The Peugeot 207 S2000 runners in contention

No fewer than five Peugeot 207 S2000s completed the first of the 2011 Rallye Sanremo’s two legs in the top nine places. Thierry Neuville and Bryan Bouffier, who are currently third and fourth, figure among the four drivers still in contention.

Night-time in the mountains

As one of world class rallying’s classic fixtures, it is quite normal for the Rallye Sanremo to feature an unusual format, such as today’s long opening leg which ended with a stage run in darkness. Before the start of the day’s ultimate test, Thierry Neuville was third, just 5.4s adrift of the early leader, Andreas Mikkelsen. “Things didn’t go quite as planned after that,” notes the Peugeot Belgium-Luxemburg driver. “I had high expectations for the night stage; too high perhaps. I pushed hard at the start but I possible indulged in a little too much left-foot braking and my brakes started to go off. Thankfully, my 207 S2000 was perfectly balanced and that helped limit the damage, because I am still up there in the fight for victory.” With Saturday’s action still to come, Thierry Neuville and Nicolas Gilsoul are currently third, 16.6s behind Freddy Loix, while Bryan Bouffier and Xavier Panseri are fourth, 17.8s down on the new leader

Thierry Neuville and Bryan Bouffier still targeting a top result
 

The second leg of the Rallye Sanremo promises to be particularly difficult and further drama cannot be ruled out. “Like Thierry, I haven’t yet said my final word,” warns Bryan Bouffier. “I cannot fault the handling of my car. To begin with, I felt I had too much body roll but we cured that by stiffening the suspension. Saturday’s stages are even more technically challenging than today’s, and I certainly intend giving it a go…”

Guy Wilks disappointed

Once again, the rally was short lived for Guy Wilks and Phil Pugh whose run in their 207 S2000 came to a halt just six kilometres into SS1. “I couldn’t make up my mind whether or not to cut the apex of a corner which fed into a small bridge,” related the Peugeot UK driver. “I finally decided not to risk it, but some of the drivers ahead of me had cut the corner and had dragged a slippery coating of dust onto the road. That caused me to understeer and the front of my car hit the wall. It’s so frustrating, because my Peugeot 207 S2000 has never been so competitive. According to the split times, I was ahead of the other drivers without pushing too hard. I was convinced I was going to have a good run.” The visit to Scotland in two weeks’ time will give the Briton a change to take revenge.

Bruno Magalhaès in fine form
 

A third Peugeot 207 S2000 is also in the running for a top position in the hands of Bruno Magalhaès and Paulo Grave. “Today showed once again that whenever I have a little experience of an event I am capable of mixing it with the rest of them,” says the Peugeot Portugal driver. “I feel comfortable here and I’m very pleased with my cornering lines which I am trying to keep as smooth as possible. I will do my best to continue driving in the same way tomorrow.” Bruno is sixth in the overnight order, just 39.2s behind the provisional leader. Meanwhile, Pierre Campana and Sabrina de Castelli are seventh in their 207 S2000 – behind the similar car of local experts Alessandro Perico and Fabrizio Carrara – after being delayed by a faulty intake sensor and a broken gear lever.

Plenty to play for

“This evening’s positions are incredibly close,” observes Frédéric Bertrand, the manager of Peugeot Sport’s customer competition department. “The night-time stage saw some gaps open up, but there is still everything to play for. We are pleased with how the early part of the rally went for the Peugeot 207 S2000 crews. The profile of tomorrow’s stages will be different, so we have every reason to be hopeful.” The second and final leg of the 2011 Rallye Sanremo features six stages totalling 109km.*

Leg 1 : Classification after 7 stages
1. Freddy LOIX – Fred MICLOTTE Skoda Fabia S2000 in 1h17’49’’7
2. Andreas MIKKELSEN – Ola FLOENE Skoda Fabia S2000 + 2’’7
3. Thierry NEUVILLE – N. GILSOUL Peugeot 207 S2000 + 16''6
4. Bryan BOUFFIER – Xavier PANSERI Peugeot 207 S2000 + 17’’8
5. Jan KOPECKY – Petr STARY Skoda Fabia S2000 + 34’’2
6. Bruno MAGALHAES – Paulo GRAVE Peugeot 207 S2000 + 39’’2
7. Umberto SCANDOLA – G. D’AMORE Ford Fiesta S2000  + 47’’1
8. Alessandro PERICO – F. CARRARA Peugeot 207 S2000 + 2'39’’9
9. Pierre CAMPANA – S. De Castelli Peugeot 207 S2000 + 2’40’’3
10. Toni GARDEMEISTER – T. SUOMINEN Skoda Fabia S2000 + 3’35’’9