15/06/08 - Rally of Turkey - Final

After two excellent days Gigi Galli and Giovanni Bernacchini, in a Ford Focus RS of the Stobart VK M-Sport team did not start for the last leg.

An excellent race, three stages won, third overall during the first part of the rally, but unfortunately the braking of a valve in the turbocharger in the third special stage of day 2, dropped Gigi Galli and his co-driver Giovanni Bernacchini to 8^th place overall.

The second day has been really tough, with stages covered with stones, an abrasive surface and tight transfer times. This put under strain drivers and Gigi Galli was exhausted at the end of the day and suffering a strong dehydration that weakened him. His been assisted by the doctor of the team.

This morning it’s been taken the decision not to re-start even considering the fact that the position in the classification was jeopardized and Gigi’s not optimal conditions.

“It is a very disappointing end to a tough event that we started really well on. “ said Gigi “The first day was fantastic for us and we managed the performance well and found a good compromise between preserving the tyres and keeping a fast speed; indeed we would have been leading for the whole day without the time penalty. Too bad…now some rest and we will re-start in Finland”.

The hard-fought Rally of Turkey has been won by Mikko Hirvonen (Ford Focus RS) ahead of his team mate Jari-Matti Latvala who alternate in the lead, Sébastien Loeb (Citroen C4) finished third.

Now the FIA World Rally Championship will stop for a month and will re-start at the end of July, so next race for Gigi Galli and Giovanni Bernacchini will be Rally Finland that will take place from July 31^st to August 3^rd

14/06/08 - Rally of Turkey - Second Leg

An excellent race today for Gigi Galli and Giovanni Bernacchini in their Ford Focus RS of the Stobart VK M-Sport Ford team, spoiled by problems with the turbo charger in the afternoon. The Italian crew closed the second day of Rally Turkey in 8^th position overall

The 52 crews still in the race started day two at 08.30 from Kemer Service Park in a very hot and sultry morning. After winning three stages yesterday Gigi Galli and Giovanni Bernacchini started from a good 4^th place the second day of Rally Turkey, 8^th round of the FIA World Rally Championship. The Italian crew maintained a steady rhythm, obtaining good times and climbing up to third place.

After the mid morning Service Park on the first pass of SS 12 Kemer 20,50 km long, short after the start the car started to loose power forcing Galli to a slower speed. At the end of the stage after a quick check he found out that a valve of the turbo charger has broken and they had to tackle the next stage 27,36 km long with this problem and therefore loosing a lot of time and dropping to 8^th place.

At the next Service Park the turbo charger has been fixed, but unfortunately they closed the day 8^th overall.

The day has been hard for everyone and the exhausting speed tests put under a lot of strain drivers.

“It’s been a very long day and I’m exhausted” said Gigi “It’s been a pity losing so much time for the problem with the turbo charger and not being able to fight for the podium anymore. The strange thing is that few years ago I had a similar problem on that same stage. This is rally, it’s difficult to preview what will happen. I still have the possibility to score a point in the Drivers’ Championship and more points for the team, so tomorrow I’ll do my best.”

The third and last day of Rally Turkey will start tomorrow morning at 08.30 and provide three speed tests for a total of 76,56 timed kilometers and two passes on the tricky Olympos, 31,03 km long, the longest of the whole rally.

The rally will close with the Ceremonial Finish at the Service Park in Kemer at 15.00.

13/06/08 - Rally of Turkey - First Leg

A very good start for Gigi Galli and Giovanni Bernacchini in their Ford Focus RS of the Stobart VK M-Sport Ford team, in the first day ofRally Turkey, 4^th overall winning 3 special stages

A really good start for Gigi Galli and Giovanni Bernacchini, they won 3 out of the 9 today’s special stages and obtaining good times in the others, are now 4^th overall in the classification at the end of day one of Rally Turkey, 8^th round of the FIA World Rally Championship.

The race started yesterday evening and immediately after the Ceremonial Start crews tackled the Super Special Stage of 2,60 km in Antalya on a gravel track with two cars racing at the same time. A big crowd gathered at the Ceremonial Start and along the stage.

Today crews started the real race at 07.30 am from the Service Park located in Kemer and tackled 9 special stages a total of 154,90 timed kilometers. This first day has been the longest of the rally, very hot and with lot of dust.

