This first day of the Monza Rally Show included two special stages contested in the afternoon and evening.
The first, “Autodromo 1”, took place 8,5 km. It was won by the Norwegian Andreas Mikkelsen who, for once, had the Belgian pilot Thierry Neuville in the right seat.
The number 11 Hyundai WRC was ahead of the crew's Ford Fiesta by 1,6 seconds Valentino Rossi/Carlo Cassina while the cross champion Tony Cairoli reached the finish line with 2 tenths more, also at the wheel of a Hyundai, ahead of big names like Marco Bonanomi (handicapped by a turbo fire at the end of the special) and Craig Breen.
We will also notice the great performance of the brothers Brivio, 8th, as well as the provisional 11th place of “ I kill ", while Luca Marini (category R5) is ranked 44th.
During the second special stage of 9,7 km, “Parabolica 1”, Marco Bonanomi
(Citroën DS3) and Valentino Rossi were strictly equal, preceding by 2 seconds Tony Cairoli, and 2,2 seconds Mikkelsen. However, the Doctor received a 5-second penalty for touching the tires causing a hairpin during the second lap.
This demotes him to fourth place in the general classification.
In the provisional ranking, the Top 5 is therefore made up of Mikkelsen, Cairoli, Bonanomi, Rossi et Breen, all in less than 7 seconds.
This Saturday, 4 special stages are on the program including the very important ES 4 “Maxi Grand Prix 1” and ES 6 “Grand Prix” of 45 and 33 kilometers respectively…
Everything is still open!
