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Format change for Rallye Sanremo

Asphalt stages only for the round 10 of the IRC

By Franck Drui

13 May 2010 - 11:15

Rallye Sanremo will feature asphalt stages only when it runs as round 10 of the Intercontinental Rally Challenge from 23-25 September.

The organisers, Automobile Club Sanremo (ACS), had planned to run a mixture of asphalt and gravel stages but cost implications have forced them to stick to an all-Tarmac format for the 52nd running of the famous rally.

Sergio Maiga, the ACS president, said: "Maybe we could have carried out the idea to bring Rallye Sanremo back to [the gravel stages of] Siena, but in order to do that we would have been obliged to reduce costs in sectors like safety, where we are not willing to accept any compromise.

"Furthermore we wouldn’t be able to solve any of the economic problems that a race, like the one we had in mind, would have entailed for the teams that will take part in the event and, even more, for the several private drivers that are always showing their affection to our race.

"A leg on gravel and another one on asphalt would have made necessary a change of car set-up during the race and therefore an increase in costs."