De la Roche tops
Peter de la Roche has successfully retained his Formula Junior UK title after an unbeaten campaign in the Lola Mk3 owned by Pat Barford. Prior to this weekend’s double-header at Silverstone, the Cheshire youngster has won his class 10 times from 12 starts and retired twice. In all, 122 drivers have contested rounds of the championship to date.
Peugeot Italia driver Paolo Andreucci has talked of his relief at sealing an 11th Italian Rally Championship title just months after a serious testing crash left him and his co-driver in hospital.
Third place on last weekend’s Rally Due Valli was enough for Andreucci to retain his crown aboard his 208 R5.
“This has been a season where we definitely made life difficult for ourselves,” said Andreucci, referring to the shunt in which his co-driver and partner – Anna Andreussi – broke her hip and the 53-year-old fractured a vertebra.
“But that’s perhaps what makes it one of the most satisfying and emotional of all,” he continued. “A huge thank you to everyone: to the doctors who helped us back to fitness in such a short time. Coming into the last round we were definitely stressed as we knew we had to be perfect. But we found the right balance between consistency and pace, which meant that we were finally able to seal another title. It’s just a massive relief.”