybe made some wrong tyre choices [for the conditions], which cost us a lot of time. But we kept going and today was much better. When we made the right tyre choices our times were good and the flow was really nice. The car was working good also.”
Kelly continued: “It was an amazing event, the stages are iconic and when the weather is not too bad it’s really, really nice. Overall, it was a really good challenge.
“We had no expectations coming here but of course when you come to somewhere as iconic as Sanremo and you’re stood in front of the casino on the top step of the podium it’s a pretty cool feeling.
“I’m very lucky to have been doing it. Thank you to my sponsors, especially JKC BMW in Ireland and Michael Cullen who leant me the car for this rally. Without that offer I wouldn’t have been here so I’m really happy for that.”
Behind fourth-placed “Zippo”, who took the Category 3 win in his Audi Quattro, Vojtěch Štajf completed the top five aboard his Toyota Celica GT-4 (ST165). Donagh Kelly finished sixth with Massimo Guerra winning Category 2 in seventh at the wheel of a Porsche 911 Carrera RS 3.0.
Overall title contender Ernie Graham was eighth for Flexifly Rally Team followed by Christophe Jacob (Ford Escort RS1800 Mk2) and FIA EHRC 1600cc Trophy winner Łaszló Mekler (Alfa Romeo Giulia Sprint GTA 1600,).
Oldřich Kovařík Jr drove his Škoda Favorit 136L to victory in the FIA EHRC Front Wheel Drive Trophy in a fine 11th overall but Guy Trolliet, who was ninth after leg one, slipped back to 12th at the finish in Sanremo. Antonio Parisi won Category 1 in his Porsche 911 SC.
Seb Perez revived fond memories of yesteryear by taking his iconic Lancia Stratos HF to the top of the timesheets on the opening 2.60-kilometre Montalto test on Saturday. Valter Pierangioli was leading after four stages in his Ford Sierra Cosworth 4x4 but went off on SS5 and blocked the road, causing the stage to be cancelled.
It's back to gravel next for the season-deciding Historic Acropolis Rally, which starts from the ancient Acropolis in the Greek capital Athens on November 8 and finishes in the port town of Itea on November 10.