Gigi Galli and Giovanni Bernacchini in their Ford Focus RS started real well with a second and a third best time and winning the third stage of the day.

The Italian crew incurred in a 10 sec. penalty due to late arrival at time control of SS 2, Gigi explains what happened: “After the first stage we stopped to check the tyres pressure and we noticed that the bumper was on fire because it was touching the exhaust pipe, so Giovanni and me hat to extinguish the fire and we arrived at time control before the next stage 3 seconds later. It’s been a pity getting this penalty, but apart fro this everything else was fine”.

After the late morning Service Park crews tacled a loop of other three stages and Galli maintained a good pace and won SS 5 too. After the second Service Park of the day, crews re-started to tackle the last two stages for the day. Galli started very determined won the first stage of this last loop and disputed the last one calmly and closing the day in a good 4^th place.

“It’s been a long day today” said Gigi” with more stages than what we are normally used to. We had a problem getting the jack into the car today and weren’t able to change the tyres between some stages. The second pass over the stages was quite hard as we had to find a good compromise between preserving the tyres and keeping a good speed but I think we did a good job. It seems that we are now in a perfect position for tomorrow.”

Mikko Hirvonen and Jari-Matti Latvala, both in a Ford Focus RS, alternate in the lead for the whole day. Latvala suffered a puncture in SS 7 and lost some time but closed the day third overall. The four times World Champion Sébastein Loeb is leading the classification at the end of day two after being for most part of the day in third and fourth place, he is going to be first on the road tomorrow and will have to sweep the road.

09/06/08 - Rally of Turkey - Preview

Another gravel race awaits Gigi Galli and his co-driver Giovanni Bernacchini and their Ford Focus RS of the Stobart VK M-Sport Ford team, Rally Turkey, 8^th round of the FIA World Rally Championship.

Only two weeks after leaving Greece and a difficult and hard Rally Acropolis, the drivers of the World Championship head to Kemer to tackle Rally Turkey, eighth round of the 2008 season.

Placing on file the Greek race, so tricky and full of problems, the Italian crew is now ready to face another gravel rally, not less difficult but with fastest special stages and a less uneven route then the last one. The experience done so far and the good pace achieved, shown also by winning four special stages in Greece, give good hopes to the Italian standard-bearers.

Rally Turkey is back in the World Championship after one year absence and close the loop of three races in the Mediterranean area.

Gigi Galli took part in this race only twice, in 2004 when he finished 10^th overall and in 2005 when, after leading during the first part of the race, he finished in a good 8^th place.

The Stobart VK M-Sport Ford team has nominated GigiGalli/Giovanni Bernacchini and Henning Solberg/Cato Menkerud to score points in the Manufacturers Championship.

“I have good memories of the rally in Turkey as it was the first time I ever led a WRC event back in 2005. The road conditions are generally quite good and not as rough as the last rally in Greece which I think is a welcome change for everyone. My confidence is high after the last two gravel rallies. We have learnt a lot and it feels good to have set fastest stage times on both Sardinia and Greece and I know that the feeling with the car is very good now. The Pirelli tyres have proved they can cope with the rough conditions and my pace is getting much better; now we just need some luck on this rally.”

The route is almost the same of 2006, last time this event was part of the WRC, with few changes in some of the special stages. All three legs are located on the Anatolian mountains with steep and winding stages and generally quite fast. The clay ground, especially during the second pass tends to break up and pull out loose sharp rocks. The weather should be hot and dry this time of the year, but if it rains the clay ground will become quickly muddy and rutted.

Temperatures in Kemer, where the Rally HQ is located, should be around 30°C, but the speed test are on the mountains and some of them climb as high as 1800 meters above sea level, so temperatures should be lower and therefore less demanding on drivers, cars and engines.

The race will start on Thursday June 12^th with the Ceremonial Start from Akdeniz University, followed by a Super Special 2,6 km long in Antalya, that will be repeated as closing stage of the second leg on Saturday. The first day is the longest one with 154 timed kilometers, while the shortest day will be the third and final one, but with two passes on SS Olympos 31,20 km the longest of the whole event.

A total length of 1263,74 km with 360,12 timed kilometers divided into 19 special stages.

