Time then for the sixth round of this year’s championship and the second in a row on gravel. This round is famous for the dust that is thrown into the air by each passing car, as well as some really rough roads, with large rocks being pulled out and giving the second run of the stages additional risk for the tyres and suspension components.
Interestingly, this season’s round has the same number of stages as last year with sixteen stage, but a longer distance with 320km’s up from 266km’s. The day which has changed a lot is in fact Friday which has changed from four stages and 77km’s to six stages and 120km’s.
Elfyn and Scott will again open the road throughout Friday’s stages and will hope for a better result than last time out in Portugal, but this will depend on the position in which they hold at the end of the first day.
Those with a good stating position will be eyeing up a good result and perhaps victory. In that group will be Ott and Martin who took victory last year and after the pace they had in Portugal the Estonian crew will likely want to repeat this victory this year.
Let’s take a look at the stages and hear from the drivers.
Weekend at a Glance
- Cars take to the stages for the first time with the Olbia Cabu Abbas Shakedown (2.19km) on Thursday afternoon.
- Friday’s itinerary features six stages: Arzachena (SS1/4, 13.97km), Telti-Calangianus-Berchidda (SS2/5, 18.43km) and Sa Conchedda (SS3/6, 27.95km)
- Saturday’s six stages are set to cover 121.60km: Coiluna-Loelle (SS7/10, 21.18km), Lerno-Su Filigosu (SS8/11, 24.34km) and Tula-Erula (SS9/12, 15.28km)
- Competition concludes on Sunday with four stages: San Giacomo-Plebi (SS13/15, 25.19km) and Porto San Paolo (SS14/16, 13.70km).
Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT
Elfyn Evans
“After a bit of a frustrating rally in Portugal we certainly want to be stronger in Sardinia. It’s a similar rally in some ways and maybe a bit more demanding in others. We will also have the challenge again of running first on the road on Friday, although the more typical schedule should hopefully help in that respect. We’re still looking for some more performance on this type of rally, and with the limited testing available it’s not easy to find an immediate solution, but we’re going to give it our best like always and try to come away with as many points as we can.”
Kalle Rovanperä
“Sardinia has always been quite a tricky rally and we know every time we go there that we face a big challenge. The result in Portugal was not so bad considering our start position, but we know that we need to keep working to get the feeling and the pace where we want it to be if we are going to have a good rally in Sardinia. Like always, everybody starts each rally from zero and we will try to do our best to come away with good points again.”
Sébastien Ogier
“Our victory in Portugal is good motivation to keep working hard with the team in this busy period of rallies because we know that we can still improve. Sardinia has always been a difficult challenge, one that it took me some years to master. This year it can be even tougher for our team because we have the top three drivers in the championship, and we will have the biggest job to sweep the road for our rivals on Friday. But I have good memories from our win in 2021 from first on the road and we know well that it’s a rally where anything can happen.”
Takamoto Katsuta
“Sardinia is going to be another difficult and demanding rally. We learnt a lot of things about the tyres in Portugal and we need to take that knowledge and adapt it for Sardinia, where the gravel surface is a bit different. In general, it’s going to very important to prepare well and decide upon the right setup, but I know that the team is working very hard on that, and we will do our best to have a good rally.”
Sami Pajari
“For the first time with the Rally1 car I’m going to a rally that has similarities in style to the previous one, so there is more that we can learn and carry from one event to the next. In Portugal we had a nice clean weekend with some consistent speed, and so I’m feeling much more prepared for Sardinia. This was a good rally for me last year, when I won in WRC2, and we should have a nice starting position for Friday so let’s see what we can do.”
Hyundai Motorsport
Thierry Neuville
“Rally Italia Sardegna is an event we’ve always been competitive at. The roads play to our strengths, particularly on the second pass, so we’re really looking forward to it. We learned some things about how the car behaves on this surface in Portugal, so we’ll be taking that knowledge with us to testing. We need to be consistently fast, and there’s no room for mistakes, so we will be pushing across every stage. I want to be fighting for the win, so I need to finish ahead of my main championship rivals.”
Ott Tänak
“Sardegna is another super punishing event. At first, it can look smooth and sandy, but roads normally develop quickly. We can suddenly find solid rocks sticking out from the ground, which will make life hard for both the car and tyres. This year we will have many new stages, but we know these are often quite low grip, which makes driving very challenging on these narrow roads. We know our car is not easy to find good setup for different surfaces, but in the past we have done well in Sardegna. Hopefully, we have done our homework, and we are going to be on the pace from the start!”
