Tough morning for rising star Campana

Pierre Campana says he has endured a “very bad” morning on Rallye Sanremo, round nine of the 11-event Intercontinental Rally Challenge.

Campana, from Corsica, was expected to fight for a top five finish on the asphalt event but has instead suffered a succession of mechanical problems, plus a puncture, in his Peugeot 207 Super 2000, which is co-driven by Sabrina de Castelli.

Heading to the regroup in Sanremo, Campana was ninth overall, albeit 3m42.6s adrift of leader Freddy Loix with three stages remaining.

After being slowed on stage eight when his car’s fuel injection alarm began to flash, his engine then dropped on to two cylinders on stage nine as a result of a wiring loom problem. Campana’s Munaretto team is planning to change the loom and the fuel injection system at midday service.

“This morning has been very bad for me because of the problem with the engine,” said Campana, who finished fourth overall on Tour de Corse-E.Leclerc and won the IRC 2WD Cup section of Rallye Monte-Carlo earlier this season.