01/06/08 - Acropolis Rally - Gigi Galli won the Colin McRae Trophy

A little satisfaction after such a difficult race came by winning the Colin McRae Trophy. The Organisers of Rally Acropolis awarded this prize to the fastest time obtained in one of the special stages of the event, not including the two super special stages. On the first pass on SS Avalos, Gigi had an average speed of 100,77 km/h.

“It is a very special feeling and a big honour to receive this award. Colin was a great hero of mine and to be compared to him is a real pleasure. My rally has not gone according to plan but I pushed as hard as I could when I could to get some fastest times and I’m sure he would have done the same thing in that position. People say we drive in the same style with a lot of energy and passion and it is fantastic when I hear this. Even with a bad rally this has really lifted my spirits.”

01/06/08 - Acropolis Rally - Final

Gigi Galli and Giovanni Bernacchini in their Ford Focus RS of the Stobart VK M-Sport Ford team, were not able to finish Rally Acropolis and after winning 2 of today special stages, had to retire three stages before the end of the race.

The third and last leg of Rally Acropolis started this morning at 05.50. The 50 crews already in the race, 25 of them racing under Super Rally rule, headed north west of Athens to tackle other 7 special stages before coming back to Tatoi to run the last short super special closing the rally. A total of 102,32 timed kilometers.

Rally Acropolis confirmed to be one of the toughest and rough rounds of the World Rally Championship both for drivers and cars. Today’s leg was not as rough as yesterday’s one but the thick dust created some problems.

Gigi Galli, who re-started yesterday under Super Rally rule because he has been stopped by hydraulic problems, was able to find a good pace and a good rhythm immediately and obtained the second best time in the second stage of the day, Avlonas of 18,52 km and won the next one Aghia Sotira 10,80 km, that was quite rough.

After the service park Gigi Galli and Giovanni Bernacchini pushed hard in the subsequent stage, Avlonas, winning it.

Unfortunately 15km into SS 18, they hit a rock and they broke a suspension arm and had to stop.

Really a difficult race for the Italian crew of the Stobart VK M-Sport Ford team, that anyway won 4 special stages and set good times in several others.

“What a cruel rally this has been for us” said Gigi galli  “I knew it would be tough but the conditions were very difficult indeed as you can see from the problems we had on all three days. But we have found a really good feeling with the car and a good speed which has meant some more fastest times and this is the most important thing for me. The only thing we need now is some more luck and hopefully in Turkey this will come. Even in the rough conditions the tyres worked well and I’m confident they will do a good job in Turkey also.”

Next race for Gigi Galli and Giovanni Bernacchini will be anothe gravel event, Rally Turkey, 8^th round of the the FIA World Rally Championship, that will take place in Kmer from June 13 to 15^th.

31/05/08 - Acropolis Rally - Second Leg

Gigi Galli and Giovanni Bernacchini in their Ford Focus RS of the Stobart VK M-Sport Ford team, obliged to retire again because of hydraulic problems, they’ll re-start tomorrow under Super Rally rule.

Another warm day welcome this morning at 08.30 the 58 crews tacing in the 55^th Acropolis Rally.

The second leg was run in the area of the Corinth Canal and it’s been really tough , confirming what ahs been reported by drivers after the recce. Other three special stages to be repeated twice for a total of 119,12 timed kilometers.

The heat, temperatures rise as high as 35°C, the thick dust rose by cars and the sharp stones and rocks covering the route, put under strain both drivers and cars.

Gigi Galli and Giovanni Bernacchini that re-started this morning under SuperRally rule and with 30 minutes penalty started the first stage, Aghii Theodori 32,16 km the longest of the rally, with a good pace but towards the end they’ve been slowed down by the dust rose by the car ahead. The Italian crew of the Stobart VK M-Sport Ford won the other two stages, Pissia 16,60 km and Aghia Triada 10,80 km, before heading back to the mid day service park.

After the service park crews re-started for the second run on the same stages run in the morning, but Gigi Galli has been obliged to stop again before entering the stage because of loss of pression in the hydraulic system of his car. The system lost all the fluid and also the gears were not working. Since they had to run three stages in a row the team decided to stop and re-start tomorrow under Super Rally rule.

“We started off this morning losing some time by getting caught in Rautenbach’s dust but the car and tyres felt really good so we pushed in the next two stages and it was great to set two fastest stage times. However on the way to the first stage after service I heard a bang and felt some vibration in the car. We lost hydraulic pressure which meant no gear changes and no diffs so I decided it was too unsafe to attempt these three stages and I didn’t want to damage the car even more with Turkey only two weeks away.”

