Dani Sordo wins the 2008 Bettega Memorial Rallysprint

After two days of intense competition this weekend, Dani Sordo was the biggest winner of the rallysprint programme held at the Bologna Motor Show.

On his first participation in the Italian event, the Citroen C4 WRC driver won both the Saturday evening Night Sprint competition and Sunday’s Bettega Memorial Rallysprint, getting the better of Italian driver Gigi Galli in a Ford Focus WRC on both occasions.

Taking place over the course of the entire weekend, the 18th Memorial Bettega Rallysprint is the main competitive element of the Bologna Motor Show. Two competitions were organised for all the drivers taking part - the most prestigious named after Italian driver Attilio Bettega, who was killed during the 1985 Tour de Corse.

As always, the event attracted a star studded entry list. Five-time World Rally Champion Sebastien Loeb started off the proceedings on Saturday afternoon by completing several laps of the 1.2km mixed surface circuit in his Citroen C4 WRC. Duels followed between WRC aces such as Marcus Gronholm (Ford Focus WRC), Petter Solberg (Subaru Impreza WRC), Francois Duval (Subaru Impreza WRC) and Gigi Galli (Ford Focus WRC).

Saturday was qualifying day for the Rallysprint, with two groups of four competitors fighting it out against each other before the finals the following day. Saturday’s action rounded off with a Memorial Night Sprint, which Sordo won.

In front of 10,000 spectators who braved the cold and humid Sunday, the 2005 Junior World Rally Champion beat Petter Solberg in the semi-final of the Memorial Bettega Rallysprint and then won overall against Gigi Galli in a nail-biting final.

“Two trophies in one weekend is incredibly exciting,” said Sordo. “Whenever you take part in any sort of competition, the aim is always to try and win. I had absolutely no idea of what to expect when I came here. All I knew was that there were going to be some really good people with strong chances of winning such as Petter Solberg or Gigi Galli - who we competed against on the WRC this year - and Marcus Gronholm. So I could take nothing for granted at all.

"The humidity made the track very slippery as well. There was not much grip on the dirty asphalt, and conditions were even more difficult on the gravel. Throughout both days though, the handling of my Citroen C4 was perfect. It was important to try not to slide the car too much, as that cost a lot of time. So I tried to drive as cleanly as possible and this tactic worked really well. I’m very pleased with these two victories, which we clinched in front of a massively enthusiastic crowd with a fantastic atmosphere,” he added.