The Italian driver clinched a stunning victory with a narrow margin of 3.1 seconds ahead of Frenchman Stephane Lefebvre. Basso entered the final stage with a lead of nearly eight seconds, but managed to withstand the French tarmac ace’s charge.
Basso’s first place in the ten-stage rally was another significant feather in the cap for Toyota as the Italian veteran piloted the new GR Yaris Rally2 car in the competition. Italian Simone Campedelli finished third in the rally, 4.2 seconds behind the leader. The battle for victory was fierce, but this time the top spot went to Toyota, second place to Citroen, and third place to Skoda.
Halfway through the rally, Basso’s compatriot Andrea Crugnola was leading, but he had a significant setback and lost over three minutes. Slovenian Bostjan Avbelj also faced difficulties, retiring from third place on the final special stage.
The strong performance by the host country was rounded out with Marco Signor finishing fourth. Frenchman Nicolas Ciamin, known from the WRC, prepared for the upcoming Croatia Rally in this preparatory race, finishing fifth ahead of Italians Giacomo Scattolon and Paolo Andreucci.
Hyundai’s Rally1 car also made an appearance at the starting line in Piedmont, as Andreas Mikkelsen prepared in Italy for next week’s Croatian WRC event. The Norwegian completed all ten stages with a total time of 1:07:17.1.
Driving with a Toyota’s Rally2 car, Basso finished two and a half minutes behind Mikkelsen overall. Mikkelsen will be competing in his second WRC event of the season in Croatia. He participated in the season-opening Rally Monte Carlo, but only managed a modest sixth place, finishing well over six minutes behind the leader.
Mikkelsen shares Hyundai’s third Rally1 car with Esapekka Lappi and Dani Sordo. The Croatia Rally kicks off with a shakedown next Thursday.