A difficult race also for the crews on top, Sèbastien Loeb (Citroen) had a puncture in the second special stage of the rally losing 30 seconds and therefore also the leadership passed to his team mate Dani Sordo. Then Loeb recovered taking the lead again after special stage 12 when Sordo suffered a puncture. In the Ford team Jari-Matti Latvala and his co-driver Mikko Hirvonen yesterday had suspension problems and both lost few positions, this morning they were able to gain ground, but then Latvala had turbo problems and Hirvonen hit a rock.

The third and last day of Acropolis Rally will start tomorrow morning at 05.05 am, The crews will tackle 6 special stages north west of Athens before coming back to Tatoi to run the last short super special stage near the military airport. A total of 110,74 timed kilometers.

30/05/08 - Acropolis Rally - First Leg

Gigi Galli and Giovanni Bernacchini in their Ford Focus RS of the Stobart VK M-Sport Ford team, had to retire from today’s leg of Rally Acropolis and will re-start tomorrow under Super Rally rule.

Yesterday evening a big crowd gathered under the Greek Acropolis to watch the Ceremonial start of the 55^th Acropolis Rally, seventh round of the FIA World Rally Championship.

Today the 60 entrants left the Service Park in Tatoi at 08.15 a.m. and headed north to tackle 6 special stages, three to be repeated twice, and than in the late afternoon they returned to Tatoi to take part in the Super Special near the military airport.

In the second special stage of the day Gigi Galli and Giovanni Bernacchini had a good start and their split times were very good. Approximately 12 km into the stage in a fast left hand corner, they hit a big rock that had been pulled out by a previous competitor and broke a suspension arm and consequently the driveshaft. They have been obliged to retire and after FIA inspection they have been allowed to re-enter the race under Super Rally rule.

“It’s quite disappointing” said Gigi Galli “ Tomorrow we will re-start with a high penalty, but we hope we can find a good pace and do some good times”.

The Italian crew will have a 30 minutes penalty.

Sèbastien Loeb (Citroen), who won 4 out of the 7 today’s stages is leading the provisional classification, followed by his team mate Dani Sordo, with 15 seconds difference. Jari_matti Latvala (Ford), who won the first and the third SS, is now in sixth position. The Super Special Stage has been won by Urmo Aava (Citroen).

Rally Acropolis’ second leg will start tomorrow morning at 08.30 am and provide 6 special stages, three to be repeated twice for a total of 119,12 timed kilometers.

26/05/08 - Acropolis Rally - Preview

After the good result obtained in their home rally, Gigi Galli and Giovanni Bernacchini in their Ford Focus RS of the Stobart VK M-Sport Ford team, are ready to tackle another difficult World Rally race Acropilis Rally Greece.

The good fourth place obtained by Gigi Galli and his co-driver Giovanni Bernacchini in their home race, Rally d’Italia Sardinia, give the Italian crew of the Stobart VK M-Ford Sport team new motivations tackling the 7^th round of the World Championship, Rally Acropolis in Greece.

Rally Acropolis, that has now reached its 55^th edition, is an historic race, very famous for its hard and tricky gravel roads and Gigi Galli took part in it three times already, with his best result a 7^th place overall in 2005, the last time he raced here.

Also for this round the Stobart VK M-Ford Sport team has appointed, to score points in the Manufacturer Championship and shorten the distance with Subaru now third only three points ahead, the crew Galli/Bernacchini and Henning Solberg/Cato Menkerud.

“I am looking forward to Rally Greece as we found a good level of consistency in Sardinia and hopefully it will be possible to keep this going.” Said Gigi Galli “Although I haven’t competed in this event for a few years, we did the recce for the last two years and so have a good understanding of the stages and the rocky conditions. Even so it is still sure to be a tough event, the stages are rough and demanding and I expect the temperatures to be hotter than in Sardinia. It’s definitely going to be a hard test for the car, crew and the Pirelli tyres, but I’m confident we are all up to the challenge.”