Photographer: Vincent Thuillier
Worldwide copyright: Hyundai Motorsport GmbH
Adrien Fourmaux
“We had really good pace on Friday morning in Portugal, but we all know that Rally Italia Sardegna can be a bit different. We got an understanding of how well the tyres are working in the dry conditions; we can push hard, and tyre wear is not so bad. The surface in Sardinia is a bit sandier, and there are some super narrow passes. It’s challenging because you want to commit fully, but there’s not much margin for error. We need to have a clean rally and score some good points for the team – this is crucial for our fight at the moment.”
M-Sport Ford WRT
Grégoire Munster
“Sardinia is another long-standing event on the WRC calendar, and it’s also where we scored our first top-five result last year, so we’re hoping for a good feeling again! It’s a well-known event, but really quite different to Portugal. The stages can be a lot rougher, and their characteristics vary a lot – sandy, rocky, narrow, and technical.
“There are also a couple of new stages, which will make it interesting for everyone, especially the M-Sport crews as we’re a bit less experienced. We’ve done some good testing and gained some real positives, so hopefully we can see that benefit on the event. And hopefully it stays sunny and dry!”
Josh McErlean
“Rally Sardinia is one of the toughest events on the European calendar – rough, technical, and relentless. But you have to learn to love this rally. It’s a real test for both car and crew, and that’s exactly what makes it so rewarding. We had a positive run in Portugal, and the goal is to carry that rhythm into this weekend.”
Mārtiņš Sesks
“After quite an eventful rally in Portugal, I think we’re looking for a trouble-free week to regain some consistency. That’s the goal for Sardinia, because – just like Portugal – it will be our first time there in four-wheel-drive machinery. There will be lots of learning again, and nothing will be easy, but let’s see what it brings!”
Jourdan Serderidis
“Happy to be back in the WRC after our top result in Kenya! We come to Olbia with reasonable optimism; we have good memories from Sardinia 2022 in WRC2, and we had an excellent test last week where we discovered an enhanced package for the Puma. On the technical stages of the island, we believe a top-20 finish is possible for us.”
Romet Jürgenson
“I think going into Sardinia I already feel more confident compared to Portugal. In the past we’ve done some testing there with the Rally3 car and the FIA Rally Star team, and we competed in the rally last year, unfortunately not the full event, but we still gained experience, which definitely helps.
“With the car, on Sunday in Portugal we felt like we were in a good place, so I definitely expect a better performance from myself in Sardinia.”
Pierre-Louis Loubet
“I’m very pleased to be in Sardinia again, a place where I have so many nice memories – especially from 2022 when we were fighting for the podium in the Rally1 car! I hope I’ll be able to progress with the car during the event and try to get closer to the top. I’m really happy with the work of my engineer and the team to optimise everything with the car, so let’s see what we can do!”
Oliver Solberg
“The start to the season has been pretty good,” Oliver said. “We’ve taken two [WRC2] wins from three starts with the Toyota and the car feels like it’s getting better and better.
“It was quite a change from what I was driving last year and with the three-cylinder engine and a few other things, it maybe took a little bit of time to find my feet with this one. I’ve driven a lot of cars, a lot of R5 and Rally2 cars, so I have a good idea of what I want and how to make a car fast.
“Working with Toyota and the Printsport team has been really good, we’ve worked well together, and the pace is getting better and better. This week is about learning more and more from the car and how it works with the tyres. The new Hankook’s are also quite different from what we had last year, so that takes some time to understand the best set-up and how to get the best from the whole package. I really feel we’re getting there, and Sardinia is another step for that.
“And, yes, it’s fair to say I don’t know this rally so well as some of the others. I started here only two times – I have started Monte Carlo six times now! There’s definitely a rhythm to find on these roads, you can’t push too hard and go too crazy, there will be a rock waiting for you. It’s nice to come here without so much pressure for the [WRC2] points and we can drive our own race and keep trying different solutions for the car.
“At the same time, it’s always nice to come to Italy for a rally. There’s so much history for the sport in this country – and Sardinia is a beautiful place with beautiful weather. It’s going to be a good week.”
Summary
Well, who do you think will win this rally and stand on the podium? In my view it is possible to see Ott and Martin take victory this weekend. Also, possible to take a victory are Thierry and Martijn who won this rally a few years ago. Could their teammates Adrien and Alex take their first win? They have shown good very good pace this year.
At Toyota Kalle and Jonne could have a great rally. Although they are starting second on the road, it will be interesting to see if they could win this weekend as well or stand on the podium as they did last time out. Elsewhere Seb and Vincent also return to on a fourth round this year and third in a row for their part time season. For Elfyn and Scott as championship leaders will have to make the best of the road position and hope to take a good level of points away to keep them at the top of the standings.
Finally at M-Sport the young team will continue to develop their pace, whilst learning the stages on this new event. Of course, Greg and Louis have some experience from last year and will hope that they can build on this. For their rookie teammates Josh and Eoin and Martins and Renaur they will just look to build experience with the creation of new notes on stages which they have not driven before.
Enjoy the rally!
