Alexey Lukyanuk winner of the Rally di Roma Capitale

Winner of the first two rounds of the season in the Azores and the Canaries, Alexey Lukyanuk had experienced a setback in his quest for the European title in rally, with a retirement in Cyprus, just as his main rival Bruno Magalhães took second place after a victory at the Acropolis.

Enough to tip the balance in favor of the Portuguese before the Rally di Roma Capitale, but the Russian responded on the Roman asphalt by bagging a precious success last weekend.

Leading from SS2, Lukyanuk (Ford Fiesta R5) built up a lead of more than 30″ over Giandomenico Basso (Skoda Fabia R5) after SS5, before seeing the local hero gradually reduce the gap throughout. throughout the two days of racing.

But Lukyanuk will find the rhythm necessary to contain Basso's final attacks and finish with a 7″5 lead. Grzegorz Grzyb (Skoda Fabia R5) completes the final podium at 1'04″ ahead of Fabian Kreim (Skoda Fabia R5) and Bruno Magalhães.

Note the abandonment of Laurent Pellier (Peugeot 208 T16 R5) after an accident in SS3 and Paolo Andreucci (Peugeot 208 T16 R5), also the victim of an accident in SS13.

Rally di Roma Capitale standings

Discover the report of the Rally di Roma Capitale, in issue 2175 of AUTOhebdo, available this evening in digital version and this Wednesday on newsstands.