This year for the third year in a row the race has a different HQ, it’s in Tatoi approximately 20 km north of Athens in the military airport area, that hosted a special stage in the 70’s and this year will host the new gravel super special stage on Fiday evening at thend of leg one and on Sunday afternoon to close the event. The Ceremonial Start is back at Acropolis, on the highs of Athens, were it used to be for a long time. The route is the same of last year edition, there are only two new special stages Psatha (SS 3 and 6), disputed for the last time in 2006 and the short 4.6km super special stage at Tatoi near the Service Park.

The first day drivers will head north-west of Athens, while the second leg, the longest of the rally, will be held west of the city near the Corinth Canal. The third and last day will be held again north-west of Athens and crews will than head back to Tatoi for the arrival.

Temperatures will be quite high around 30°C with high humidity rate.

Rally Acropolis is famous for its tough roads with sharp rocks where the Pirelli Scorpion tyres, that so far got over all the difficulties of the past events, will be put under strain.

Rally Acropolis has a total length of 1311,32km, including 339,94 timed kilometers divided into 20 special stages.

18/05/08 - Rally d'Italia Sardegna - Final

Gigi Galli and Giovanni Bernacchini, 4^th overall in their home rally Rally d’Italia Sardegna in their Ford Focus RS WRC of the Stobart VK M-Sport Ford team.

A tough and difficult race Rally d’Italia Sardegna 2008, 6^th round of the FIA World Rally Championship, and Gigi galli together with his co-driver Giovanni Bernacchini maintained the good position 4^th overall that they obtained tomorrow gaining important points for the Manufacturers Championship.

The 49 crews still in the race left the Service Park in Olbia this morning at 07.00 in a sunny clear day. The 5 special stages of today the shortest leg of the rally, 78,57 timed kilometers, were run south of Olbia and the short last stage in the beautiful frame of Costa Smeralda near Porto Cervo were the rally finished with the podium ceremony.

Yesterday Gigi Galli and Giovanni Bernacchini recover two positions and closed the second leg forth overall. Today they kept an easy pace maintaining the good position obtained yesterday. The first stage of the day was rutted and tricky.

“It’s been a good race and I’m satisfied” said Gigi Galli “It’s been a pity loosing so much time in the last second stage of the rally, but Malcolm Wilson was confident I could finish in a good place, and at the end of the day here we are. The car feels good and the Pirelli Scorpion tyres proved again to be good and helped me to finish the stage were I had a puncture and were strong enough to hold out the difficult and tricky conditions of this rally. It’s been good also for the Italian fans that followed the race.”.

Sèbastien Loeb (Citroen C4) was always in the lead and won the rally. In the back there was a big fight between Mikko Hirvonen (Ford Focus RS), who finished second overall, and his team mate Jari-Matti Latvala who won all yesterday’s special stages.

Next round of the FIA World Rally Championship is Rally Acropolis in Greece.

Final Standings Rally d'Italia Sardegna 2008

17/05/08 - Rally d'Italia Sardegna - Second Leg

Gigi Galli and Giovanni Bernacchini good race goes on, 4^th overall at the end of day two of Rally d’italia Sardegna, in their Ford Focus RS WRC of the Stobart VK M-Sport Ford team.

Second leg of Rally d’Italia Sardegna started this morning at 08.00 from the Olbia Service Park under a thin rain. The 54 crews in the race headed towards the region of Gallura to tackle other six special stages, three to be repeated in the afternoon.

Gigi Galli and Giovanni Bernacchini maintained a good rhythm without problems. In the second stage of this morning, the first pass on the spectacular Monte Lerno stage (29,31 km) famous for the its high jump, Gigi had a spin loosing a little time but obtaining the forth fastest time, while in the other two stages he was third.

After the mid-day service crews re-started for the second pass on the same stages.

Galli maintained a good pace without pushing too much, gaining ground over the Spaniard of Citroen dani Sordo and passing him after SS11.

“I’m happy with my pace today” said Gigi Galli “In the morning I pushed a little bit more but without risking too much. We climbed back few positions and it’s important not to loose concentration and we also have to give an eye to the Championship points. The car feels good, no problems. We spin in today’s second stage but we didn’t loose much, than towards the end of the next stage we hit a rock and took out a chunk of the tyre, but the Pirelli Scorpion were strong enough to hold up until the finish and to the service park. The rhythm of the race is quite fast and tomorrow is going to be very important for us to keep our position ahead of Sordo”.

