Giandomenico Basso took an exciting and very close victory from Andreas Mikkelsen in a thrilling final day to the 2012 Rally San Marino.
Basso cought up with a seemingly fast Mikkelsen on Saturday as the pair shared the lead on identical times, only for Basso to gain the lead in the afternoon. Despite Andreas Mikkelsen’s late efforts of a comeback after going fastest in the final two stages, Basso managed to snatch victory just 2.8 seconds ahead.
Basso’s win marked Ford’s maiden IRC triumph since Nasser Al Attiyah’s victory in Cyprus 2010, and Basso’s first podium for the first time since Madeira in 2009.
Umberto Scandola, meanwhile, fell away from the leaders during leg two but remained clear of Sepp Wiegand’s Skoda Deutschland.
Jarkko Nikara – the best Group N runner – held a comfortable gap into 5th position.
Pos Driver Team/Car Time/Gap 1. Giandomenico Basso Movisport Ford 2h35m56.6s 2. Andreas Mikkelsen Skoda UK + 2.8s 3. Umberto Scandola Car Skoda + 1m41.6s 4. Sepp Wiegand Skoda Deutschland + 2m06.2s 5. Jarkko Nikara Makinen Subaru + 6m12.2s 6. Gergely Szabo Mitsubishi + 10m15.6s 7. Marco Tempestini Subaru + 13m22.6s 8. Gabriele Noberasco Mitsubishi + 13m47.9s 9. Miklos Bujdos Mitsubishi + 14m03.0s 10. Harry Hunt I-Cars Citroen + 14m49.0s