After being selected to drive the BFGoodrich Drivers Team-liveried Peugeot 207 S2000 on the 2009 Rallye Sanremo, Italy's Luca Cantamessa succeeded in finishing his home round of the Intercontinental Rally Challenge in seventh position overall. The 39-year-old profited from his long experience of the sport to secure a top result on the 51st Rallye Sanremo.

Despite a cautious start, the former Fiat Trophy and Italian Michelin Challenge winner succeeded in figuring in around the 10th spot until the end of the opening leg. However, a 30-second penalty - incurred after Kronos Racing decided to change his exhaust system during a service halt - dropped him to 13th overall in the overnight standings.

The next day saw Cantamessa recover swiftly from the disappointment to put in a first-class display, including a third-fastest time on the infamous Colle d'Oggia stage, barely 10 seconds adrift of the event's eventual winner and newly-crowned 2009 IRC champion Kris Meeke.

On the following test, which was another Sanremo classic (Monte-Ceppo), Luca Cantamessa and his co-driver Piercarlo Capolongo succeeded in claiming the fifth-quickest time to bring the BFGoodrich Drivers Team car back inside the top ten.

The Italian pair finally reached the Sanremo finish in seventh place, an outstanding result for the Peugeot 207 crew given the quality field which line up for the start of the Italian round, including no fewer than 24 S2000 cars.

"Had it not been for his penalty, Luca would even have finished one place higher, but his position changes very little, in fact," explained Jacques Morelli, BFGoodrich's IRC programme manager. "The main thing was that he succeeded in flying the BFGoodrich flag high and proud from start to finish. He was a big hit with the spectators, too, thanks to his quick times and spectacular driving style."

"I would like to say a big thank you to everyone at BFGoodrich and Kronos Racing," Luca Cantamessa said. "We faced some pretty stiff competition this weekend, including the drivers who were scrapping for this year's IRC title, so I think our result is really quite honourable.

The next destination for the BFGoodrich Drivers Team operation will take the Kronos Racing-run Peugeot into the forests for the Rally of Scotland, November 19-21.