“ACI Varese Rally” won again by Leva and Giugni

The Historic Commemoration of the ACI Varese Rally was won once again by Marco Leva and Alexia Giugni, who, after their 2014 success, won this year with a flawless trial, “in crescendo”, in which they managed to overtake the three rivals who had been ahead of them in the ranking until three trials from the conclusion. After the twelve stages, the 54-year-old driver of the Milano Autostoriche team, with the support of his wife and co-pilot, Alexia Giugni, had 91 points.

Yesterday, the competitors left Busto Arsizio, and today, Sunday, 20 November, at noon, they returned to base. They had had to compete on difficult roads made even more difficult by the weather, which, with rain and fog, accompanied the already testing event.

“We’ve been racing for eight months in an Alfa GTV, so that we could restore this Lancia Fulvia to its best condition, and I have to say that aside from a few predictable minor problems, everything went very well: the roads of Varese are always very interesting, and it wasn’t easy to compete in these conditions.”

Thus, the winners were Marco Leva and Alexia Giugni, from Milan, who with their Lancia Fulvia HF 1.6, number 21, finished ahead of the capable Gian Paolo Cavagna and Angelo Seneci, from Brescia, also driving a Lancia Fulvia, but a 1.3 S, who had come to Busto and to the Varese valleys for the first time. “We found the race really interesting, and coming second has made us really proud,” the driver from Lumezzane, born in 1962, explained. Angelo Seneci, Cavagna’s talented co-pilot, is a sports journalist from Brescia, well-known in the competition car field. Seneci and Cavagna completed the race with 113 points, a few points less than Maurizio Aiolfi, from Emilia, who was the overall winner a year ago. Again this year, the driver representing the ACI Piacenza team, competed alone in his 1981 Golf GTI.

Other acknowledgements – In addition to the overall and Group 5 victories, Leva and Giugni also won the trophies dedicated to Alfredo Ghittoni and Antonio Parini, the founders of the Automobile Club Varese and “driving force” behind the rally commemorated this weekend.

The dropouts out during the day were significant, as they included some of the main favourites: Perfetti-Kessel (Alpine A110) left the competition after a series of mistakes at the control points; Fontanella-Giafusti (Fiat 128) had to give in to a problem with the brakes; Schon-Orlandi Contucci (Lancia Beta Montecarlo) dropped out because of problems with the instruments, and Aghem-Conti (Lancia Fulvia HF), when they came off the road.

General ranking – Top Ten – (the rankings can be found at www.varesecorse.it)

1) Leva-Giugni (Lancia Fulvia HF) 91 points;

2) Cavagna-Seneci (Lancia Fulvia 1.3S) 113 points;

3) Aiolfi-X (VW Golf GTI) 118 points;

4) Gandolfo-Amato (Mini Cooper) 124 points;

5) Palazzi-Palazzi (Opel Kadett GT/E) 138 points;

6) Bergamaschi-Tarenzi (VW Beetle) 146 points;

7) Ginesi-Ginesi (Porsche 914-6 GT) 163 points;

8) Roveta-Roveta (Fiat 124 Spider) 165 points;

9) Seno-Bertuzzi (Alfa Romeo GT Junior) 166 points;

10) Regalia-Costadoni (Lancia Delta) 262 points.

The winners of the groups – Here are the rankings of the four winning groups:

Group 5: 1) Leva – Giugni; 2) Ginesi – Ginesi; 3) Seno – Bertuzzi.

Group 6: 1) Cavagna – Seneci; 2) Gandolfo – Amato; 3) Bergamaschi – Tarenzi.

Group 7: 1) Aiolfi; 2) Palazzi – Palazzi; 3) Pretti – Giammarino.

Group 9: 1) Regalia – Costadoni; 2) Ceffoli – Ceffoli; 3) Riva – Gambini.

Without instruments – In the particular ranking of the teams without instruments, victory went to Alessandro and Tommaso Ceffoli, driving a Lancia Delta Evoluzione; with 293 points, they came ahead of Ennio De Giovannetti and his daughter Serena in an A112 Abarth (595 points) and Davide Sartoris and Fulvio Arcuri in a Peugeot 205 Rallye (2004 points).

U-turn trophy – The trophy organised by Euoroceramiche Fuoco, which rewarded the three best U-turns on the Casale Litta PM, was won by Valerio Gheller, from Cittiglio, with Luca Broglia, in a 1976 Ford Escort MKII. Palmisano-Bonifacio (Opel Manta) came second, and Chiodo-Chiodo (Opel Corsa SR), third.

Supporters and sponsors – The 3rd Commemoration of the ACI Varese Rally was sponsored by Lombardy Region, by Varese Province, by the Chamber of Commerce-Sports Commission, and by ACI Varese.