Polonski wins ERC2 as Rome podium battle takes final twist

Poloński had taken the lead after Andrea Nucita, who had led for most of Saturday, retired after stage five and didn’t look back, bagging vital points over his rival for the Abarth Rally Cup title.

Behind Poloński, a late battle was brewing between Loran SRL team-mates Nucita and Zelindo Melegari.

Nucita was the class of the ERC2 field, using home advantage and familiarity with the Abarth 124 Rally to great effect to win almost every stage.

Rather than sit back on his return on Sunday, Nucita pushed to the limit to catch Melegari, closing the gap to just 1.1s with two passes of the short Ostia superspecial to go.

Keen to make up the difference Nucita pushed to the limit over the artificial jump in the stage, but broke a driveshaft after a heavy landing and lost precious seconds, the gap between the two ending up at 11.4s.

Melegari now leads the ERC2 standings by 18 points from Nucita in second, who in turn has a single point advantage over rally winner Poloński in third.

The tables are turned in the Abarth Rally Cup, however, with Poloński now leading the standings by two points from Nucita.

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