Piancavallo Rally: Curious finale

Michael Stoschek (Ahorn) and Philip Späth (Berlin) were the only foreign starters at the 32nd Piancavallo Rally in Maniago, Italy. In the historical vehicles category, they drove a Porsche Carerra 3.0 IROC, which was used in the U.S. in 1973 and had 315 hp with a curb weight of 1060 kg.

The event over a total length of 377 km included nine special trials over 75.2 km, which had to be completed on May 19 and 20.

After the Italian duo Romano/Pontoni with their superior speed in a BMW M3 were forced to retire, Stoschek/Späth took over the lead in the field of historical vehicles.

The German duo incurred a 30-second time penalty for allegedly moving a bale of straw into a chicane on the evening of the first day, meaning they started from fourth on the morning of the second day. After just the first trial, they had recaptured second place and, when the BMW M3 withdrew, were in the lead.

Two unnecessary wrong decisions by the team in the choice of tires in trials seven and eight led to the Germans dropping back to second. As a result, they trailed the leaders by 8.9 seconds going into the final trial, a short one over just 3.1 km – a gap that cannot be closed under normal circumstances.

Michael Stoschek commented beforehand: “We’ll definitely give it a try and go full out.” He won the final trial by 8.8 seconds and so failed to win victory overall by precisely one tenth of a second after more than 75 km of driving at top speed.

What did he take away from the rally? “Never drive just to hold on to your lead, but always keep on fighting so that you have a cushion for unplanned problems,” said a disappointed Stoschek at the finish.