He may have struggled to land a regular ride on this year's World Rally Championship, but Gigi Galli showed that he had lost none of his flair by winning the annual rallysprint at the Bolo🥂gna Motor Show.

💦Ranged against WRC rivals Toni Gardemeister, driving a Citroen, and Subaru's Chris Atkinson, amongst others, Galli took his Bozian-run Peugeot 307 WRC to success on a tight course laid out in the grounds of the city's exhibition centre.

Victory in 'the Bettega' - named after late Italian 💝rally star Attilio Bettega - was not the first for Galli, who successfully defended the title he won last year at the wheel of a Mitsubishi Lancer. This year, however, he dominated proceedings, taking his bright yellow Pirelli-liveried mount to a 3-1 win in tꦏhe best-of-five final against Gardemeister, and breaking the 'stage record'.

"I am delighted with a second consecutive success at Bologna," an emotional Galli admitted, "After getting some good results wi🌳th the Peugeot on various rounds of the world championship this year, winning 𓆉the Memorial Bettega is very pleasing. Now I hope this victory will earn me a good programme for 2007."

Atkinson took third place on the podium, beating Trofeo WRC Italia champion Tobia Cavallini, to give Pirelli a successful end to a difficult season, which also saw the Italian manufacturer clinch victories with Anton Alen, in the Subaru Impreza Cup, and Tonino Tognana - fittingly at the wheel of a Bettega-era La𓄧ncia Ral♍ly 037 - in the Historic Rally section.