Sebastien Loeb (Citroen C4) has been in the lead for the whole day, while behind him there was a big fight between the two Ford drivers Mikko Hirvonen and Jari-Matti Latvala.

Latvala yesterday lost 1.min40 sec for Gigi’s same reason and in the same stage, and today pushed hard winning all special stages and climbing back from 7^th place, joining Hirvonen and finishing the day with his team mate same time.

Tomorrow the third and last day of Rally d’Italia Sardegna will provide 5 special stages, two to be repeated twice and the short special stage Liscia Ruja (2,69 km) that will close the race.

16/05/08 - Rally d'Italia Sardegna - First Leg

Gigi Galli and Giovanni Bernacchini 6^th overall at the end of leg one of Rally D’italia Sardegna, in their Ford Focus RS WRC of the Stobart VK M-Sport Ford team. 

Rally Italia Sardegna 6^th round of the FIA World Rally Championship started yesterday evening with the Ceremonial Start from the enchanting Marina Vecchia of Porto Cervo.

The 57 crews taking part in the event this morning at 09.00 left the service park and headed towards the south of Olbia to tackle the 6 special stages provided for today’s leg, three to be repeated twice, for a total of 131,56 timed kilometers.

Gigi Galli and Giovanni Bernacchini started well this morning obtaining the third best time in the first stage, Monte Corvos 16,43km. In the second stage, Castrazza 33,96km, the longest of the rally, at approximately mid through the stage they went off road and had a puncture. They had a delay of 1min12sec. In the following stage, Terranova 15,39km, they obtained again the third best time and so they kept under control their delay.

In the afternoon crews re-started for a second loop on the same stages and Galli was immediately very quick winning SS 4 (Monte Corvos) and obtaining again the third best time in next one (Castrazza).

“We started quite well and our time in the first stage was good despite the slippery route, because of the heavy rain of the previous days” said Gigi at the last Service Park of the day “When we were almost half through the stage we slid off road in a right hand corner and we hit a rock causing a puncture. I had to drive almost 20 km on the damaged tyre and I have to say that the Pirelli Scorpion tyres did a great job. The car feels good and in the next stage we did the third best time again. Things are going well so far and tomorrow I’ll push a little bit more and we’ll try to shorten the gap with the leaders”.

Gigi Galli and Giovanni Bernacchini are now 6^th overall, just 3.3 seconds away from 5^th place.

Tomorrow’s second leg will start at 08.00 from the Olbia Service Park and provide 134,60 timed kilometers divided into 6 stages, three to be repeated twice.

12/05/08 - Rally d'Italia Sardegna - Preview

Gigi Galli and Giovanni Bernacchini in their Ford Focus RS of the Stobart VK M-Sport Ford team, ready for the gravel roads of their home race, Rally d’Italia Sardegna

The 6^th round of the 2008 FIA World Rally Championship, Rally d’Italia, will take place on the gravel roads of the beautiful island of Sardinia in the Mediterranean sea.

This will be the home race for the Italian crew of the Stobart VK M-Sport Ford team, Gigi Galli and Giovanni Bernacchini.

Gigi Galli took part in this rally three times already since the Italian round of the World Championship has been moved to Sardinia, and his best result so far has been a 6^th place overall and 1^st of Group N in 2004.

Last season Gigi didn’t take part in this race and this year he is raring to go, surrounded by his fans and seeking another podium finish like in Sweden.

The crews nominated to score manufacturer points in Sardinia are the crew Gigi Galli/Giovanni Bernacchini and Matthew Wilson/Scott Martin.

“Well finally we have come to my home rally!” said Gigi Galli “Sardinia is a very nice island, quite wild in some parts, and some of the stages run through beautiful landscapes. I’ve taken part in this race a few times since it was moved to Sardinia in 2004. It is a very technical, tricky and difficult rally with very hard gravel roads and lots of loose stones. One of the stages I like most is Monte Lerno, the one with a very big jump that is so easy to catch out unwary drivers. I really look forward to getting there, to see all the Italian fans, and hopefully we can find the right rhythm and pace from the beginning.”

“This event will provide another good opportunity for the Stobart team to pick up some good results after a fine effort in Jordan where all three crews finished in the points.” Said Malcolm Wilson principal of the team “I was pleased that Gigi found his pace in Jordan and hopefully he can take this speed into his home rally; I feel confident he’ll be battling for a podium here”.

