The second round of the 2005 FIA European Rally Championship, the 62nd Radj Polski, took place last weekend with Fiat entering a two-car factory team headed by Giandomenico Basso.

After a long break Fiat, with a full works team, is aiming to reap the laurels in three different global championships this year with the agile, front wheel drive Super 1600 class Fiat Punto. In the FIA World Rally Championship Mirco Baldacci and Luca Cecchettini are competing in FIA JWRC series, in the Italian National Rally Championship they are represented by former champion Paolo Andreucci, while Giandomenico Basso is trying his utmost to clinch the European title. For that reason the Procar-run Fiat factory team was present at 62nd Radj Polski last week.

In the Polish National Rally Championship Sebastian Frycz runs as an official driver for the Fiat Selenia Polonia Team in Super 1600, and for this second round of the European Rally Championship, the 27 year old Pole from Szczyrk, drove a Punto S1600 which was prepared and serviced by the Italian Procar team.

Giandomenico Basso, born in 1973, has been rallying with Fiat right from the beginning of his rally career. From 1995 to 1998 he was twice a winner of Trofeo Fiat Cinquecento, a popular 'entry level' rally series in Italy. In 1999 he started his adventure with Punto, the car he has been driving up to this day. In 2002 he was fifth in JWRC series. In 2003 he became a runner-up in the Italian championship and last year he won three events in the series and was classified on fourth place. He is co-driven by Mitia Dotta.

Giandomenico Basso and Mitia Dotta were sixth overall in Rally 1000 Miglia, the opening round of the European Rally Championship in April, and they arrived to do battle in Poland with three European Rally Championship points. For the first time in its modern history the most prestigious motorsport event in the Northern European country, the Radj Polski, was switched from the fast and bumpy asphalt roads of Lower Silesia to gravel tracks located in north-east of the nation.
 

It was an organisational decision that would immediately be to the detriment of the front wheel drive Fiat Puntos, and which would have to give a considerable advantage to the four wheel drive Mitsubishi and Subaru mounted crews.  This year the rally was based in Mikołajki, a picturesque resort located in the heart of Mazurian Lakes, which always attracts top marks from competitors, spectators, and journalists alike due to its finely developed accommodation facilities. The Radj Polski, the second oldest rally in the world, was also celebrating its 62nd anniversary this year.

The Radj Polski was split into two legs, comprising of a total distance of 1022.74 km, of which of 272,34 km were to be timed, these being split into 14 special stages. Fiat has in fact conquered the rally overall three times previously, Raffaele Pinto driving a Fiat 124 Spider in 1972, Maurizio Verini in a Fiat 124 Abarth in 1974, and Adartico Vudafieri in a Fiat 131 Abarth in 1980, all climbing onto the top step of the podium.

Krzysztof Holowczyc and Lukasz Kurzeja went on to grab victory in 62nd Radj Polski. The Subaru Impreza crew crossed the finish line with a 2 minute and 18 second advantage over the Mitsubishi Evo III of Michal Bebenek, co-driven by his brother Grzegorz. In fact four wheel drive Mitsubishi and Subaru driving crews claimed nine of the first ten finishing positions, with Jean-Joseph Simon in the Renault Clio 1.6, the first Super 1600 crew home in 8th place, being the only two wheel drive runner to break into the top ten places overall. A strong driver by Sebastian Frycz in the Procar-run Fiat Punto saw him finish in 12th place, 9 minutes and 16.5 seconds down on the winning Subaru of Holowczyc. Three places further back Giandomenico Basso brought home his car, as both the factory Fiat crews struggled on the loose surfaces.

The next round of the European Championship Rally is the Rally of Ypres, held in Belgium from the 24 to the 26 June, and with its all-asphalt course it represents the ideal opportunity for Basso to rack up a strong helping of series points.

2005 FIA European Rally Championship, positions after two rounds: 1st Travaglia (Italy), 15 points; 2nd Holowczyc (Poland), 10 points; 3rd Longhi (Italy), Bebenek (Poland), 8 points; 5th Andreucci (Italy), Staniszewski (Poland), 6 points; 7th Navarra (Italy), 5 points; 8th Bizzarri (Italy), Czopik (Poland), 4 points; 10th Basso (Italy), Karnabal (Poland), 3 points

by Edd Ellison & Marco Tenuti