Rally Costa Smeralda is a

rally Rally or rallye may refer to: Gatherings * Demonstration (political), a political rally, a political demonstration of support or protest, march, or parade * Pep rally, an event held at a United States school or college sporting event Sport ...

competition held in

Costa Smeralda The Costa Smeralda (, ; sdn, Monti di Mola; sc, Montes de Mola) is a coastal area and tourist destination in northern Sardinia, Italy, with a length of some 20 km, although the term originally designated only a small stretch in the comm ...

, a coastal area on the island of

Sardinia Sardinia ( ; it, Sardegna, label=Italian, Corsican and Tabarchino ; sc, Sardigna , sdc, Sardhigna; french: Sardaigne; sdn, Saldigna; ca, Sardenya, label=Algherese and Catalan) is the second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

. The event was first held in 1978 and it was part of the

European Rally Championship The European Rally Championship (officially FIA European Rally Championship) is an rallying, automobile rally competition held annually on the European continent and organized by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The champions ...

schedule until 1994. After the rally was restarted in 1998, it has been part of the

Italian Rally Championship The Campionato Italiano Rally (C.I.R.) (''Italian Rally Championship'') is the main rally championship, which takes place in Italy. , the championship consists of eight rallies,Italian Rally Championship – Race Calendar 2017'. Retrieved 20 Febr ...

. The rally is based in

Arzachena Arzachena (; sdn, Alzachèna; sc, Altzaghèna) is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Sassari, northern Sardinia, the second largest island off the coast of Italy. Arzachena lies half way between the original Costa Smeralda resort and Port ...

in the north-east part of the island. Unlike the famed tarmac rally held on near neighbour the island of Corsica, the

Tour de Corse The Tour de Corse is a rally first held in 1956 on the island of Corsica. It was the French round of the World Rally Championship from the inaugural 1973 season until 2008, was part of the Intercontinental Rally Challenge from 2011 to 2012, an ...

, the Rally Costa Smeralda is a gravel rally. Italians have dominated the results, the most successful driver in the rally's history is

Paolo Andreucci Paolo Andreucci (born 21 April 1965) is an Italian rally driver. He won Rally Sanremo in IRC twice and 11 times Italian Rally Champion. His co-driver Anna Andreussi Anna Andreussi (born 17 April 1972) is an Italian rally co-driver A co-dri ...

who won the rally seven times between 2001 and 2013.

Winners

External links

Official websiteRally Costa Smeralda at RallyBase

Sport in Sardinia

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