Paolo Andreucci’s legion of fans weren’t complaining after they didn’t get to see the Peugeot 207 Super 2000 driver going flat out on Rallye Sanremo last week.
Andreucci started the event fighting Umberto Scandola for the Italian championship, which was running in tandem with the main Intercontinental Rally Challenge fixture.
With Scandola retiring on the opening day, Andreucci dropped his pace considerably in order to secure the result he needed to claim his seventh Italian title to the delight of thousands of his followers.
“It was difficult,” said Andreucci, a winner of one IRC round in the past with long-term co-driver Anna Andreussi. “We were in a very tight battle for one and a half stages and then Umberto had his problem. After that it was hard work managing the situation. We knew we had to finish and this was the challenge. There were some occasions when it was stressful but we got to the finish and got the result we hoped for.”
Andreucci put his latest title triumph down to a combination of factors: “It’s about the right chances over the years,” he said. “I have a very good co-driver and the feeling with the notes is very good, the road just opens up in front of me. My Peugeot Italia team has performed fantastically well and the tyres are a fantastic choice. Put all these things together and that’s why we’ve had such a high degree of success for so long.”
Rallye Sanremo was Andreucci’s second appearance in this year’s IRC. He has now scored 20 points and holds 14th in the drivers’ standings.