The rally will begin with the Ceremonial Start on Thursday May 15 from Porto Cervo, a beautiful and exclusive resort, the next day crews will enter the real competition. The first day will be run south of Olbia in the region of Nuoro and the route will be partly new. The second leg is very similar to last year, will be run inlands in the region of Gallura and includes the special stage Monte Lerno, famous for its high jump. Third leg will be again south of Olbia and the race will close with a short Super Special stage near Porto Cervo along the beautiful Cala di Volpe Gulf.

The 29 percent of the total route will be new and some of the stages will be run in the opposite direction to previous editions. There will be a single Service Park located as usual along Olbia harbor.

There will be 344,73 timed kilometers divided into 17 special stages and a total route of 1040.35 km.

27/04/08 - Jordan Rally - Final

Gigi Galli and Giovanni Bernacchini 8^th overall at Rally Jordan in their Ford Focus RS WRC of the Stobart VK M-Sport Ford team.

Gigi Galli and Giovanni Bernacchini finished 8^th overall the difficult and tricky Rally Jordan, that entered the main rally championship this year as fifth round of the season.

A real good recover for Galli after he had to retire yesterday afternoon, two stages before the end of the leg, re-entered the race under Super Rally rule and made his way up winning the last three stages of yesterday’s leg and posting some very good times during this last longest leg in the Jordan desert, that included the treacherous stage Jordan River 41.45 km long, one of the longest of the entire championship.

“We are definitely pleased with this result but we were disappointed with the problem on Friday.” Said Gigi at the and of the leg “On Saturday I really had to concentrate again and we found a good feeling and a good rhythm with the car and managed to set three fastest times so for sure I must be happy with this progress. Today was quite tough and the long stage made it a difficult way to finish the rally but now I have much more confidence going into my home rally in Sardinia.”

Galli’s team mates Henning Solberg and Matthew Wilson, finished respectively 4^th and 5^th overall, all of them bringing important points for the Manufactures Championship.

“We’ve seen another fantastic performance from the entire Stobart team on what was a tough, demanding and tricky Jordan Rally.” Said Malcolm Wiilson, principal of the Stobart VK M-Sport Ford team “Gigi proved again that he has the speed as he set three fastest times during the rally, while Matthew and Henning both put in faultless drives. Three Stobart cars in the top-eight is ample proof of how they all drove with their heads and in a very sensible manner especially with the next rally so close.”

Rally Jordan started last Thursday along the coast of the Dead Sea at 420 m under seal level. It included 359 timed kilometers divided into 22 special stages. The heat with temperatures as high as 40°C, put a strain on all drivers. This morning there was a short shower, but before the rally started the route was almost completely dry again.

The gravel abrasive surface put a lot of strain also on the Scorpion Pirelli tyres, that proved anyway to be very reliable,

Mikko Hirvonen (Ford Focus RS) won the race; second place for Spaniard Dani Sordo (Citroen C4) who leaded the race for quite a long time, but he span in the last stage of the event losing over 40 seconds; third the Australian driver of Subaru Chris Atkinson who got on the podium for the fourth time this season. Jari-Matti Latvala (Ford Focus RS) who has been in the lead fighting with Sordo, lost over a minute in today’s second stage because of a broken rear left suspension. World rally Champions Sebastien Loeb, who retired yesterday morning, and re-started today, closed the race in 10^th place.

Next appointment for all World Rally drivers is Rally Italy, 15/18 May, in Sardinia.

Final Standings Jordan Rally 2008

26/04/08 - Jordan Rally - Second Leg

Gigi Galli and Giovanni Bernacchini 10^th overall winning 3 special stages in their Ford Focus RS WRC of the Stobart VK M-Sport Ford team

Gigi Galli and Giovanni Bernacchini are 10^th overall at the end of leg 2 of Rally Jordan, 5^th round of the FIA World Rally Championship. Yesterday the Italian crew of the Stobart VK M-Sport Ford team had to retire two stages before the end of the leg and they re-started today under Super Rally rule and therefore with 10 minutes penalty. Gigi’s rhythm today was quite good and steady and he won the last three special stages of the day.

