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ERC2 winner Monarri makes history with Abarth Rally Cup spoils

Alberto Monarri became the maiden winner of an Abarth Rally Cup event to take place within the FIA European Rally Championship with his class victory on Rally Islas Canarias, the Spaniard also winning the ERC2 for good measure.

Monarri (Abarth Spain – SMC Junior Motorsport) sparred with both Carlos David García (Ovrecame Competición) and Dariusz Poloński (Rallytechnology) for victory on leg one but had a quieter Saturday.

Both of Monarri’s rivals had retired on Friday: Poloński with a broken wheel after hitting a rock on SS3 and García with a fuel pump issue between runs of the Las Palmas superspecial.

Monarri completed all eight stages of leg two with his Pirelli-equipped Abarth 124 rally without issue.

“I am very happy for all my team. It has been a perfect weekend, an amazing weekend. The car has been working perfectly for all the days,” said an elated Monarri.

“It was a very good performance and I’m so happy for the team and Abarth Spain for being the first winner in the Abarth 124 Rally Cup.”

Zelindo Melegari (Neiksans Rallysport) had endured a difficult first leg with a down-on-power Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X but pressed on, finishing second in ERC2.

Juan Carlos Alonso had looked set to finish second earlier on but gearbox failure on the road section heading to SS13 ended his rally prematurely.

That led to García scoring not only second place in the Abarth Rally Cup but also a podium in ERC2, with Poloński finishing third in the Abarth classification.

The fastest driver of leg two though was Andrea Nucita. A driveshaft issue had ruled him out of Friday’s action but Nucita showed his rivals he would be a driver to watch in rounds to come, winning seven of the eight stages on Saturday on his way to fifth in ERC2 and fourth amongst the Abarths.

Zdroj: fiaerc.com