The loop of stages in Italy on Saturday morning, a first for the E-Rallye Monte-Carlo, began with two fairly short regularity stages in the hills above Sanremo, contested on roads through chestnut forests. For drivers who have already driven in the Ardèche on a WRC, Historic or Electric Monte Carlo Rally, it was a little unsettling to be so close to Monaco.
In SR11, between Sanremo and San Romolo (9.454km), a new crew appeared at the very top of the results sheet: a Czech duo in a Hyundai Kona, made up of Pavel Baron and Martin Hruby, won this SR, the first victory for a Hyundai in this 7th edition; in second place, ex-aequo, the Italian Guido Guerrini, paired with Artur Prusak (winner in 2016 as a driver), narrowly missed out on a first success on home soil, in a Monte-Carlo, he who finished 2nd in the FIA ecoRally Cup last year ; And another well-known ACM team, Richard Frau and Antonio Caldeira, in a Renault Megane E-Tech entered by Synethis, completed the podium in this first SR on Italian soil. In the overall standings, Didier Malga (Tesla Model 3) was only 17th in this SR11, but he took back 100 points in one go from Conde Eneko (26th), moving back into the lead early in the morning.
Download the classification of the RS11