The first day of the Monza Rally Show ended with Andrea Crugnola in the lead: the 35-year-old from Varese, fresh off his fourth Italian championship title, driving the Citroen C3 shared with Andrea Sassi, won the first two stages, Autodromo 1 and Roggia 1.
On a day marked by mild winter sun, Crugnola, who had already triumphed at the Autodromo Nazionale Monza in 2019, posted the first fastest time, gaining 3.5 seconds over the competition. Among the top drivers who managed to keep close were hill climb specialist Luca Tosini with Roberto Peroglio (Skoda Fabia RS) and experienced driver Alessandro Perico (Skoda Fabia RS), alongside Mauro Turati.
Crugnola confirmed himself as the man to beat, posting another fastest time on the Roggia 1 stage, ending the day with a 9.4-second lead over Slovenian Bostjan Avbelj (Skoda Fabia RS), another familiar face in the Italian championship, with Perico following 10 seconds behind. Also, among the top times was that of Nikolay Gryazin, WRC2 driver, who incurred a 10-second penalty for hitting a barrier on the first stage.
In fourth place in the overall standings, 10.4 seconds behind, was Finnish driver Sami Pajari (Toyota Yaris), the new WRC2 World Champion, navigated by his compatriot Marko Salminen.
Also in the top 10 was New Zealand’s Hayden Paddon (Hyundai i20 N), in sixth place, 11.9 seconds behind.
Twelfth was Tony Cairoli (Skoda Fabia RS), while Vincenzo Nibali, driving one of the two Toyota Yaris GRs, was in 43rd place.
The first day saw an exciting moment with the cars lined up in the pit lane for the autograph session, one of the most eagerly awaited events by fans.
Tomorrow will feature five more Special Stages, with the Rally 2 cars starting around 7:30 AM. WRC stars are also warming up for the Masters’ Show, with Adrien Formaux (Ford), Dani Sordo (Hyundai), and Jari Matti Latvala (Toyota) all set to compete.
The Monza Rally Show will conclude on Sunday morning after 9 special stages, covering a total of 151.38 km.
Tickets for the event can be purchased at monzanet.it and ticketone.it.