Rally Terra Sarda

Osian Pryce wins 2023 TER – Tour European Rally title and season finale Rally Terra Sarda

08.10.2023

2022 British Champion takes second consecutive overall win and maiden title

 

The 2023 TER – Tour European Rally final round, Rally Terra Sarda, rewarded crews, teams and fans with two sunny days full of breathtaking sporting action, on the technical Sardinian tarmac stages of the stunning Gallura area.

 

In his maiden outing with the Hyundai i20N Rally 2, 2022 British Champion Osian Pryce codriven by Belgian Stéphane Prévot took a dominant victory, five weeks after winning his home event at JDS Machinery Rali Ceredigion. In a great fight with Giacomo Scattolon and Sauro Farnocchia's Volkswagen Polo, Pryce pulled away with a great time on Sunday's opener. When Scattolon was sidelined by mechanical failure, Pryce kept the other rivals at bay to celebrate on the Porto Cervo marina in glamorous Costa Smeralda.

 

One week after finishing second in the Danish Championship, the 2017 TER2 Cup runner-up Simon Vallentin with Peter Egholm took silver on another Hyundai i20N Rally 2.

 

The final podium step went to Greek driver Sotiris Ieremiadis, codriven by 3-time Italian Champion Pietro Ometto on board a Škoda Fabia R5. With a sister car, Roberto Cocco and Sergio Deiana finished in fourth place, and a stunning drive, and an impressive 5th place overall, earned Young French Pierre-Paul Baltolu and Anthony Pes, on a Renault Clio Rally4, a TER Junior event win and Category title.

 

More Škoda Fabias starred in the top-10. Swiss Stefano Mella with Simone D'Agostino finished sixth. Behind them, Thomas Lorenz and Tim Rauber stayed ahead of fellow Germans and 2019 TER – Tour European Rally runners-up Stefan Göttig - Nathalie Solbach-Schmidt after trading places several times during the event.

 

Rejoining after retirement at the end of the opening day, 3-time Turkish Champion Burak Çukurova and Burak Ackay's Škoda Fabia R5 finished 9th, ahead of the sister car of Ronnie Caragliu and Pietro Cottu closing the top-10.

 

Inessa Tushkanova and Jessica James took TER Ladies Trophy event honours with a Škoda Fabia R5

 

In the TER 2WD Trophy, Fabrizio De Sanctis took victory on his maiden event with the Renault Clio Rally5 and codriver Raffaele Pizzato. Driving a Peugeot 208 Rally 4, Angelo Orecchioni and Marco Corda secured second place.

 

After a great fight for third place, Loris Ronzano and Gloria Andreis' Škoda Fabia R5 retired on stage 8. An early retirement also struck 2022 TER Ladies Trophy winner Rachele Somaschini, codriven by Fabio Salis on a Citroen C3. The 2-time Italian Ladies Champion nevertheless secured back-to-back TER Ladies Trophy. Domingo Alonso and Moises Gomez's rally also came to an early end, after some good times in TER Junior.

 

Photo: Francesco Zedda