FIVE TALKING POINTS FROM ROME
Event winner Alexey Lukyanuk called his team three weeks before the start to say there was no cash in the bank and he wouldn’t be starting in Rome. But a frantic budget search proved successful and the Russian was back in action with new co-driver Dmitry Eremeev. Lukyanuk is celebrating by going on a walking holiday in northern Russia for 10 days…
Two drivers profiled in MN’s future rallying stars feature (May 27) impressed with Efren Llarena finishing third in ERC1 Junior on his graduation as the ERC3 Junior champion for 2019. Pep Bassas, making his ERC debut, finished second in ERC3 Junior. Both drivers receive significant financial backing from Spanish federation, RFEDA. Maurizio Barone, Italian co-driving royalty, was hospitalised after a qualifying stage crash ended up with the Volkswagen Polo he was sharing with Enrico Brazzoli in a driveway of somebody’s house.
Oliver Solberg finished third overall and won ERC1 Junior despite completing the bulk of the event without his glasses, having left them on the roof of his
Polo prior to stage two. His world championship-winning father Petter managed to find them but they were “done for”, as the younger Solberg put it, them having been “run over”.
Italians Zelindo Melegari and co-driver Corrado Bonato ended up in hospital with serious chest injuries on their last ERC appearance in Czech Republic last season. Rally di Roma Capitale was their first event back and they promptly won ERC2.