It’s been another hard day for drivers today who tackle 109,84 timed kilometers divided into 8 special stages on a difficult route with some very narrow passes, on a hard surface often covered by gravel where it was difficult to find the right feeling and the right braking points and giving a hard time to the first drivers on the route. It was another very hot day with temperature as high as 40°C, tough on drivers and cars.

The Scorpion Pirelli tyres proved again to work well on this tough kind of surface.

“We have been going quite well this morning and the car is feeling very good after yesterday. “ said Gigi Galli at the end of the leg “I feel more relaxed today and am finding a good feeling and rhythm with car. I’m using my time now to make some changes and get a better feeling on gravel for the next few rallies so we are using the time to concentrate on learning more about the car. Malcolm (Wilson) gave me some good advices this morning and they have been useful and we obtained three fastest time this afternoon. I think that, before, I was attacking too hard trying to find the times but now I’m driving more smoothly and it feels a lot better like this. The car has really been great today and now I’m starting to feel the Pirelli tyres working with me. It’s going well and we are still looking good for some manufacturer points”.

The World Champion Sebastien Loeb (Citroen) who this morning passed his team mate Dani Sordo and settled on top of the classification, had to retire when Rautenbach (Citroen) hit his car on a road section after SS12. At this point Dani Sordo took the lead for a short time until Jari-Matti Latvala (Ford Focus) passed him and leaded the race until the last special stage of the day when Sordo passed him. Sordo will be first on the road tomorrow sweeping the route for the following drivers.

Tomorrow the final day of Rally Jordan will start at 6.45 am and is going to be the longest one, with 134,24 timed kilometers divided into three special stages to be repeated twice, including the longest one of the rally, Jordan River, 41,45 km. The arrival will be tomorrow at 3.00 pm.

25/04/08 - Jordan Rally - First Leg

Gigi Galli and Giovanni Bernacchini in their Ford Focus RS WRC of the Stobart VK M-Sport Ford team, had to stop today, they will re-start tomorrow under Super Rally rule.

Gigi Galli and Giovanni Bernacchini two special stages bifore the end of day 1 of Rally Jordan, had to stop and will re-start tomorrow under Super Rally rule with 10 minutes penalty.

Two kilometers after the start of SS 6 Galli slid with the back of his Ford Focus into e bank and this caused a damage to the differential cooling system and the exhaust.

Rally Jordan, that entered the World Rally Championship this year for the first time, started yesterday evening with the Ceremonial start at Emaar South Park on the coast of the Dead Sea.

The real action started this morning at eight with a high temperature that grew during the day and reached 40°C, quite tough on drivers that had to tackle 115 timed kilometers.

Today’s leg provided 8 special stages, four to be repeated twice, in the region of the Jordan Valley. The gravel stages of the Jordan desert have a very hard surface, in some parts quite slippery with some asphalt parts, like towards the end of SS1/5, where cars reach the maximum speed. Other stages go along a hill side on very narrow roads, with drops on the side and others wide, fast and with flowing curves. The Pirelli Scorpion tyres were very good on this abrasive surface.

“Obviously I am very disappointed with my problem today as the rally was going quite well for me and I was starting to get a good feeling with the car. We slid on a slippy section of the stage and went backwards into a big bank of rocks and this damaged the diff cooler and I was unable to continue as the temperature rose so high; I didn’t want to cause a lot of damage. I hope the team can repair this for tomorrow as its very important for me to get back out there and learn more about this rally and this unique surface. The first loop of stages today went well for me and I was starting to find a good rhythm and getting more confidence with the car and I would like to continue with this progress tomorrow.”

Dani Sordo (Citroen), who won 3 stages today, is leading provisional standigs and his team mate Sebastien Loeb, who also won 3 stages today, is following him very close. Few seconds beheind them Jari-Matti Lavala (Ford) and Mikko Hirvonen (Ford).

Tomorrow’s leg will start at eight and the crews will head north towards the capital city Amman and provide other 4 special stages to be repeated twice for a total of 109,84 timed kilometers. Weather conditions will be again high temperature and dry. The arrival is at 16,29 after a 45 minutes service park.

30/03/08 - Rally Argentina - Final

Gigi Galli and Giovanni Bernacchini finished 7^th overall in Rally Argentina, 4^th round of the FIA World Rally Championship in their Ford Focus RS WRC of the Stobart VK M-Sport Ford team.