Rally championship: suspense until the end 🎥
RALLY CRACKS IN TICINO The duel for the title in the Swiss Rally Championship is coming to a head. With his fourth victory of the season in Ticino, Jonathan Hirschi has created a good starting position for defending the title.
Mister Rally del Ticino, however, is Kevin Gilardoni (gallery, left). The 31-year-old from Misox won the Rally del Ticino in 2016, 2017 and 2018 - at that time still under the Italian flag. In 2022 he prevailed for the first time as a Swiss.
Now, at the 25th edition of the Rally del Ticino, he has achieved his fifth overall victory. Gilardoni and co-driver Corrado Bonato drove a Citroën C3 WRC Plus for the first time and held a commanding lead from the first to the last stage.
Advantage of the favorite
Second place behind Gilardoni went to Jonathan Hirschi/Michaël Volluz. As Gilardoni is not eligible for points in the WRC, the driver from Neuchâtel lived up to his role as favorite in the Swiss championship and scored the maximum points for the fourth time this season.
After the VW Polo that went up in flames, the Citroën C3 that he used in the Chablais and the Hyundai i20 in which he drove to victory at Mont Blanc, Hirschi took his seat in a Skoda Fabia Rally2 evo in Ticino. Third place behind Hirschi went to eight-time Swiss rally champion Grégoire Hotz (gallery right) with co-driver Pietro Ravasi. Like Gilardoni, Hotz was only a guest starter in Ticino. He also drove a Skoda Fabia in the same Italian team as Hirschi.
Decision falls in Valais
Jonathan Michellod leads the championship ahead of Hirschi with 161 points to 154. Hirschi must therefore score points at the finale in Valais if he wants to defend his title. The top 7 in the CH classification were rounded off by the two Citroën drivers Yoan Loeffler and Mirko Puricelli. The fastest junior in the field was Jérémy Michellod, the younger brother of SM leader Jonathan.
Success for the local hero
In the historic VHC class, local hero Ivan Rusca (center gallery) prevailed in an Opel Ascona B. Eddy Tapparel on Porsche 911 SC was second, Pietro Galfetti on Opel Monza 3.0 E third. Rusca's victory also means that this championship has been decided early. The leading Pascal Perroud on BMW M3 did not start in Ticino, but his lead in the championship is so big that he cannot be caught up at the finale in Valais at the end of October. The Rallye International du Valais takes place from October 26 to 28.
Photo: Kaufmann
Video: @VideoDemaTV
Source: Car Sport Switzerland
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